To the great surprise of no one, the Lego games are finally going there and, well, not quite back again in Lego The Hobbit. The game follows the first two films of the Hobbit movie trilogy, giving us a chance to lead Bilbo and company all the way from the comforts of Bag End to the dwarf home beneath the Lonely Mountain. It’s a fun journey to be sure, but confusing at times, and not entirely satisfying. Lego The Hobbit clings to the series’ standard combat and exploration, but, as usual, a handful of welcome twists make things a bit more interesting this time around. A few different rhythm-based challenges, an item creation system tied to resource collection, and the “find the missing piece” mini-game from February’s Lego Movie game make The Hobbit more than just a button masher, although it is still mostly just that. Thankfully, the environmental challenges and enemies are sophisticated enough to keep the action engaging. In comparison to the roster in last year’s Lego Marvel game, many of the characters in the Hobbit feel like, at best, minor variations of each other.
It certainly doesn’t help that they all sort of look alike, and it can get a little confusing to tell the dwarves apart. But you’ll need to pay attention, as each dwarf has one unique ability, like Bombur’s ability to turn into a bouncing platform or Bofur’s mining power, that needs to be applied to the narrowly scripted environmental challenges. Chip the Glasses and Crack the Plates The extended action sequences and sometimes slapstick humor of The Hobbit films make a good fit for a Lego game. Honestly, there’s always been something a little disjointed about watching Cyclops wreck the X-Mansion or Luke Skywalker destroy Yoda’s house, but seeing the Dwarves go to town demolishing absolutely everything in Bag End or Rivendell makes perfect sense. When you see them literally start smashing Bilbo’s cupboards and Elrond’s tables, it just feels right. From the plate juggling in Bilbo’s kitchen to the golden toilets in Smaug’s hoard, there are also loads of humorous little touches that keep the charm going.
Lego The Hobbit also looks beautiful. The settings are very convincing, with loads of little details and plenty of suitably moody lighting. The world is filled with fantastic creatures and monsters, and developer Traveller’s Tales has done a great job adapting the giant eagles, goblin kings, and dragons to the standard Lego models. The only real problem with the graphics is that the more realistic color palette and sheer density of some of the scenes can make it very difficult to see who you are or what you’re doing. The sometimes inconsistent camera angles don’t help things much. More than once, I just found myself just attacking and jumping at random in the hopes that I would eventually figure out where I was. To Dungeons Deep and Caverns Old The main story clocks in at about six hours, but there’s much more to do and see in the world once you’ve completed the main missions. Each mission unlocks events around the map, and you’ll be able to spend hours digging into the recipes, errands, and encounters around Middle-earth.
A campfire system lets you change the time of day to open up new events, and you can always call on a giant eagle to get you from one end of the map to the other. While most of the missions are fairly predictable, I was impressed with the Hobbit’s take on the solo sections. For Riddles in the Dark, Bilbo’s joined by a dazed goblin, for instance. There are also some tremendous set pieces where the characters are facing off against the dragon, or climbing up the body of a very active and very angry stone giant. Unfortunately, the story sort of goes by in a flash. Last year’s Lego Marvel showed what Travelers Tales can do with an original story, so The Hobbit’s abbreviated, sometimes scattered storytelling feels like a step back. There are narrative bits tying the missions together, but the whole game presumes that you already know the source material well enough to fill in the gaps yourself. (You probably do, but if you’re playing with kids it might not be clear to them.) It’s particularly troublesome to track the events between the spider attack and the dwarves’ arrival at Lake Town.
The game also ends where the second movie ends, which left me wanting more – and not in a good way. Lego The Hobbit won’t surprise fans of the Lego series, but the new gameplay systems add just enough complexity to keep things interesting. New events and mining opportunities make exploration of the open world almost as fun as the main missions. The storytelling presumes you already know the source material by heart, which means things are sometimes a bit disjointed, and the game, like the movies it’s based on, ends at an awkward place. But like almost all the Lego games, this is a journey worth taking. Sign In or Join to save for later Platforms: Mac, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Wii U, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Windows, Xbox 360, Xbox One What parents need to know Parents Need to Know About our ratings and privacy evaluation Lego Lord of the Rings The LEGO Movie Videogame Top advice and articles What parents and kids say
3DS, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One Mixed or average reviews Mixed or average reviews- based on 88 Ratings More Details and Credits » See all 47 Critic Reviews users found this helpful This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. See all 13 User Reviews LEGO The Hobbit - Launch Trailer LEGO The Hobbit - Buddy Up Trailer Lego the Hobbit: The Video Game (2014) Video game released 8 April 2014 See full cast & crew » Do you have any images for this title? Rest of cast listed alphabetically: See full cast » Bilbo Baggins, a simple Hobbit of the Shire is a Hobbit who doesn't like adventures accompanys 13 Dwarves and the Wizard Gandalf on a Quest to reclaim the Dwarves home of Erebor from the Dragon Smaug. Gandalf also has his own side quest regarding a familiar Shadow that is taking shape in an abandoned fortress called Dol Guldur.See All (8) » Add content advisory for parents »