LEGO Marvel Super Heroes Review

If you’re looking for the definitive Marvel experience in videogame form, then look no further - this is it. TT Games’ continued success with the LEGO series must be a thorn in many a side in the games industry; not least because they consistently make excellent games with film licences by using nothing more than good writing and imaginative gameplay.

 It’s quite humorous when you give the concept a thought. LEGO Marvel Super Heroes - which gives you access to over 100 characters - provides a far better superhero experience than any dedicated slop that other studios try and serve. There’s so much content packed into TT Games’ latest LEGO game that it’s difficult to know where to start; but as the story missions are the centrepiece to Marvel Heroes, it’s best to start there.

Spread across 15 stages spanning New York and locales outside of Earth, The Avengers have been summoned to the physics-defying, floating aircraft carrier to heed Nick Fury’s - sadly not voiced by Samuel L. Jackson - call to arms. Doctor Doom, Magneto and Loki have been gathering up cosmic ‘bricks’ for some mysterious purpose and it’s the good guys’ job to stop them. At the same time, a badly concealed threat (read: Galactus) is heading to Earth with the intention of eating it for dinner.

Like previous games in the series, story missions give you access to multiple characters per stage, with most going on the premise that you’re chasing down one or two villains who are working for the aforementioned big bad trio. There are some differences though, with the main change being the inclusion of ‘BIG LEGO’ characters. These include - among many, many others - the likes of The Hulk, Thing and Juggernaut, which use far bulkier models. Their main purpose - other than to mindlessly beat the shit out of everything - is to lift heavy objects and break down walls that other puny heroes can’t do. They’re not a game-changing addition, but the added puzzle element and muscle is welcome nonetheless.

Completing each story stage not only rewards you with some genuinely funny cutscenes but also freeplay mode - giving you the ability to replay any stage with any character; and boy, are there a lot of characters. Obviously, most of these are just reskins of the stalwart Avengers, but TT Games have done their best to make each one feel as unique as possible. Many of them you will recognise, others are so obscure that only the most committed Marvel geeks will appreciate their inclusion.

Whilst the story mode is the highlight of LEGO Marvel, it’s TT’s recreation of New York City that makes its foray into the Marvel universe its best LEGO adaptation yet. The entirety of Manhattan Island is open for you to explore as a superhero. Fancy flying through the clouds as Iron Man? Yeah, you can do that. What about web-slinging above the streets with Spider-Man? Yep. Terrorising LEGO citizens with Red Hulk? Yes, you can do that too.

There’s just so many ways you can traverse the city, and whilst it doesn’t feel as alive as GTA’s Los Santos, the amount of content that litters the city is almost overwhelming. There are far too many activities to mention here, so we’ll just mention the best: Deadpool missions. Collecting gold bricks from freeplay or side missions will unlock hidden levels throughout the city, introduced by none other than the fourth wall breaking maniac himself. They’re bite-sized levels that introduce some of the lesser known villains, and our favourite has to be the tag-team at the circus between Ghost Rider - fortunately not voiced by Nicholas Cage - and The Nightmare.

As great as LEGO Marvel is, it does suffer from some niggling issues. The camera in smaller areas can be just plain bad, especially if you’re playing as one of the bulkier characters. Switching heroes in missions can be a pain too. If you’re only using two characters, switching is fine, but when some levels can have as many as four at a time, the game just seems to guess what character you want to be, leading to blocky death.

We suspect co-op play would remedy this a lot, and whilst we only briefly sampled it, the system seems to function in much the same way as before, with the drop-in, drop-out nature enabling friends to jump in whenever they want; making your superhero dream teams a possibility.

If you’re a LEGO or Marvel fan, this is for you. Hell, even if you’re just a fan of adventure games in general, we would recommend Marvel Super Heroes. TT’s latest and greatest is absolutely packed with replay value, and whilst some of it may be fluff, a lot of it isn’t. If you can get 100% completion before the end of the year, then give yourselves a pat on the back from us.