SDCC 2015: ‘Lego Dimensions’ Hopes To Rebuild The Toys To Life Genre
Between Skylanders, Disney Infinity and Amiibo, all three formats have made a killing through selling their versions of game compatible toys, with the latter creating a full blown Amiibogeddon. Considering the wild success of these Toys To Life franchises, it was only a matter of time before the Lego brand decided to take their own crack at the genre.
Longtime Lego game developer Traveler’s Tales hopes to bring their platforming prowess and trademark charm to Lego Dimensions, a title that brings numerous worlds together to create one huge collectable gaming experience. Including series’ such as the DC Universe, The Lord Of The Rings, The Simpsons, Back To The Future, Portal, (as in Valve’s Portal,) and so many more, will we have room on our shelves, (and enough money in the bank,) to open up to a fourth collection? We were invited to get some hands on time with the game at San Diego Comic Con to find out if its worth it.
The demo was a strange mash up of characters that we would never have imagined would share a game together. Try to picture this; Gandalf, Scooby Doo, Batman, the 13th Doctor from Doctor Who, Portal protagonist, Chell, and The Lego Movie‘s Wyldstyle, (with a cameo from Homer Simpson), running through one of GLaDOS’ test chambers, complete with her taunts through the PA system and adorable turrets who look to rip you to shreds. Yet, in the world that Lego Dimensions has established, it makes perfect sense. What was especially noticeable about having so many characters on screen at once was the fact that unlike other games in the genre that typically restrict you to two characters at a time, you can bring in as many characters and vehicles as you can fit on the portal.
On the subject of the portal itself, this base is divided into three sections. The back section is where the world is placed, which much like Infinity‘s Play Sets, is a piece that unlocks the single player world that players will traverse through. Characters and vehicles littered the left and right side in front of it, but this set up wasn’t just for show. Some puzzles required the characters to grow bigger or smaller depending on the situation, which was achieved through moving each Lego person onto the respective side that was assigned the proper power. Using the base as part of the game play is an interesting idea, one that brings a level of interactivity to the game that its competing titles lack.
Yet, despite these unique features, the core game play is exactly what we’ve come to expect from a Travelers Tales Lego game. The platforming, movement, stage progression and even combat felt almost exactly like any one of the many Lego titles that have hit the market over the last ten years. So if you pick this up, expect to fill a stud meter, destroy objects in the environment to rebuild them into new items and solve character specific puzzles. The advantage that Lego Dimensions has however, is that unlike the standalone games that typically have a half a dozen character types that have unique puzzle solving abilities, this one has the potential to offer many more than than. Chell for example, is the only character that can use the Portal Gun, which was necessary to transport the team from one spot to another at times.
With so many characters already announced, I can only imagine what kind of possibilities they might bring to the game. Then again, more characters means more money to spend, so we hope you have that cash ready! At the very least, each game piece doubles as a real Lego set, so once you finish the game, the fun can continue by making new objects with the pieces provided and integrate them with the rest of your real sets. Or you can just display them, if you’re more like the Will Ferrell type. Either way, gamers and collectors alike will want to keep their eyes peeled and their imaginations open when Lego Dimensions launches on September 29th, with the starter set bundled with Batman, Gandalf, Wyldstyle and the Batmobile priced at $99.99.
