I thoroughly enjoyed Lego Horizon Adventures, a game that lives up to its name. It presents an exaggerated retelling of the events from Horizon Zero Dawn, the inaugural title in Guerrilla’s series of post-apocalyptic open-world adventures, using vibrant Lego bricks and the kind of slapstick humor reminiscent of a lovingly crafted YouTube parody, all enveloped in a straightforward yet occasionally challenging platformer. However, it also stands as an unusual venture by Sony and developer Guerrilla Games, leaving me curious about why the PlayStation authorities decided Horizon should receive a Lego spin-off.
The most peculiar aspect of Lego Horizon Adventures is its take on the world of Horizon, particularly its protagonist, Aloy. She seems somewhat out of place in the otherwise cheerful and vibrant world typical of Lego adaptations. Known for her stoic, determined nature and sometimes brusque demeanor in the Horizon series, Aloy is transformed into a playful character who’s simply delighted to be part of the adventure. While I understand the shift from a serious action RPG to a family-friendly platformer, I was surprised Guerrilla didn’t take the Lego Batman approach of juxtaposing Aloy’s seriousness against a humorous backdrop.
Shedding Aloy’s brooding nature turns Lego Horizon Adventures into a genuine delight. The game effectively lampoons the post-apocalyptic, lore-heavy narrative that fans adore by highlighting how absurd it sounds when explained to someone unfamiliar with the series. I appreciate Guerrilla’s willingness to distill the story of Horizon Zero Dawn to its core components, not taking any of it too seriously. There’s plenty of clever dialogue and comedic antics between shooting Aloy’s blocky bow or wielding Erend’s Lego weapon. It’s easy to forget how charming the characters of Horizon are until you experience these exaggerated versions, which reminded me of my fondness for Aloy and her companions.
Despite having some reservations about how Lego Horizon Adventures amplifies its characters' traits, battling Lego block-constructed robot dinosaurs reveals the game’s underlying vision. Lego Horizon Adventures successfully adapts the concepts of Horizon into the classic Lego game format. Watching Aloy and her friends transform into blocky blades of red grass to stealthily evade enemies was amusing, but it was the precision required to strike foes’ weak points and watch them break apart, as in any Horizon game, where Lego Horizon Adventures truly connected. While it retains the collectible platformer elements typical of most Lego games, and its platforming sections are fairly standard, there’s a clear effort to make it feel authentically like a Horizon game.
While the battles may not match the epic scale and intensity of those in the main Horizon games, the fundamental mechanics from Zero Dawn and Forbidden West are still present. Much of Lego Horizon Adventures involves navigating blocky renditions of Guerrilla’s world, punctuated by encounters with waves of foes that are manageable in one-on-one fights but can become chaotic and challenging when they swarm you. As in other Horizon games, each robot has specific weak points to target for increased damage, but this precision becomes crucial only against higher-level enemies. Otherwise, it’s largely about shooting arrows in an enemy's general direction, though there are enough tools and varied playstyles among characters to keep things interesting. Some of these, like the tripwires reminiscent of the Tripcaster from the main games, are directly lifted from Horizon. However, there are also some unusual additions, like a hot dog stand that hurls explosives within a small area—an amusing but somewhat out-of-place element in a game typically focused on honoring the source material. This identity issue isn’t confined to just the explosive hot dog stand.
While Horizon elements are prominently featured, Lego Horizon Adventures also includes other cross-universe Lego promotions that can be quite jarring. Why can Aloy don Ninjago costumes and partake in other cross-promotional antics? Is this just part of the Lego game experience? Does every franchise exist within a multiverse where properties mingle and overlap with each other? It’s a minor gripe in the larger context, as when Lego Horizon Adventures fully commits to parodying Horizon, it’s at its most enjoyable.
Lego Horizon Adventures
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BACK-OF-THE-BOX QUOTE
“Features both Lego Varl and Lego Erend, my two minifig husbands!”
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TYPE OF GAME
Lego-based platformer that parodies the events of Horizon Zero Dawn.
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LIKED
Genuinely funny, adapts Horizon concepts well into the Lego world.
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DISLIKED
Weird cross-promotion nonsense, more characters could use melee options.
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DEVELOPER
Guerrilla Games and Studio Gobo
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PLATFORMS
PC, PlayStation 5 (played on), Switch.
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RELEASE DATE
November 14, 2024
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PLAYED
~8 hours.
Lego Horizon Adventures stands as a delightful experiment, one that might inspire Sony to venture down this path again if it proves successful. Could this be a new trend for Sony, which has become increasingly risk-averse with its major franchises, to create more Lego parodies of its iconic titles? Perhaps. I’d be thrilled to see something like Lego God of War satirize the dysfunctional father-son relationship between Kratos and Atreus. Horizon is such an unconventional choice for a Lego game that it seems unlikely to be a mere one-off intended to bridge the gap between 2022’s Forbidden West and whatever comes next.
Sony is increasingly focusing on franchise development by expanding its games to other platforms and even into other media like film and television. The skeptic in me might suggest this is a strategy to broaden Horizon and other series into new revenue streams. Horizon already has Lego sets available for purchase, and brand synergy accelerates cash flow faster than you can say “tie-in toy.” At the very least, Lego Horizon Adventures seems like a game crafted with a deep affection for its source material rather than a cynical money grab. Whatever the future holds, that’s something I can confidently say.
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