LEGO Voyagers Review - Building An Unforgettable Adventure

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In a world full of competitive multiplayer games and some chaotic co-op PvE ones, it is always refreshing to see a quiet and emotionally charged experience such as LEGO Voyagers. Initially, I was expecting some cooperative building fun with a couple of puzzles only. And while that is definitely the focus of this 5-hour journey, the heartfelt narrative behind it, paired with the wordless adventure, has made a short yet unforgettable gaming experience that I wish I could experience for the first time again.

Two Friends Against the World

Despite being a wordless experience, LEGO Voyagers features a heartwarming narrative, and one that left me, just like its two protagonists, speechless. Due to its brevity, I won’t go into a lot of detail because I want to avoid spoilers. Yet, I can give you the broader picture so you, and no pun intended, can put the pieces together.

LEGO Voyagers kicks off with two small bricks, a blue and a red one, who are looking at a rocket liftoff. It seems that there’s a malfunction with it, and they set off to find its parts, which starts a voyage of their own. Little by little, they traverse through several landscapes, all made with the iconic LEGO pieces we’ve seen in countless sets.

The real highlight of the narrative is just how poetic and enthralling it feels without the need for a single word. Since it is a complete co-op game, I played it with my wife. Despite us calling out puzzle solutions and gushing about the beautifully built areas, there were moments of silence where we felt like the two bouncy bricks. It was such a captivating and soothing feeling that I had not experienced until today in a game, and one I wish more studios would focus on transmitting.

Even if the game was too short, the length was perfect for the message it wanted to convey. LEGO Voyagers is an excellent example of how a short experience can include all the pieces to craft a top-notch gaming experience. I do have a few complaints about how some puzzles break off that enthralling journey, but they are so small that they never stain this superb, silent plot.

LEGO In Its Purest Form

One of my favorite things about LEGO, and this is coming from someone who has a whole shelf full of sets, is how every single brick awakens that spark of creativity. Yes, each set you purchase comes with instructions, and while following them is the right course of action, the real essence of LEGO is building whatever you want with the pieces you have. LEGO Voyagers captures this feeling flawlessly.

Throughout the game chapters, you will find puzzles that increase in difficulty, and you can solve all of them in whatever way you want. Even those with a precise solution that could be taken from an instruction booklet can be finished by letting your imagination fly. There are no boundaries whatsoever, and that is something I appreciated every step of the way.

For example, around halfway through the game, you get to ride a boat. You and your partner need to take different spots to steer it, but there are places you can only reach by docking it in a specific spot. Alternatively, you can do what my wife and I did and build a bridge that comes from the boat and jump to the area where the objective is. Keep in mind that this is just one tiny example, as almost every single puzzle gives you all the freedom in the world to look for your solution. It is not what the game forces you to do; it is what your imagination dares to achieve.

My only and very minor complaint, which I mentioned above, is that a couple of puzzles break off the pacing of the narrative. It doesn’t ruin the whole experience, and it won’t frustrate you. However, some could’ve been much shorter to maintain that soothing yet engaging pacing. Still, despite these two puzzles making me scratch my head harder than I would’ve liked, I enjoyed every single one due to how much they focused on player agency.

Short But Unforgettable

As someone who plays dozens of games every year, some make it to my “I wish I could forget it so that I could experience it again for the first time” list, and LEGO Voyagers is one of them that stands at a very high spot. I never expected a journey as short as this one to leave me speechless as I watched the credits roll on my screen.

Beyond offering one of the most heartwarming narratives of the year, brought by two small bricks full of that drive of adventure, LEGO Voyagers also brings the purest LEGO video game experience of recent memory, and one that I will remember for many years to come.

Review copy provided by the Publisher.