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I will never get tired of saying that we need more co-op games these days. And I’m not talking about the ones that only involve explosions, shooting, and killing zombies. I’m referring to the more peaceful ones with puzzles and challenges that encourage teamwork between players. Fortunately, that’s precisely what LEGO Voyagers offers. After playing a short demo with another player who took up a blocky form to help me build bridges, stairs, and launch myself into the air, LEGO Voyagers has all the elements to be a solid (excuse the pun) and memorable co-op adventure.
A Gorgeous Blocky Adventure
At the beginning of this year, Split Fiction presented us with one of the most memorable and heartwarming 2-player co-op experiences of the year. After that, however, the 2-player gaming department has been lacking. We’ve had a few chaotic cooperative games, such as Peak, and many focused on shooting, but another one that focuses on atmosphere and puzzle-solving had yet to arrive โ until now.
LEGO Voyagers features two friends, shaped as LEGO pieces, looking for a way to rescue a spaceship. The demo shows the beginning of this voyage. The two LEGO bricks are watching the spaceship take off, but it goes wrong, and the friendly couple decide to go off on an adventure. There wasn’t combat at all during the short demo, and it all focused on showing the puzzle-solving and exploration systems, which have vastly improved since LEGO Builder’s Journey.
You can jump, tumble, and snap your character into other LEGO pieces. You’ll often do the latter to bring different pieces to create a new path or even launch your fellow player into the air to reach a new spot. I never thought that becoming a LEGO brick would be so engaging. For instance, one of the puzzles my partner and I faced had us cross a gap by building an improvised bridge with long LEGO pieces. The controls are easy to grasp, with the pieces snapping to any surface with studs and allowing you to move with them until you find the perfect spot to place them. Other puzzles involved catapulting each other to further places to bring more pieces to open a new path or lowering structures to reach higher areas. When things go right, the gameplay is reminiscent of something like 2017’s acclaimed co-op puzzler Snipperclips.
Building a Beautiful Atmosphere, One Brick at a Time
The most impressive part of the LEGO Voyagers demo, however, was the atmosphere. One would think that because it is a LEGO game, the visuals would not stand out, but they do. The way the game renders its objects, accompanied by its gorgeous lighting effects and animations, makes LEGO Voyagers a visual treat. Furthermore, everything is crafted with LEGO, and it’s remarkable to see how cliffs, broken down structures, houses, and vegetation are made with the iconic bricks. It provides an unmatched atmosphere that draws you into this immersive blocky world, where it’s only you, your friend, and the next puzzle ahead of you.
Another thing that helps build the atmosphere is the lack of words and dialogue, which might be strange to say in a co-op game. LEGO Voyagers is all about creating a connection with your partner, and since I played with no voice chat whatsoever, I felt as if I was the actual in-game brick. All I had to communicate with the other person was the melodious sound my brick made by pressing a button and jumping around to show them I had found a path. Of course, the fact that puzzles are engaging yet not too difficult to solve helps, as there was never a moment of frustration in this wordless adventure.
Overall, LEGO Voyagers looks quite promising and has all the potential to be a memorable co-op adventure to play with a friend, family members, or any other gamers craving puzzles. It was sad to see the demo end so quickly, but I’m now more excited to delve into this blocky world, which is right around the corner.
