Throughout gaming, there have been a plethora of different companies that licensed various movie, television, and comic book properties for the sake of making a video game. Yet, none has ever been as successful, creative, or lucrative as the Lego games. The brick building franchise has taken some of the most beloved franchises and gave them a charm and humor we couldn’t have expected. With 17, soon to be 18, games strong one can not deny how popular this series has become. However, some of these titles stand out more than others, with a few games pushing the Lego series to its limits. Others, sadly, just fall back on the tried and true formula with no change or attempt at mixing the game the up. When ranking these titles we didn’t just rely on the core gameplay itself, but how much each entry in the series meant. Many of these titles pushed the Lego games in a new direction, adding more depth and layers beyond hit the bricks as fast as you can. Charm and personality are also a big factor, as many of the jokes and entertainment comes from the quirky retellings of our favorite stories.
That being said, some clearly do it better than others and while voice acting was only introduced halfway into this franchise’s life, it does make a difference. Finally, we will be looking at the massive amount of mini-figures offered in each game and what these actually bring to the table in terms of content or replayability. That all being said, we will only be ranking the actual licensed video games due to the sheer volume of other different Lego games. Given this isn’t the only genre or formula the lego games follow, it’s important to narrow it down to a select grouping. These are the Lego games we could spend hours in and the ones we would rather just stuff away in the closet. A lot of the charm in the LEGO titles has to do with their colorful and fun take on known properties. However, with a compressed story, absolutely lame boss battles, and awful driving mechanics, this is an adventure worth skipping. At least you can build your own levels. Wait, what do you mean I can’t share my creations online!?
LEGO Rock Band offers nothing special and does very little to build upon the concept of a LEGO-based music game. With only one new game mode added, this is basically just a reskinned version of Rock Band and nothing more. Unlike the movie this was inspired by, this cash-in LEGO title lacks all the charm and fun of its cinematic counterpart. With mediocre puzzles and action, only the great level design saves this game from the bottom spot. Unlike some LEGO games before it, LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 just doesn’t innovate or try anything new with the series. It feels stagnant and exceptionally bland, which is a shame given how charming the various cutscenes are. Much like Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7, this is another title that just didn’t bother changing or even refining the series as a whole. The story is told in a more incoherent way and it feels like nothing more than a rushed game. But hey, at least you ride a goat as Jack Sparrow – that’s got to be worth something, right?
The only reason this is higher than the previous Harry Potter entry is due to the game actually trying to refine upon the core mechanics. This was the first title where the AI companions were actually useful and you actually had split screen co-op over sharing a single screen. LEGO The Lord of the Rings is an entertaining adventure for any Tolkien fan. The charm of this game is only enhanced by the addition of the original dialogue from the movies, which was a series first. This does produce the occasional rough patch of audio problems once and awhile, though. Even without voice acting or slick cut scenes, there is something truly endearing about LEGO Indiana Jones. For anyone who’s a fan of the original movies, this certainly will churn up fond memories. Maybe even enough to hide the repetitive gameplay. While not the best in the LEGO games, it certainly isn’t the worst. Though the game treads upon familiar ground, the addition of big open battles and some RTS segments do mix the fun up in refreshing ways.
It’s an okay game that quickly gets overshadowed by the previous LEGO Marvel title. While this title has clearly refined the core gameplay, its lack of anything new is only more glaring considering how far along the series is now. Thankfully the voice overs and faithfulness to the Marvel films makes it a fairly entertaining game, even if it is a bit short on post-game content. One of the first titles in this series, LEGO Batman: The Videogame felt like a step in the right direction by offering fun puzzles, a massive roster of Batman characters, and a totally original story. It may feel more confined than some of the newest games, but it’s hard to deny this DC Comics love letter. An amazing roster of villains and heroes, as well as the introduction of various “suits” your characters wear, helped keep the gameplay interesting. This is one of the best licensed LEGO titles and some of the best use of an original source material’s audio. Blending the fun quirky humor of LEGO with the world of Jurassic Park works perfectly.
Plus, you get to play as a plethora of LEGO Dinosaurs, which is undeniably awesome. Not only was this the first LEGO game to include full voice acting, but also the first to include a completely open world. While it was refined in a later title, there is no doubting just how much of a landmark game this was for the series. The game that started this massive franchise is also one of the best. It was simple, fun, and offered a completely new take to LEGO-based games. Despite its kiddy appearance, there is no doubting that this Star Wars game was for hardcore and new fans alike. It truly is one of the best Star Wars games ever produced. Lego Marvel Super Heroes is what a near perfect LEGO game can look like. With an amazing roster of characters, beautiful open world, engaging story, and unique mechanics, this truly is one of the best LEGO games ever made.Forget Mario and Sonic (for now anyway) – one of the most popular gaming franchises in recent video game history is Lego.
The reason is simple – the games are easy to pick up, great fun to play, and accessible for all ages. And with Lego Jurassic World set to be released in June, it’s high time we built a list of the top ten brick-based video games. A tough challenge indeed. MORE: Lego Jurassic World trailer looks bricking awesome Released on Windows in 1997, Lego Island was the very first Lego game ever made. With no plot as such, players could free roam the colourful island taking on a variety of missions, from delivering pizzas to jet-ski racing. While it’s not dated particularly well, it remains a classic and a springboard for some truly great games. As a child there was something unsatisfying about building an awesome car out of Lego bricks, then not being able to watch it speed around a track, which is why Lego Racers is so brilliant. Essentially the Lego version of Mario Kart, with one key difference – you can build your own car (which has it’s pros and cons).
It’s an old game now, but certainly deserves its place in this list. 8. The Lego Movie video game A Lego video game tie-in of a Lego film – you can’t get more Lego than that! The game closely follows the plot of The Lego Movie, using a colourful world made entirely of Lego bricks, a huge variety of playable characters and a generous smattering of good fun. 7. Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga This is a superb offering that combines both the brilliant LEGO Star Wars and LEGO Star Wars II in a neat package. Released in 2007, the Complete Saga offers higher quality graphics than the originals, as well as a classic soundtrack and a hilarious dose of unique Lego humour. 6. Lego Pirates of the Caribbean After such success with other film-to-bricks-to-videogame adaptations, the franchise moved on to Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean, merging the first four blockbuster films into one convenient game. The complex story may be a little hard to follow as – like others in the franchise – there’s no dialogue, but they capture the pirate world perfectly and the game play is great fun.
5. Lego Harry Potter: Years 1–4 As the name suggests, this title focuses on key moments from the first four Harry Potter years, resulting in a magical game that brings Hogwarts to life. Game developer Traveller’s Tales paid close attention to both the films and books in looks and story, so genuine Potter fans will feel right at home. 4. Lego Lord of the Rings An fun adaptation of Peter Jackson’s iconic trilogy that used genuine dialogue and music from the original films, which took the franchise to a new level. While it condensed the story somewhat, the atmospheric title offered plenty of replay value with a vast world to explore and endless secrets to discover. Released in 2013, the franchise ventured away from the movie adaptations and brought a huge open-world game with an original story to the Wii U. The result was a family-friendly, action-filled sandbox game, which is the closest Lego will come to Grand Theft Auto series (without all the prostitutes, drugs and swearing).