LEGO The Hobbit Review

LEGO games are a given now in the yearly releases, with lots of big franchises receiving the yellow brick treatment into videogame format. Let’s face it, we were all pretty damn excited when LEGO Batman: The Videogame came out and its quirky sense of humour and great cooperative function brought something fresh to the table and managed to provide hours of entertainment to gamers across all ages.

Since 2008 we’ve had 18 games based on licensed properties all with that same mass-appeal and action-adventure/puzzle charm that it does so well. But with them being churned out as quickly as internet memes, are they losing some of their spark?

LEGO The Hobbit has the benefit of millions of followers of Tolkien/Jackson/Lord of the Rings/Hobbit making up an automatic base of players who will try anything that has one of these tags attached to it. Chances are, if you’re a big fan of the film this was styled on, then you’ll enjoy the game. Essentially, it is the first two Hobbit films mashed together into one videogame offering nearly an exact mirror of its big-screen inspirations.

All audio is taken directly from the films, so don’t expect any new, original voice-work here; however, it works well and doesn’t stop that great comedic edge that we’ve come to love from the franchise. This is due largely to the fantastic animation, which is noticeable from the get go. Everything looks absolutely wonderful, caverns look grand and ominous, scenery looks beautiful and full of personality, and the character animation is imagination and spirited. What’s better is that all of these aspects maintain their LEGO roots; whilst managing to not look cheesy or overly cartoony.

Of course, like other installments in the franchise, there are lots of different characters to play as - including a brief stint as Frodo and Sam which was my favourite little bit (give me anything Hobbiton related and I’m happy). All of the characters have nice little unique quirks and playstyles making different people useful for different situations; finding the right person for the job making up a big part of the puzzle-solving and replay value as standard for those who like to get 100% on each level. 

The game is a lot of fun to play, especially if you like smashing stuff. The amount of scenery you can destroy is insane. I personally find it a nice little satisfying task, almost like popping bubble wrap, but I can imagine for some it might get a bit, well, boring. This isn’t helped by making this non-optional. Of course there’s always been the standard smash up and create something new to get past said obstacle, but now something extra has been added.

Introduced in The LEGO Movie: The Videogame, there is now a feature where you collect materials from pre-smashed LEGO bits and use them to build something a lot bigger to help you in your Middle Earth adventures. A nice little mini-game comes into play here where you have to pick the right part out of several for the structure you’re making as a timer runs down reducing your little coin count. It does a nice job of breaking up the main plot, but as you can imagine, having to demolish even more LEGO than usual in order to progress, it has the potential to become somewhat monotonous.

However, the game is definitely not dull to play and should not be seen as such. It’s a massive experience with some really unique puzzles to solve and should keep you on your toes. Of course it’s ten times more fun when playing with a friend, so get your bestie over and hook up that extra controller because the good times will no doubt ensue.

The developers Traveller’s Tales have obviously taken player feedback into account in this new release which is always a nice surprise. Firstly, camera angles, which have been a bugbear of LEGO game players since day one are definitely much better. During my time with the game, not once did I find myself stuck in a painful viewpoint which is a vast improvement on its predecessors. Secondly, hand-holding is at a bare minimum here, meaning, if you don’t want any help it’s not forced on you. Instead little hovering question marks appear over certain objects and if you need a hint you can hit the question mark and an explanation will appear. It allows for much more immersive gameplay without removing the help entirely.

The truth is that when the same basic formula is repeated over and over, things can get a little stale rather quickly, and with the LEGO The Hobbit it could have easily done so. In spite of that though, for me, it hasn’t gotten old yet, and the new features and original problem-solving content keep it fresh and fun. Ultimately, if you like LEGO games, you like this. If you like The Hobbit, you’ll like this. If you like both? Well then you’ve hit the jackpot my friend.