Lego Horizon Adventures Review — Weirdest and Best Crossover of 2024

In probably the weirdest gaming crossover of the year, Lego Horizon Adventures is a new adventure that retells the story of 2017’s Horizon: Zero Dawn, albeit in the block-smashing, collect-a-thon format popularised by other Lego games.

While it may look like something out of a fever dream or a deeply modded version of the original game, the strange yet interesting crossover actually works really well, and makes the experience feel like its own thing. First and foremost, the entire ‘tone’ of the game is very much in line with other Lego experiences — a little more goofy, a bit tongue-in-cheek, and doesn’t take itself too seriously. The story is ‘retold’ through the Lego lens, adding a lot of humour, some new characters, and a light-hearted spin on some of the darker plot moments.

With that said, the game isn’t a walk in the park though, as the challenge and strategy of Horizon‘s trademark combat (targeting weak parts of robotic dinosaurs) is still very much a requirement here. However, there is a bit of auto-aiming to allow you to snap onto the different parts, but you’ll have to dodge, evade, and use the environments to your advantage much like you did in the original game.

On top of that, you also get a new isometric perspective, giving you a better look at the layout and surroundings as you fight your way through the post-apocalyptic, clicked-together world in Lego Horizon Adventures. And this actually works really well, as you get a bird’s eye-view of potential traps, environmental hazards, and surprise opportunities that you can spring on the enemies.

Lego Horizon Adventures does pull the lead back a little bit in terms of the open-world ambitions of the original game. Instead of a huge open-world, you go from one cordoned-off zone to another one, almost like small arenas full of rocks, bushes, branching paths, and other obstacles where you fight in. It’s a more streamlined approach and works well for a game that’s more about the fun, exploration, and small victories, rather than an overwhelming monster of a game.

There are some interesting new spins on the gameplay, as you have the ability to build your village as the game progresses. The village acts as a hub between missions, and with the items you collect on your journey, you can build new buildings, customise them, and even swap out your outfits. You can go as zany or straight-down-the-line as you want, and the implementation of iconic Lego pieces into the universe is cleverly done.

While you can play the game solo, Lego Horizon Adventures is really designed with co-op in mind, allowing you to bounce around the levels with a buddy, and making the combat and traversal a whole lot more fun, especially given the fact that you can each character can utilise different weapons.

Lego Horizon Adventures is admittedly a combo that we weren’t sure was going to work, but it just does. It’s fun, easy to play, and looks gorgeous with its stop-motion-like colourful animation style. And while the combat can feel a little same-y at times, it’s such a great spin on a beloved franchise that it’s worth anyone playing — young and old.

Lego Horizon Adventures is available on PS5, Switch, and PC.