LEGO Voyagers Hands-on Preview – Brick by brick

From the moment you and a friend set off  it is clear there is a sense of whimsy at the heart of LEGO Voyagers. It is reinforced by a dedicated button to sing a tune, a sort of chaotic good version of Untitled Goose Game’s honk. It is typified by the various interactable items that are solely in your path to play with. With simple gameplay in a beautiful world, LEGO Voyagers aims to provide an uncomplicated joy. We went hands-on with LEGO Voyagers for an hour-long preview at the start of this plastic odyssey.

Brought to us by Light Brick Studios, LEGO Voyagers is a simple and relaxing cooperative puzzle-platforming experience for two players. You roll across the world as a single piece of LEGO, solving basic puzzles through an intuitive building mechanic. The movement physics are floaty, resulting in a feeling closer to a toy than a precision platformer. Luckily, there is a button to snap to the closest exposed stud, keeping the difficulty light less experienced gamers.

Visually, I remain impressed with the modern slate of LEGO games. The transition to full games constructed of individual bricks is impressive, and LEGO Voyagers continues with that design. But here, the lighting is the star, reflecting off each plastic piece to create a vivid world. In my childhood imagination, this was what LEGO looked like, and this felt like looking directly through the nostalgia goggles.

Alongside the clicks and clacks of the titular plastic bricks, LEGO Voyagers also has a memorable soundtrack. There’s a sweeping nature to it, but soft plucked strings evoke a hike with friends and gathering around a campfire. If the soundtrack is of this quality throughout, it will be a standout of the experience.

Less standout, at least in my time with the preview, is the gameplay. Occasionally, you’ll reach something that will require some basic puzzle-solving. In the hour-long slice provided for this preview, these would barely be classified as head scratchers. One player would activate a lever or button to clear the way for the other, then vice versa. There were some more involved problems, mainly those requiring building.

The building mechanic in LEGO Voyagers is basic but enjoyable. By attaching to certain bricks, you can wrench them from their place and rearrange them. Each piece snaps away easily from the terrain with a crispy and satisfying clunk. Once removed, you roll around with them attached to your initial piece, creating an interesting wrinkle to the movement system. 

I could see these mechanics increasing in complexity, but it remains to be seen if that is the aim. Instead, given it’s overall intentions of a more laid-back experience, these kinds of puzzles may remain simplistic and serve more as a pacing mechanism. 

But this gameplay simplicity is a clear design goal. LEGO Voyagers isn’t a game where you’ll spend a long time working through puzzle solutions or getting stuck on a platforming challenge. LEGO Voyagers is the kind of game that provides ample opportunity to launch your friend into the abyss, and knowing it’ll get a laugh, gives you an achievement for doing so. Whether or not that is enough for the full experience is yet to be seen.

But if you like a more laid-back experience, and one you can play with a less experienced gamer, there’s plenty of reason to keep an eye on LEGO Voyagers when it launches on September 15th.