LEGO Voyagers embraces a cooperative, child-like sense of play. While the game rarely tests the mettle of its participants in its short runtime, this charming journey is hard not to love.
Take this fact with a grain of salt: I completed a large portion of LEGO Voyagers by myself.
While it seems almost cruel to conduct such an experiment on what is meant to be a cooperative experience between two players, I was curious as to what would ultimately happen if I tried it.
On a couch I sat with no other partner able to take the second controller in their hands to assist me in this humble journey. Logged in as myself and a “Guest” on PlayStation 5, I wielded two DualSense controllers. On my lap one controller would sit for a few seconds while the other controller manipulated either Red or Blue–the tiny brick characters with a single googly eye to give them a flair of innate personality.
First I would move Blue to the edge of the screen, stretching the elasticity of the camera boundaries. Then I would swoop in as Red and not only close the distance but create a similar gap for Blue to soon surpass. It wasn’t until about 15 or 20 minutes into LEGO Voyagers that I realized the two personable bricks could actually click together and roll around as one unit, forgoing the musical chairs of simple navigation I was previously doing.
As the Blue and Red hybrid rolled and tumbled along, I smiled at their wonky gait. Fidgeting with the left stick would allow them to rock back and forth, creating enough height to surmount most platforms that would otherwise need to be simply hopped over. It wasn’t eloquent, nor intentional… but it worked.
Further stress testing came with the initial puzzles that developer Light Brick Studios throws at players.
The single-player co-op was shockingly not abrasive. Instead, I realized that its puzzles and obstacles partially act as roadblocks but primarily serve the purpose as stepping stones for conversation, interaction, and input between two fellow humans.
Melancholic would be an interesting way to describe LEGO Voyagers but, for my particular playthrough, it works. Being intentionally isolationist blanketed the game in a more somber sheen. And honestly, I love that interpretation for myself.
LEGO Voyagers is unquestionably charming. Like the titular bricks its world is constructed of and forming the basis of recognition for generations of players, LEGO Voyagers doesn’t work to supplant the notion of fun for any player who interacts with it. LEGO brick sets have morphed and evolved over the decades. What used to be relatively simple playsets and patterns became the blueprints of grandiose licensed fare. Gargantuan Death Stars, the Dunder Mifflin office, a bouquet of flowers, a Van Gogh painting.
In a sense, LEGOs are akin to DNA and atoms, the literal building blocks of life and the universe. And because of that, they can literally be anything.
One reason LEGO Voyagers works is that it eschews nearly every iteration of the LEGO license I’ve experienced the past few decades in gaming. This isn’t a movie property where every character is a LEGO person and players are journeying through the beats of the film as it’s soaked in slapstick humor.
Instead, LEGO Voyagers is a humble tale about two neighbors–the Red and Blue bricks–who seemingly have aspirations of becoming astronauts. A brief prologue of the two bricks on their small island goofing around shows them watching in awe at a distant rocket launch. The rocket breaks up over their home and the two set out on some sort of adventure.
There is a distinct muted tone to the narrative of LEGO Voyagers. Not only does it exude the essence of publisher Annapurna Interactive’s body of work, it has this folksy, mumblecore personality. It may be a stretch to align this particular game with the vibes of an independent film with grandiose aspirations but it works. This strikes me as an effortless nod at doing something arthouse… just make it LEGO.
Players allowing the visuals and light storytelling to get their hooks in will be able to interpret and glean enough from LEGO Voyagers‘ charm. It certainly is a game that relishes in the concept of the journey as much as the destination. Will it be satisfying for everyone? Certainly not. Those willing to interpret hidden meanings or merely read the signposts are sure to fall under the spell of the communal work these two colored bricks do together.
And that semi-bittersweet feeling of playing alone actually gave me a kind of zen garden to frolic in over the course of its few hours. By myself, I was able to stop and take stock of the gorgeous atmosphere created by Light Brick Studios.
LEGO Voyagers is an absolutely beautiful game, basking in a kind of serene glow. Because nearly everything is constructed by LEGO bricks, the visual language here is both confident and cohesive. Birds that roost in trees and animals that scurry around are LEGOs. Foliage from flowers to bushes to trees are those iconic pieces any child and adult will instantly recognize. The deep familiarity at play should provide comfort in the recognition but also give the world of LEGO Voyagers the tone of toy box or playground.
When I first glimpsed the blue waters of LEGO Voyager‘s world, I was taken aback. That feeling continued throughout, from the forested sections to the ominous industrial zones. Because the objects and living beings inhabiting the world of LEGO Voyagers are meant to be LEGOs, Light Brick Studios doesn’t shy away from their hard plastic roots. And while the one-tone colors of most LEGO bricks stand out when scattered across the living room floor, in this game they are defined with texture and lighting, allowing them to evolve past their plastic origins.
Here the pieces of the world feel naturally occurring, organic rather than synthetic. It truly is a stunning feast for the eyes. It’s all surprisingly vivid, busy, and alive, feeling more like a realistic space than I expected from a LEGO game. Amplifying the cozy nature of LEGO Voyagers and its air of cooperative discovery is a diverse soundtrack. It warmly blankets the players’ ears in tunes that range from soothing to playful. I found myself delighted at each new scene transition or puzzle moment that coalesced into a new track.
This inviting bed of sensory experience, combined with the universal appeal of LEGO, makes LEGO Voyagers easy for players of any age to digest. The game occasionally suffers from making a goal or a next step obscured by hiding the solution or path forward out in the open. For the life of me I can’t recall any true instances of “yellow paint” where Light Brick Studios blares the path forward like a klaxon.
Once early on, this led me to overthink a solution to constructing bridges to make a path forward. A handful of times it made me uncertain on if I was supposed to make a jump where I thought I needed to go. But there was never any true sense of annoyance, merely me trying to progress in this natural-looking world. Honestly, I could imagine a truly single-player, narrative-driven LEGO game basking in the vibes LEGO Voyagers provided and being thrilled.
But LEGO Voyagers is, at its core, a cooperative experience meant to foster teamwork.
And though I enjoyed the chance to revel in this world by my lonesome, banding together with another person is absolutely the right path.
For a humble loner like me, this world and the treasure of its sights and sound and delicate narrative spark a pleasant joy in me. It feels like a night drive in the fall with a warm cup of coffee. Yet the approachable nature of LEGO Voyagers‘ puzzles make it a cooperative game meant for players of all ages.
This does not mean that Light Brick Studios has crafted an infamous “kids game” that speaks down to a young audience, no. LEGO Voyagers has enough bite that it won’t be an absolute breeze for anyone. Players of all skill levels are going to at least spend a few moments attempting to figure out what to do next and how to proceed. But this is a game where a parent can play with a child or a person can play with their inexperienced partner or friend and still have an engaging time.
Puzzles in LEGO Voyagers are a combination of physics-based quandaries and platforming. Players are often meant to interact with LEGO tiles and shapes to build makeshift bridges and constructs. Blue and Red are capable of snapping and clicking onto any LEGO surface that has a peg. One clever use of this is that it allows players to glide along any of these pegged surfaces without worrying about falling. Cliff edges or thin bridges feel less harrowing with this method.
By clicking onto a separate brick, players will be able to roll Blue or red with that piece attached. It creates a wonky movement that makes navigation amusing and only slightly challenging. A corner piece might make the roll angular while attaching in the middle of a larger block will create a more stable, deliberate piece.
Early puzzles absolutely involve two players happening upon a gap that needs to be crossed. Collecting pieces to make a bridge are common; as are using platforms to launch one player up and over to allow them to launch their partner across the same space. One of my favorite puzzles about a third of the way through the game involved both players controlling the direction of a tiny boat, sliding up and down on locked bricks to adjust which directional motor would have more power. Players need to stop at buoys to collect bricks that will be used to reach a high-up switch that unlocks a gate.
Split Fiction LEGO Voyagers is not. So few solutions are the result of twitch movement and fast reflexes. Failure is not meant to be a common thread here as it would weaken the overall tone and goal of the game.
And not every cooperative experience must be some daunting exercise in teamwork like Portal 2. This is a game where a dad can either patiently wait for their child to think for themselves or easily nudge them in the right direction. While having a collection of mindless simple puzzles would also make for a relatively boring experience, LEGO Voyagers merely allows room for its players to breathe. Nothing is overly elaborate or difficult. Solutions take time and effort.
That is one reason why my solo time playing this cooperative game felt a bit silly and I enjoyed having a friend hop in for an actual playthrough. LEGO Voyagers would feel isolationist and exhausting alone. Having to go back and forth to make platforms. Having to shift back and forth between controllers. It all spits in the face of the harmonizing thesis of Light Brick Studios’ work.
The game is at its best when it brings players into a new area, presenting them with a beautiful landscape, showing an obvious path forward, and placing just the right amount of friction towards the next instance. It is forgiving in the best way as fallen players and bricks respawn instantly (outside of one of two instances for me). Blue and Red can magnetically lock onto a peg mid-air if they are close enough. And, sometimes, a player who can’t cross a gap might just spawn next to their friend who has already done so.
I know some people will be turned off by the lack of challenge present in LEGO Voyagers, that’s to be expected. But i think the biggest flaw of the game is that it is simply too short. With another experienced player, it can be beaten in about 3 hours without doing too much sightseeing. My solo run was around 5 hours as I was basking in the scenery and spending extra time doing the work of two. While the short length still makes a profound impact for the most part, it does feel over just as it was getting started, making me yearn for more time in this delightful universe.
LEGO Voyagers‘ child-like sense of play is the perfect mold for not only the LEGO format but an inviting cooperative experience that players of all ages can enjoy. Despite the thin runtime and a lack of intense challenge, the gorgeous world Light Brick Studios constructed isn’t any less fun. LEGO Voyagers is brimming with charm, like a proud parent watching their child pick up a controller and laugh with giddy excitement.
