LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 Review
The Marvel Heroes are back in the latest LEGO game, bringing its familiar gameplay, humour and deep cuts into Marvel’s back catalog with it. This time Kang the Conqueror wants to not only take over the world, but time and alternate dimensions as well. This brings a unique story to the game as we see everything mashed that brings Spider-Man 2099 and a Cowboy Captain America together, with hundreds of other characters, that probably wouldn’t work in any other Marvel game.
All your favourite aspects of the LEGO gameplay are back, lots of puzzles, mini races, lots of button mashing to beat enemies and lots of boss battles. Though the puzzles can be a little tricky sometimes and I often found myself getting a little frustrated at not being able to work out something so simple. And frustration is an element to this game, as it’s not always clear what needs to be done next. Though the puzzle aspect can take what would might be a simple kids game and make it feel very rewarding.
There is a huge hub world that mixes all the famous locations from Marvel, like Asgard and New York, which will give players plenty of playable hours after the main story is done. More replay value can be found if you are a completionist, with lots of unlockable characters, bricks and items to collect.
One thing that is very noticeable, is while this isn’t a movie tie in game like Avengers, the missions within the main story do tie in nicely, such as how the Inhumans are used or what we saw in Doctor Strange, Thor: Ragnarok or Guardians Of The Galaxy. While the Guardians feel like the main characters for the main story, they do a good job including other characters along the way, especially helping players get used to lesser known characters like Captain Marvel, Spider-Gwen and Ms Marvel.
It’s very easy to see the team behind the game love Marvel, there are so many little touches and throwbacks to obscure characters that show great attention to detail. With hundreds of playable characters, there is bound to be a little repetition in terms of abilities, but that’s what makes the game enjoyable. Constantly swapping characters to fit the job at that particular moment, meaning players get used to experimenting.
Obviously it’s only right to mention the missing characters, Fantastic Four and the X-Men, who were huge parts of the original games main story, but obviously the licensing issues have got in the way, but with hundreds of other characters available, it’s not a major issue. Though at least you can use the create a character mode to make missing characters like Deadpool or even DC heroes like the Green Arrow!
There is a slight issue that older players will be more aware of, this game was seriously hit by the voice actors strike, resulting in some of characters sounding a little off. But it’s nothing too distracting.
Elements from other LEGO games like Dimensions have been brought into the game such as a battle arenas run by the Grandmaster, allowing local coop play, which will keep younger fans entertained, but picking the right character can make all the difference.
TT Games have been making LEGO games for 15 years, involving many different licenses like Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, Star Wars, DC and others, so they have really mastered and tweaked their style, with each release. So if you have liked previous games, you will enjoy this one. But this is also becoming an issue, this year alone we’ve also seen City Undercover, The Ninjago Movie, Worlds and Dimensions released. All of which, feature almost identical gameplay and I think TT Games need to start reducing their release schedule and also take some time to start developing a different style for LEGO games or at least give their platform a big overhaul.
There is a Season Pass available, with lots of additional playable characters and levels will be released to tie in with future movie releases like Black Panther, Infinity War and Ant-Man & Wasp. I’ve always found previous LEGO Season Passes to be good value for money and it also gives me an excuse to dive back into the game in the future.
Overall: I really enjoyed playing through the main story of LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2, its simple, it works and is a perfect family game with lots of laughs and gives younger Marvel fans a great game. If you have loved previous LEGO games, you’ll love this, as it’s easily one of the best LEGO games made.
Review Score: 8