Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Release: November 12, 2013 Games geared specifically for young girls typically get very little attention from mainstream media. Pony-raising games and friendship simulations just don’t lend themselves to headlines the way monsters and superheroes do. That, and I suspect few adult game critics are capable of stomaching something like Barbie Dream House Party, the alarmingly doll-shaped characters of which are so relentlessly focused on appearance that they could lead even an adult male with a full beard to a mild case of body dysmorphia. But as the papa of an eight-year-old girl who loves to play games, I end up seeing a lot of what’s available in this category. And according to my kid, TT Games’ new Lego Friends is the bee’s knees. After spending a good chunk of time watching her play – and playing a fair bit myself – I think I understand what she likes about it. It might lack the humour that’s become a hallmark of other Lego adventures, but it’s a game filled with activities that make sense to and feel like they are made specifically for her.
It hits the sweet spot for single-digit-age girls – and does so without delivering any damage to their self-image or making them want to go to the mall and empty their parents’ bank accounts on junk jewelry at Claire’s. Though they may want to head to the Lego store to grab a new construction set. Based on Lego’s popular line of building toys aimed at girls, Lego Friends puts players in the shoes of a kid in Heartlake City looking to make some new friends as she explores her neighbourhood, school, Main Street, and other areas of town. It has some of the basic elements of TT Games’ other Lego adventures. Kids collect Lego studs that are used as currency, and there are a number of things that can be built out of blocks found lying on the ground. Your daughter will also run across several familiar Lego Friends models – like the café and pet store – that she may have actually built herself. But unlike other Lego games – such as Lego Star Wars, Lego Batman, and even Lego City Undercover – there’s no fighting, no smashing of everything around you, no painful looking pranks or pratfalls.
Instead, the focus is on exploring, helping others, and – most importantly – building friendships with the complete cast of Lego Friends girls. Kids will spend a bit of time chatting with other characters to find out what’s troubling them – they may need something found, built, or delivered, or require assistance completing a more involved task at school or in a shop – and then set about doing it. It’s all very open-ended; kids can do whatever they like, whenever they want to do it. What’s more, the things kids can do are surprisingly diverse and stretch beyond stereotypical “girl game” activities. In school, they can take part in science projects involving volcanoes and mixing chemicals, run outside to play soccer mini-games, or put up signs in the halls. Head downtown and they can build a bike, take control of a turtle and go on a swim for treasure in a fountain, or step into a music studio and start banging around on instruments. These simulations are all very simple – they’re meant to appeal to young elementary schoolers, after all – but they’re immediately accessible and nudge girls towards activities that go beyond just playing dress-up (though they can do a bit of that too, when they visit the clothing shop on Main Street – all things in moderation, as my mom used to say).
If diversity is key to Lego Friends‘ appeal to young girls, so, too, is the designers’ decision to limit the length of the game’s activities. For example, my daughter digs pet sims that let her clean, train, and outfit animals. But she inevitably grows bored of their seemingly endless repetition. In contrast, Lego Friends‘ pet shop activities last only a few minutes. Just scrub up a few pups, then take them out on an obstacle course for a few runs. That’s all kids need do to achieve their friendship objective, keep the story moving along, and free themselves to find and try something completely different. And if they really like a particular activity they’re free to keep at it. Many mini-games are available in multiple levels that slowly increase in difficulty, and you’ll earn more studs for continuing on after completing the bare minimum. Given my job, my daughter gets to play a lot of games. The titles she’s tried this year alone range from Skylanders: Swap Force and Disney Infinity to Zoo Tycoon and Paws & Claws: Pampered Pets Resort 3D.
She likes a lot of these games. But she’s crowned Lego Friends her top game of 2013. I think it’s because it’s the one to which she can best relate. She’s a very social girl who likes to make friends. She’s conscientious around others and always willing lend a hand. She loves ponies and pets and music and science. And Lego is pretty much her favourite toy. It’s basically a simulation of her life, or as close to it as she’s likely to find in a game. Lego Friends may not be the sort of game you steal away to play yourself after your daughter goes to sleep. And it’s not one you can play together with her for a shared and meaningful family gaming experience. But if you want to buy her a game that’s clearly meant just for her, a game that, as a parent, you can feel okay about having her play on her own or in the back seat of the car, not worrying that it will tarnish her developing brain with mindless violence or make her obsess over her appearance, Lego Friends is worth consideration.
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