How TT’s lego games grapple with the triumphs and failures of formula iteration.

As the year concludes and the critical roundups ensue, so too comes the time for the ubiquitous 7’s assigned to the lego game series. Overlooked? Perhaps. They’re a series of games consigned to the collective nostalgic annals. Recent entries are so frequently lambasted for remaining true to an ailing formula. Each subsequent title, which saw a yearly release schedule up until the critically middling lego incredibles game which currently sits at a 74 on Metacritic. Not too shabby though huh? Yet in the wider discourse which followed it received, as other recent entires have, an outpour of scathing assessments regarding formulaic design and ageing tropes. The two elements which seem to be the root cause for this retrospective malign. Though I, as I’m sure you do too, hold fond recollections of my innumerable hours spent with TT games’ Lego star wars the complete saga and even the precursive Batman and ensuing lego Indiana Jones. I’ve gotta ask though – when did this fondness sour? And is it we that are now viewing a nostalgic touchstone with a critical viewpoint? Or was it childhood enjoyment that has simply passed us by.

The aforementioned formula of the lego games is founded upon what I view as four core design tenements, these being: an emphasis upon coop play, puzzle solving, exploration, and the retelling of stories and iconic cinematic moments imbued with legos charm and humour. These tenements are present in each and every mainline lego game as published by TT. Whose fledgling beginnings can be traced back to the birth of the formula as seen in lego star wars, released in 2005 and later bundled with its sequel Lego Star Wars 2 in which many recall as their fondest memories of Lego games in the bastion of nostalgia Lego Star Wars the complete saga – released in 2007. These games, through their simple presentation, charming recreation of iconic scenes and the possibilities of playing with friends through these films seem to almost posit this game as the figurehead of capturing the joy of a player. I mean we all share those memories, be it with friends, cousins or even alone. The game catered to all through its facets of creative expression, replayability and charm. All of which never cease to be entertaining, even if the gameplay, by comparison to the modern titles at least, is inherently simplistic in its nature. Nostalgia is one potent drug, and I feel that this truth is often overlooked when the foggy haze of those nostalgic specs clouds our vision.

Indeed, in these initial games were where TT found triumph with their formula and began to iterate upon it in further titles. Lego Batman and Lego Indiana Jones were released in the following year of 2008. The adaptations of which tasked the design team with ensuring that which was cemented in their star wars titles, must prove itself to be malleable. It is one thing to imbue a title with charm, but just how does that charm translate to other IP’s? Well, though undeniably indistinct through their inputs, with each interactive choice being assigned to the same buttons and the flow of combat is nearly as indistinct along with it. Yet, mild permutations can be seen here. The allure of Batman lies in bringing the abilities of and the superheroes themselves to life. Paired with the notorious rogue’s gallery that the Batman universe beholds. Whereas Indiana Jones revolves around a more combat-heavy focus of dispatching enemies with the newly-introduced grappling mechanics and an emphasis placed upon a more practical approach to its puzzle solving. This duo of concepts were moulded in a manner that would seem them being succinctly incorporated into the Batman games too. While each is distinct in its nature, the aforementioned titles did little in terms of demonstrable innovations. For each stride made it is negated by an equal step back due to its flaws. Indiana Jones faced the challenge of a rather sparse array of characters to work with. Dwarfed by its predecessor Star wars, with its vibrant tapestry ranging from the outright bizarre (looking at you Gonk droid) to the iconic designs of its franchise. Batman was where critics began to take note that a design formula had been established. With Indiana Jones also being greeted upon release by a mix of praise and ambivalence from the critics. Batman received what would later become the recurring plague for the lego games in the critical landscape, the ubiquitous 7’s. 

(NOT YET PROOF READ) The following year saw the release of Lego rock band, receiving largely mixed reviews with many citing it as nothing more than a shallow aesthetic differentiation upon the rock band formula. TT now found themselves becoming victims of conforming to the genre they dared broach, rather than injecting their archetypal charm into it, thus becoming a copycat as opposed to a game with their usual appeal. A stagnation in their approach was exacerbated by the rather conceptually stunted lego Indiana Jones 2. Seeing both a reduction of scale in its level design and the inclusion of what appears to be futile gesturing toward an open world approach – the game didn’t allow itself to commit to this. What resulted was a series of miniature open world hub areas acting as vignettes of each Indiana Jones film. The player could progress with swift resolve through each of these amalgamations depicting the films most iconic landscapes. And whilst this was merely a mild permutation upon a stagnating design approach. Upon reflection it would seem that the sequel failed, almost wholly, in what it aimed to capture. Though I find the manner in which the ensuing title expanded upon these shortcomings to re-contextualise this design choice entirely. Gone were the minute approximations, now came the time for a leap into the deep end. How could TT games capture the grandeur of Hogwarts in Lego form?

Lego Harry Potter years 1-4 has proven in retrospect to be a seminal title for developer TT games and their commitment to sculpting their formula in order to encapsulate the chosen IP. Precursive titles did little to influence their approach to design within this game. Elements of combat and hands-on puzzle solving were transfigured, pun intended, into a hands-off approach with an emphasis placed upon combat being shifted toward a largely pacifist approach revolving around spell casting. Despite its severe shift in design focus, though those aforementioned tenements remain, this is the first signs of true, demonstrable permutations upon their established formula. TT had approached the translation of the Harry Potter IP with the inevitable task of capturing Hogwarts in their game. Given their initial gestures made towards open world design, this proved to be, at first, an insurmountable challenge. What had previously been minuscule iterations now asked of them to take a leap of faith. So TT, in their measured resolve, greeted the trial that this presented. Just how exactly did this turn out though?

Lego Harry Potter years 1-4 saw an undeniably faithful rendering of Hogwarts in its entirety. There were some sparse gestures towards the surrounding areas of Hogsmeade, the Quidditch stadium and the Hogwarts grounds themselves. With each area proving itself to be dynamic, altered by the context of the year that the player was currently progressing through. Environmental alterations, though subtle, are perceptible here and would become a series mainstay in later entries. In year one the player can stumble across Quirrell, in year two they can explore new areas once previously locked with the new feature of spell acquisition. Years three to four sees the sky becomes morose where once it was shimmering, dementors now haunt the grounds and the students from the international schools of magic begin to appear. Each year brings with it further expansions upon the gameplay and its explorative elements, thus imbuing the player with a sense of learning and of being a student. The aesthetic alterations arguably do more for immersion than even later entries hazarded to try. Whilst the worlds became larger, both Harry Potter titles prove that scope does not always equal in measure to immersion. At the time these subtle changes oft passed me by, in retrospect I view this as a pretty demonstrable stride considering how enclosed the prior hub worlds were. Barnett college, the Batcave and Mos Eisley cantina, though equally beloved by fans, pale in comparison to the vibrancy and immersion on display here.

Yet the innovation did not halt there. Further strides were made with the games sequel which saw an expanded open world. Elements of London, scenes from Harry’s  journey in the death hallows part one and the enhancements in graphical fidelity and lighting systems for Hogwarts and its surrounding grounds worked in tandem to strengthen what was an already immersive experience. Straying from the Potter franchise, TT began to experiment with their formula as they adapted the initial two seasons of Lucas’ and Filoni’s animated series the Clone wars. In order to meet their IP’s increased focus upon the tribulations and politics of war they added in RTS-style ground battles. Though it’s no Civilisation or even Halo Wars in its complexity, it features design pillars utilised in the RTS genre of base capture. There was a form of RTS-lite on show here, with elements of unit compilation and acquisition along with timed segments and vehicle gameplay. Other innovations made throughout this era of 2011 through to 2012 titles, saw the release of 4 new lego titles – TT had gotten busy. The two aforementioned entries along with Lego Lord of the rings, allowing TT to further solidify their capabilities of adapting mature, dramatic themes and scenes into the lego format, sieved through their lego themed gags. Whilst Lego Batman 2 saw the initial implementation of voice acting in a lego title and an open world hub with an increased scope of design, encompassing the entirety of Gotham city, along with newly introduced flight mechanics.

Though for TT, The inevitable byproduct of their success brought with it demands of sequels and further entries into the series. As popularity of the lego games began to soar, with it came more games to quench the thirst players had accumulated. TT now faced a different issue. Having found themselves in the cyclical brutality of yearly releases, a mire which, for any development team, will eventually take its toll. Inevitably with the increasing abundance of titles that came our way, the cracks in their design formula grew increasingly apparent. Though success was found with the perfect fit for lego products, the short-lived toys to life genre and the 2015 title Lego Dimensions, critics and audiences alike were keen to note that whilst aesthetically dissimilar, each level pack brought with it familiar, unaltered gameplay.

The lego games continued their yearly release with numerous mobile and handheld ports throughout the duration of the 2010’s, nearing a degree of oversaturation. Though each title released to the ubiquitous 7’s from critics and audiences alike, they did little to solidify their own identity, instead merging with one another. With the permutations waning in visibility and development time becoming more compressed, TT began to show the signs of a developer mired in their own success. Now they had become a developer who conformed to, yet never surpassed player demand. It was an assurance that they would continue to deliver acceptable titles which did little to innovate upon prior entries. DC supervillains, released in 2018, did see praise from players and critics, largely in part due to its monolithic cast of voice actors ranging from Clancy Brown, Mark Hamill and Nolan North. It was a tapestry of voice acting’s finest, yet its flagship innovation as seen in its marketing was the promise of a user created character who was to be used in the game’s story levels. Though our character was silent, uninteresting and proved to do little in terms of altering the formulaic nature of the game’s level design. Though control over and customisation of a unique character proved to be enough to draw some back towards the games, it seemed not enough to penetrate the mire of mediocrity which TT had become known for.

With TT now finding themselves at a crossroads after the critical and financial success of the 2021 title the Skywalker saga, an adaptation which encompasses all 9 mainline star wars films including fully explorable hub worlds and vehicular elements in space. The game is a culmination of every lesson learned over the last decade by the developer. It is akin to Elden Ring in its nature, okay maybe not on that level, but metaphorically akin, whereby the most recent entry could simply not exist without the developer learning from the success and failings of its prior entries. Though I have seen an uptick in chatter online from people who still hold the complete saga in greater esteem, declaring the Skywalker saga to ‘not be the same’. I can sympathise somewhat with this point of view. As having played both games recently I can state with safe assurance that the complete saga possesses more replayability due to the variation and the encompassing feeling of its levels. Call it nostalgia, call it reminiscence and though the game faced limitations when it came to the animation of the figures, with Lego’s designs at the time possessing a more simplistic rendering of the Star Wars figures. By proxy this means that cutscenes proved to be an unviable choice when attempting to recapture cinematic moments, thus this was achieved largely through gameplay, whereas the Skywalker saga feels reliant upon its cutscenes to convey the charm once seen in the levels themselves. Whilst the Skywalker saga’s definitive roster along with its open world makes for a game that my younger self could have only fantasised about. The question still remains; is there validity in the old outshining the new or is it merely our own nostalgic shades which tinge our viewpoint?

Nostalgia holds weight, far more so than any flaws a game could possibly hold. I recurrently find myself forgiving flaws in media which I love (looking at you godzilla films) and yet when I experience new properties and experiences which far outshine those of my childhood or ones which I maintain a connection to I find that they leave little impact upon me or at worse I forego fresh experiences in favour of traipsing back to the old. The equity of nostalgia is a currency to not regard lightly. The rarity of the lego gaming experience factors into this somewhat, for within our minds these games were an embryonic medium at the time we first experienced them a la The complete saga through to Lego Harry Potter. There were no permutations of which we perceived, no formula mentioned in the critical zeitgeist and our childhood recollections prove to overpower much of our critical minds. Nostalgic attachment paired with the abundance of the titles in recent years proves that which is new and that which is old act in antithesis to one another, the new informs feelings of the old and the old is a domain of the mind in which all glimmers, where the sun never sets and the Complete Saga retains its place as the king of the hill.

To merely brand the Lego series as an ailing formula proves a rather unfair assessment to TT games’ efforts to innovate. Have we, as the vocal playerbase, now merely outgrown these titles and the gameplay that they offer? I do firmly remain true to nostalgia’s influence upon these games merely devolving into formula driven experiences yet to not assess TT’s own willingness to abide by the cyclicality of yearly releases would also be facetious of me. For the developer has found what works and has proven that they are more than willing to learn from their mistakes and sculpt their formula to encompass the translation of an IP in the most faithful way. This belief I am sure will remain individualised though, as nostalgic attachment will overpower critical assessment. We all wish to leave our childhood memories unspoiled, it is only in retrospect that we can look past the flaws and see the willingness of a developer to iterate if not evolve upon each permutation they create. If they are but ripples in the pool of formula, each one is carefully measured, each one unique, each one worthy of praise to some extent. TT games have not ruefully tarmacked the garden of our child, I think we have merely grown up. The titles we once adored are no longer catering towards us. Vocal as we are, with the uptick in retrospectives decrying the blasphemous approach of the latest games by TT. It all proves rather futile in the end. I understand that nostalgia can be one hell of a drug, maybe its just time for us all to kick the habit and move on to other titles?