The LEGO Movie Videogame (Wii U) Review

The gameplay is the same as every other in the franchise, and if you've seen The LEGO Movie you'll know what to expect here as it follows its story beat for beat, with Emmet and Wildstyle progressing through stages based around each location from the film, smashing up the environment and building new creations to progress. Furthermore, the same familiar mechanics that are through every LEGO title are here.

There's a hub area with links to each of the stages, and there are 15 stages to play through, each adapted from major locations and moments from the movie, and each filled with special blocks that require the abilities of specific characters to overcome - Emmet has his drill to break through cracked LEGO blocks, Wildstyle can high-jump, and Batman can use his signature grapple gun. These stages are also stuffed with plenty of collectibles to track down and characters to unlock, most of which require revisiting in Free Play mode after a level has been completed to be able to use any character and their specific special abilities.

Just like the movie, the cast of playable characters is rounded out by plenty of familiar characters from other franchises and historical events, and following TT's previous titles, there is a considerable cast of characters to unlock - 101 in total! The Justice League, Metal Beard, William Shakespeare, even Vitruvius and Lord Business. The problem with adapting the story directly into a game like this, is that it's balanced well for a 90-minute movie, but for a game it needs to last a good deal longer than that, and so it either needs some filler to pad out the story or it has to be stretched into lasting longer.

Both methods have strengths and both have flaws. TT has gone with the padding and the flaws of this choice are pretty evident, with stages that feel over inflated and a story that really drags at points. There are still plenty of great levels and moments across, though. For example, Cloud Cuckoo land is faithfully recreated in its psychedelic goodness, including the ability to go on a Unikitty rampage. Old West World is a particular highlight too, with armies of robotic enemies and fast-paced segments, and all of these stages can, of course, be taken on in the usual drop-in/drop-out, couch co-op.

As with every LEGO game, there are some extra mechanics on top of the familiar ones. For example, each of the regular characters require instructions to build LEGO creations, whereas master builders get a new type of analogue flicking mini-game. Considering the LEGO Movie had such a great jump to the big screen, you'd expect that there would be a shared style between the game graphics and the movie cut-scenes. There sadly isn't. While LEGO Dimensions managed to deliver a seamless transition between FMVs from the movie and gameplay, this is noticeably separate. Similarly, while the voice actors do a great job, when the game uses audio snippets from the movie, it's very noticeable.