What Has Been Made Into LEGO Video Games And What We Want To See In The Future

Video Games

Nov 30

LEGO Boba Fett — Image Source: *Brickipedia*

LEGO has been making video games for nearly three decades. From original stories to humorous adaptations of popular franchises, the company has covered a variety of content. Reasonable levels of success have sprung from many of their titles as well, one even hitting award show nomination levels. The history of their games is rich, and the company still has plenty of room to expand its catalog.

The first LEGO video game, titled LEGO Fun To Build, was released in December 1995 for the SEGA Pico, a handheld console shaped like a computer and focused on educational content. From there, most of their games were made for Windows computers and had straightforward concepts, such as the 1997 open-world classic LEGO Island and the 1998 sandbox game LEGO Creator. The company eventually began branching out to other platforms and consoles as they developed new original games. From Bionicle to Ninjago to consistent racing, puzzle, and adventure games, LEGO has a firmly established history of producing original content.

RELATED:

Featured

'LEGO Star Wars' Finds A Home On YouTube

LEGO has had a fair few licensed collaborations over the years as well. The first was LEGO Creator: Harry Potter, a PC game released in 2001; this was followed in 2002 by a game focusing on The Chamber of Secrets specifically. The Harry Potter theme popped up several times over the years, but not very often. Other collaborations include Indiana Jones, Marvel’s Avengers, several DC titles, The Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Jurassic World.

One of the most successful collaborations LEGO did with a property was the LEGO Star Wars series. The first installment, LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game, was released in 2005 for the PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Xbox, with gameplay focusing on the Prequel Trilogy. A follow-up focusing on the Original Trilogy was eventually released, as well as a compilation of the two. Installments to the series were released over the years. The most recent release is LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga in 2022, which focused on all films under the Skywalker Saga umbrella; this game received several award nominations and won one. From the gaming angle, this collaboration brought the company a lot of success, not to mention the multitude of building sets and the television content that exists as well.

There are plenty of routes for LEGO to take regarding future games. They are still actively putting out original content, not just adaptations, but some of their classic titles haven’t been present for a few years. The last Bionicle game was released in 2016 and was only available for mobile devices; the last time a Bionicle game was made for a console or PC platform was in 2006. Seeing a comeback in the games for such an iconic title would be an exciting direction for the company, especially if there is more variety in the platforms on which they are released.

LEGO doesn’t shy away from licensed collaborations, and there are plenty of avenues to go for fresh content. Some of these could be smaller-scale games. How to Train Your Dragon is a fun franchise focusing on a Viking village and its evolving relationship with dragons. This IP started as a book series and now has several movies and television shows. A LEGO game wouldn’t have to be a one-to-one movie adaptation; the story could take place as a mission or as several missions instead. Hiccup, being the son of the village chief and then later the chief himself, lends a fair bit of plot potential for a mini-story. Tron has had a comeback in recent years with the continued development of the third film, Tron: Ares, and a newer Disney World ride. Similar to How to Train Your Dragon, the game wouldn’t necessarily need to be a one-to-one adaptation; a series of missions or, in this case, minigames would work just as well. With the subgames from the arcade cabinet version of this IP, there are pre-established avenues for a LEGO game to go.

LEGO Minecraft — Image Source: *Minecraft Wiki*

Minecraft is the current best-selling video game of all time, with more than 300 million copies sold. There are several iterations of the game, including Java, Bedrock, and Windows, as well as several spin-off games. One of these spin-offs is Minecraft: Story Mode, a point-and-click style game that tells a story in the form of seasons and episodes. This game shows proof that Minecraft can be adapted into a structured game from the original open-world sandbox; whether LEGO adapted the story for a new game with a brick-themed spin or created their own story in collaboration with Mojang Studios, there is a lot of potential for a nifty game to be made.

There was an unreleased crossover game featuring Lara Croft and Indiana Jones in 2005; the eventual outcome was that a solo game, LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures, was released while Tomb Raider was cut from the game. Seeing a LEGO game solely featuring Lara Croft would be an interesting creative direction, as the Tomb Raider title is iconic on its own, and the main character is a fairly popular one.

LEGO Horizon Adventure — Image Source: *PlayStation*

LEGO is a highly successful company with a hand in a multitude of mediums, one of which is video games. They have been able to produce their own stories and takes on certain genres, and they have had a fair few licensed collaborations over time as well. With such a firmly established background, LEGO has the opportunity to hone its craft further and experiment with new content through a variety of avenues. The immediate future of the games is unclear, though in the meantime, classics such as LEGO Star Wars are available to play while you wait for updates. If you’re antsy to break out some new bricks on your console, the Horizon spin-off LEGO Horizon Adventures is now available for the PlayStation 5, Switch, and PC.

READ NEXT:

Featured