Chris Richardson 
Family Matters
So here we are; another new entry in one of the longest running franchises in video games. Even discounting the handheld releases, we’re now closing in on Traveller’s Tales 30th Lego outing (with some having been developed by subsidiary company TT Fusion) – and that’s if we count the massive project that was Lego Dimensions (R.I.P) as one outing. With that in mind, chances are you already know whether you’re interested in this game – and if I’m being totally honest I would be surprised if your current standing had changed drastically come the final paragraph. Still there remain a large number of gamers, myself included, who honestly enjoy their fair share of plastic platforming. So here goes…
Lego The Incredibles is set to be a light, family-friendly adventure that will have gamers controlling little brick versions of their favourite movie characters as they hop, skip and jump around, solving puzzles and breaking bad guys. Sound familiar? Of course it does, TT have a tried-and-tested formula and don’t expect them to be modifying it anytime soon.
As the Parr family, players will relive all the adventures from the original film and its upcoming sequel; with dialogue being made-up of snippets from the movies, as well as lines recorded specifically for the game. Like the recent Lego superhero titles, character powers can be combined in unique ways to complete certain puzzles and defeat certain enemies. As per the usual, there will also be a large open-world to explore, along with a variety of familiar hub areas, each scattered with a range of side missions and collectables. Why am I describing all this? You know the drill.
Another staple element of TT’s formula is the provision of a large roster of recognisable, and not-so-recognisable, characters to play as in free-play. This is also where some of the movie tie-ins tend to differ somewhat from other titles: where the Lego Marvel and DC titles were blessed with a myriad of characters to call on, games adapting smaller franchises often end up needing their rosters fleshed out with more generic personalities. Seriously who wants to play as Jurassic World Veterinarian or Gray Rebel Squadron Pilot? At least the ‘genreric’ characters in The Incredibles will mostly still be superheroes, able to do more than just jump and slap their way through levels.
All in all, Lego The Incredibles looks primed to deliver more of the same – whether that’s good news or bad is up to you. But I for one do feel the game represents something to look forward to for the Lego franchise.
It may sound somewhat reductive, especially with all the ‘been-there-done-that’ talk, but I think there is something very exciting about the fact that we’re getting a Lego Pixar game. Pixar films really are great fun, featuring uplifting stories and wonderful characters that can easily appeal to pretty much anyone with a heartbeat. It’s a shame therefore that the tie-in games end up being so forgettable; with the likes of Up, Brave and Wall-E essentially being the video-game equivalent of a dot-to-dot puzzle, only more boring (to be fair it’s worth mentioning The Incredibles own tie-in game wasn’t actually half bad). The Lego franchise however seems the perfect canvas on which to build a Pixar video game. It’s simple, accessible, and most importantly lovable. Just picture it: Lego Up, Lego Brave, Lego Wall-E. It just works.
Of course it’s quite possible Traveller’s Tales just saw an opportunity to make another superhero Lego game and have it appeal to an even wider audience, but why don’t we stop being cynics for a just a second and look forward to a new, perhaps more fitting genre of TT game? Lego Toy Story 4 anyone???
Lego The Incredibles will be released on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and Microsoft Windows the same day The Incredibles 2 opens in theatres: June 15th in North America and July 13th in Europe.
