LEGO Bricktales VR is without a doubt one of the most captivating games I have ever played in VR…any of the VR. Now, I suppose you want me to backup that bold statement with facts so here we go… Up until now the LEGO games have been a great way to convert pop-culture entertainment into game form by licensing everything from Star Wars to Harry Potter and turning it into a collectible, smashable LEGO adventure. LEGO Builder’s Journey was one of the first games to take a more serious approach to LEGO in the game space, and now with Bricktales expertly ported to VR, it’s a whole new world.
This new VR version of the game doesn’t play any differently than its non-VR cousin, which means it’s all in the presentation, and there is nothing better than having these amazing 3D LEGO dioramas suspended in space in front of your face ready to be spun around, panned, and zoomed while you admire all the amazing detail the designers put into each of the intricately designed five worlds you’ll be exploring.
The game starts with you arriving at an abandoned amusement park full of broken rides that need repaired before you can reopen the park. Fixing things up requires you to adventure out into five worlds where you get to solve a variety of problems (using LEGO of course) to earn Happiness crystals that fuel some crazy machine your grandfather has that repairs the park. Prepare for lots of adventure, even more backtracking, and if possible, even more fun.
During your travels you will be going to the City, a Medieval Castle, a Jungle, an Egyptian Desert, and a swashbuckling adventure in the Caribbean. There is a Metroidvania core to Bricktales that will have you revisiting all the worlds multiple times as you gain access to new abilities that will get you into gated areas of the map. These abilities are trickled out one per portal, even though most all maps require the use of all five abilities at some point. You have a smash attack that pounds the ground destroying nearby small objects like boxes and vases, the ability to see and materialize items that are out of phase, a water gun, an electrical charge ability that can power teleport pads, and last but not least, an actual hoverboard you can use to grind purple tubes that spiral around to secret areas. All of these are selectable with the handy wrist tool you see when looking at your left hand.
Each of the five maps has its own theme, cast of characters, and unique missions along with a single shop hidden away in each zone where you can buy new costumes and additional LEGO bricks for the sandbox mode. Currency varies in each world, so you’ll need to collect donuts in the City, drumsticks in Medieval times, bananas in the Jungle, popsicles in the Desert, and clams in the Caribbean. There are also 13 treasure chests in each world, and scattered across all five worlds are collectible critters such as bluebirds, hermit crabs, ladybugs, bunnies, and chameleons. You’ll need to find all these and return them to their respective quest-givers for even more rewards.
For maximum enjoyment its best not to sweat the little things. Just do the main missions, unlock the abilities, then prepare for a lot of clean-up work post-story. I finished the story at 58%, and I am now at 81% with just a bit of critter clean-up for full completion. Total time (so far): 16 hours. Some of this stuff is hidden away in back corners of the world, and with each screen often having multiple exits, mapping out the overall space can be quite the endeavor.
But that is just the adventure game wrapper that contains some of the best LEGO building I have ever done outside of playing with actual LEGO 50+ years ago. As you explore the various worlds you will come across certain situations that require you to build something with LEGO; a bridge, a crane, a helicopter, a stone sculpture, a powerplant with electrical towers, or even something as simple as a gangplank to board a pirate ship. When you go into build mode you are given a base and a wireframe box that determines the maximum shape and size of your build along with an assortment of LEGO bits. You are free to build whatever you want with the materials provided as long as it gets the job done. Most builds are straightforward while others have certain constraints to make things more challenging, and some may require a teardown and rebuild to access multiple puzzle or quest solutions.
What’s cool and fun is that while you are playing you are hopefully purchasing world-theme block sets that add additional bricks and customization options to your sandbox. You can then go back anytime after building anything and rebuild or modify it using all new blocks. This is purely for aesthetics or just killing time and having fun, as the game is all about function over form, but in my experience the existing world is so amazing that I was inspired to go above and beyond in many of my creations just to make them fit into the world more seamlessly. At one point I was literally matching tile patterns with the surrounding world and realized I might have a problem, but I do have a strong background in architecture and design, and LEGO Bricktales VR definitely brings that out.
The act of building with virtual LEGO is super-easy. Grab a piece and rotate it one of four ways and snap into place and repeat. The only negative here is a fast way to scrap a design and start over or move around big chunks of a project. When you remove a LEGO, you have to throw it on the virtual floor for it to return to the parts list, otherwise you get this crazy pile of LEGO just like in real life on the assembly table. And if you need to do a slight remodel, even for a single brick, you have to tear down to that point and rebuild. The interface shows you unattached LEGO with a red border, and many finished projects require test robots to prove your design works.
We can’t forget about grandpa’s amusement park. Each time you return from a world with some Happiness you get to build a new attraction starting with the Tilt-a-Whirl, then a Ferris Wheel, Paddleboats, a Rollercoaster, and a Pirate Ship swing. Again, you get a set collection of pieces to rebuild these attractions, and watching the park transform from a broken-down pile of bricks to a fully functioning amusement park with smiling visitors riding all the rides is magical. In fact, the entire game is like the LEGO Movie coming to life, and I am the director of my own film.
One last thing to mention is the AR ability of the Quest 3, and by using the color passthrough camera you can actually do everything I have mentioned in your own living space. For me, that meant I could have the TV on showing news or YouTube videos, or whatever. It was just like playing with real LEGO in my real living room without a thousand bricks lying around. I have noticed that using the passthrough camera is an additional drain on the battery, so you may want to turn off the camera and just have fluffy clouds in the background to extend your playtime.
I can’t emphasize enough how totally awesome LEGO Bricktales VR is, and while I am sure it was fun enough in non-VR, playing it now on the Quest 3 is a transformative experience that every LEGO-loving kid and adult with access to VR needs to experience.
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