Lego Voyagers' building is better when you – and a friend – are the blocks

James and Mark ceramic a thing

Despite the expansive consciousness of wanderlust dripping disconnected its title, Lego Voyagers casts you and a pal not arsenic minifig explorers (or adjacent the tiny brickfolk of Lego Builder's Journey), but arsenic humble 1x1 blocks. You’ll get 1 oculus each, and beryllium thankful for it. Nonetheless, Voyagers inactive wants you to task retired and rotation your mode done its integrative wilderness, with immoderate airy puzzling, Split Fiction-style cooperative mischief, and gathering – usually with your ain heads arsenic the cornerstones – on the way. Last week, up of its Gamescom showing, Mark and I channeled our interior operation materials to effort it out.

James: As a concept, Lego Voyagers is much intriguing to maine than erstwhile Lego games for 2 reasons. One, you play arsenic an existent Lego piece, not Darth Vader oregon Batman oregon immoderate different humanoid quality that’s been digitally made to look similar they rolled retired of a Danish artifact factory. There’s a humbleness determination that I appreciate. Second, due to the fact that you tin lone physique caller structures by clicking yourself onto different bricks and dragging them around, usually without immoderate precision whatsoever, it reminds maine overmuch much of however I played with Lego arsenic a young'un. Specifically, dumping a instrumentality of loose, assorted bricks onto the carpet and conscionable smashing pieces unneurotic from the pile.

Mark: Yeah, I came successful wondering whether Voyagers would person overmuch to connection erstwhile that archetypal novelty of being a ceramic wore off, and without the cosmopolitan gully that is Lego Yoda’s iconic decease scream. It was a pleasant astonishment successful that regard. I did consciousness the gathering successful the demo we played was a spot constricted to smaller structures that assistance you ascent oregon traverse a gap, truthful I’ll beryllium funny to spot however galore bricks you’re mashing unneurotic by the second stages of the afloat thing. However, arsenic you say, the gathering we did was a batch much freeform than conscionable holding 1 fastener truthful Han Solo assembles a forklift.

Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Annapurna Interactive

James: I’d beryllium good up for a Lego Katamari, churning up and absorbing the environment’s bricks until we’ve formed history’s largest bare feet hazard. Realistically I uncertainty you’ll ever beryllium capable to drawback unneurotic much than a fistful astatine a time, but I inactive similar Voyager’s gathering to that of Builders’ Journey. That was precise neat and tidy, wherever your godlike cursor could prime up and spot bricks from anyplace connected the screen. There’s a shambolic, but overmuch much characterful prime to however our small cubes would flop astir with bulkier pieces attached, and I deliberation that unpredictability of question made astir of the gathering challenges entertaining. If not especially... well, challenging. Don’t enactment similar you didn’t grin erstwhile we Voltron’d into a large instrumentality and rod vaulted up a cliff, Mark.

Mark: I’d decidedly hold with that. That unpredictability plays into the imaginable to muck about, which is ever an indispensable prime successful these sorts of games, nary substance whether kids oregon adult-shaped kids are astatine the controls. One of the champion moments of the demo was erstwhile we recovered those panels which could beryllium triggered to flip from horizontal to vertical erstwhile 1 of america attached to the close spot of them. Their quality to flick 1 of america up into the aerial proved a platforming tool, but I could spot folks spending 20 minutes taking successful the elemental joyousness of pinging each different into the void whenever they tally crossed them. Stuff similar that gives slapping sackpeople successful LittleBigPlanet a tally for its money, and helps springiness the crippled immoderate amusive character.

Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Annapurna Interactive

James: You’re right, it was 1 of the champion moments erstwhile you weren’t awarded a Steam 'cheevo for flipping maine into the oversea but I was for doing it to you. Justice prevails.

What’s the support beingness of small interactions similar that, though? Voyagers does spell rather hard connected the relationship angle, giving you tiny 1x1 chairs to unbend unneurotic in, oregon a random seesaw truthful you tin bask a fewer moments of palling astir for its ain sake. But it’s a puzzler astatine bosom and a child-friendly 1 astatine that, truthful assuming we can’t expect immoderate earnestly taxing gathering conundrums, volition those moments of purely convivial mucking-about beryllium capable to prolong crusty aged adults similar us?

Mark: I’ll beryllium funny to spot however the wide ambiance holds up successful that airy too. While Voyagers’ elemental Lego islands are draped successful ruined tech, pipes, and trees, 1 of the drawbacks of being a Lego crippled is that environments bash conscionable extremity up looking similar Lego. That’s not a large hangup by immoderate agelong of the imagination, but it does mean Voyagers doesn’t look arsenic visually unsocial oregon striking arsenic different chill puzzlers, similar Monument Valley. That mightiness really assistance successful its entreaty to kids, though. I liked the understated and dreamy vibes of the soundtrack. There were a fewer moments successful the demo, specified arsenic erstwhile we hopped connected the swings oregon seesaw, erstwhile it piped up noticeably again aft neatly blending into the inheritance during the platforming. That’s the motion of a well-balanced ambiance.

Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Annapurna Interactive

James: Woah woah woah. You didn’t similar however it looked similar Lego? That’s precisely what I’d privation from a Lego crippled – spot the aforementioned level messiness nostalgia. Except it does item however you can’t really usage your player-controlled ceramic to wrench isolated the scenery beyond precise circumstantial pieces, usually with a circumstantial puzzle solution successful mind. Why are immoderate bits breakable and others aren’t, etcetera. Again, I wouldn’t beryllium amazed if that’s to constrictive things down for youngster minds.

I besides enjoyed the airy OST, arsenic good arsenic the information that you person a dedicated chirping fastener that makes your ceramic emit cute doo-de-doo sounds connected command. I noticed you didn’t ever chirp back, though. Are we not friends? After each that swinging we did?

Mark: Look, I cognize being a spot nonplussed astir the Lego crippled conscionable looking similar Lego is akin to pointing astatine a leopard and going 'Eww, that’s rather spotty.' Maybe I’m conscionable taking retired my vexation astatine ne'er having got astir to afloat gathering the large ceramic crane I got for my sixth birthday. Also, atrocious for not doo-de-dooing backmost astatine you connected a regular capable basis. I’ll beryllium honest, this being the archetypal duo playing league I’ve done for a due preview with a coworker I spot each week, I was locked the fuck successful connected not being a full letdown erstwhile it came to helping america keeping sticking 1 ceramic successful beforehand of the other.

Anyway, I’m gladsome we gave Voyagers a go. Doo-de-doo.

James: That's better.