The LEGO effect has benefited many a popular fiction franchise since 2005, from Star Wars to Jurassic Park to Harry Potter. Throughout that time, though, there’s arguably been no better fit for the Danish toy brand than Marvel.
With the comic giant’s peerless roster of colourful characters, developer Traveller’s Tales has the perfect canvass on which to paint. It can’t hurt that many of those characters have been revitalised through recent TV and cinema treatments, either.
All of this feeds into the tasty pop culture gumbo that is LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2, in which you can swing around Manhattan as Spidey, clobber Surtur as Thor (male or female), and manipulate time as Dr Strange from within a single open world environment.
The driving force behind this Marvel-lous mash-up is an invasion by Kang the Conqueror, one of the earliest big bads from the Avengers comic books. Kang has been tinkering with the space-time continuum again, which results in a number of disparate Marvel universes from various periods combining into the bespoke realm of Chronopolis.
Dashing, flying and swinging around this condensed hub world is one of the main joys in LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2. You can dart from the Sanctum Sanctorum to K’un-Lun in less than a couple of minutes, and it somehow makes perfect sense. Because comic books.
Despite the presence of this impressive hub world, LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2’s humour-filled story is told through a succession of linear levels. You know the drill by now: run through constrained 3D environments, bashing up henchmen, trashing level furniture, solving basic environmental puzzles and hoovering up a steady stream of studs.
It’s the same basic formula as every LEGO game from the past dozen years, though that’s not to say that developer Traveller’s Tales hasn’t tweaked things in that time. Each category of hero is able to affect specific level elements, and the required interplay between each of your team mates is often very clever indeed. She-Hulk can smash through weak walls, Thor can charge up motors, Black Panther can slash through vines, Cap can bounce his shield off multiple strike points, and there are all sorts of uses for Star-Lord’s gravity grenades. All characters, of course, know how to build LEGO, and there’s a timeless joy in smashing up one level object and using the pieces to build another.
It’s not just the usual big hitters who get to show their mettle here, either. Yes, the likes of Cap, Spidey, Thor and Iron Man stick around for much of the story, but TT has wisely incorporated new heroes from the wider Marvel lore. Noteworthy playable highlights include Ms Marvel, who delights with her body-morphing abilities and lolloping gait, and her own hero Captain Marvel, whose takeoff and flight animations are enough to get anyone excited for her big screen debut.
As before, much of the fun here (at least for the completionists among us) lies in coming back to ostensibly completed levels and grabbing all of the trinkets you missed the first time around. After each initial run-through you unlock Free Play mode, where you can hand pick from that extensive character roster and go back in for a closer look.
There’s always been a curious paradox to the way LEGO games actually play. They’re often cited as the most accessible, welcoming games around, yet when viewed from certain angles they can be rather clunky and downright esoteric.
We were reminded of this fact when we were joined for some multiplayer co-op by a gaming-literate adult who had never played a LEGO game before. They found the experience to be completely baffling and unwieldy, failing to fall into the ‘smash everything’ rhythm of play and missing the tiny prompts that the rest of us take for granted.
It’s difficult to argue against that viewpoint when LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 still sees you repeatedly falling to your death because of imprecise and overloaded controls, or because you can’t see what’s going on. The game also veers between spoon-feeding you directions to occasionally being too vague about your goal, leaving you running around confused. Precision flying, meanwhile, is a dark art that this particular writer has yet to master.
LEGO games have always somehow gotten around this clunkiness through their super-forgiving respawn mechanic and general slapdash tone. LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 is no different, but it’s worth highlighting that there’s still bags of room for improvement in the way these games actually play.
Those who’ve been following the progress of LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 will know that Switch owners are getting the same core experience as the other consoles. This is an impressive technical feat in itself, and it looks great for the most part. However, you can see hints of compromise in the form of a disconcerting heat mirage-like defocus effect when looking across a particularly vast area. We also noted a few performance stutters - even in the cutscenes, bizarrely - whilst loading times in between story missions can be uncomfortably long.
Still, it feels like something akin to magic being able to play this sprawling, vibrant game on the go, and the game doesn’t disgrace itself when you blow it up onto your TV either.
We’ve only touched upon the multiplayer side of things a little so far, but there’s a reason for that. LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 isn’t as a fun as it should be with multiple players. Part of that is down to its awkward split-screen nature, crudely hacking the action down the middle and severely constraining the view for both players. This Switch version’s already downscaled visuals really don’t benefit from being diminished further.
Besides which, the already-busy action turns into chaos with a second hyperactive player involved. There’s also a stand-alone multiplayer mode for up to four players, which pitches your favourite characters into arena battles for territory or Infinity Stones. The rudimentary nature of the action means it’s pretty inessential, and is unlikely to take you away from other far stronger multiplayer experiences on the system.
It sounds strange given the series’s approachable ‘jump in’ heritage, but this particular masked hero works better alone.
Conclusion
LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 offers the kind of warm-hearted knock-about action the series has become famous for, all wrapped up in a truly impressive open world package. It’s a shame that the underlying mechanics remain so defiantly clunky, while the controls seem a little haphazard in places. Multiplayer is curiously inessential, too.
Ultimately, though, LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2’s generosity of spirit and lightness of tone mean that it’s likely to win over a whole new generation of fans.
Comments 45
"Bric-a-Brac"
Played on PC, it is just ok...
Dear, TT Fushion.
I'm still waiting a Non Western licensed franchises LEGO games for Switch.
I'm not a fan of any Marvel Heroes or any kind of Western Super Heroes or any kind of popular franchises from Western (Harry Potter / Star Wars / Indiana Jones / etc)
Just gimme a Plain theme, Sporty theme, Police theme like LEGO CITY, Natural theme, No Weirdo, No Super Heroes, No Western movies, No Creepy costumes, No Fighting all the time.
I feel like I'm the only person that wants a superhero game that isn't LEGO. X-men legends 3...anyone?
@Anti-Matter Lego City Undercover was released for Switch (I personally 100% it) so technically your wish has been answered
Hmmm... ok, sure, I will take it.
I'll pick this up next year in a sale I'd say.
Lego City was enough Lego for me this year.
@Ryu_Niiyama "I feel like I'm the only person that wants a superhero game that isn't LEGO"
You're not. Marvel vs. Capcom or even the Batman Arkham games would be greatly welcomed.
I think the same thing about most of the properties Lego uses for its games.
Regardless of the reviews, my little boy is so excited to get me this for Christmas that I’m really looking forward to it and playing with him.
Does this have improved combat mechanics akin to the Lego Ninjago game from earlier this year?
I wonder how long they'll milk this franchise before people stop buying it.
I hope, that Wireless local multiplayer starts to be a norm in Switch games very soon.
@KirbyTheVampire Given that the MCU is the highest grossing movie franchise ever, and that Lego is the largest toy company in the world, I wouldn't hold your breath.
@JoeDiddley lovely I hope you both enjoy it together, little comments like that warm my heart!
First of 50 releases on Switch....
I enjoy one LEGO game every few years.... LEGO City was this year so maybe whatever they release in 2019 will find it's way to my switch. I am happy to hear all the families that love to play these though! Gaming with your kids is awesome
dragonball x lego, make it happen guys
It’s another Lego game. No thanks!
I hope the switch version will get the same inevitable markdowns that the other consoles will get. I would get it the $20 for on the go.
@Ryu_Niiyama We can't even get X-Men in our Lego (or MvC) games now. I highly doubt we'll ever see a standalone title for them any time soon.
I'll be happy if this doens't have the system freezing problems the first game had on Wii U. And other systems as well. Every time my kids played it would freeze after about 1 hour. It became a running a joke that after school they could start playing at 5:00 b/c at 6:00 it would freeze the system when it was time for dinner. True story.
We're getting this for my kids for the holidays b/c now that we have a Switch we needed kid friendly co-op back seat of the car games for the driving. 20% off w/ Amazon Prime meant we paid $60 for the $75 version, which was just enough incentive. Oh and the little keychain is kinda cool.
7 isn't bad for the 87th similar Lego game the past 10 years.
Going to pick this us. The first one was great fun for me and my kids and I expect this will be the same. I wonder if you can link to switches for local co-op or even play multiplayer online.
@Mommar well there are rumors of Disney buying some Fox movie assets so if this happens, I’m sure Disney/Marvel will come out full force sigh X-Man/FF games, movies, merchandise, etc.
@JoeDiddley My boys are geeked up about it too. We are working thru Lego Ninjago now and will get to this one next! We always enjoy the Lego games!
@Anti-Matter the company is called Tt games (used to be traveler tales.), Tt fusion is a sub division of Tt responsible for the non licensed games (lego ninjago and chima portable games and also lego worlds and lego city undercover)
Also the reason behind all the western licenses is because WB, the company that owns Tt, own 90% of them, the other 10% (marvel and jurrassic park) were aquired because of the popularity of the physical lego themes.
The chance of a non western lego game is almost 0% (not counting the lego dimension packs), I only see that happening if lego decides to make a japanese lego theme and the theme becomes profitable enough to warrent a game.
On the other hand some time ago I heard a rumour about a capcom lego theme and game to accompany the game.
@Mommar seeing that disney is buying the entertainment division of FOX, including all the movie rights, serie rights and cartoons rights like simpsons and futurama, I think the chance of getting X-men games with marvel characters or marvel games with x-men characters has become much higher.
@link3710 Well done on getting 100% for Lego City Undercover. I had it on Wii U and never quite made it, just a few bits missing which frustrated me so I moved onto other games.
Hey I am an adult and I like most of the Lego games. They are always fun to play. I wish they could have a remake of Lego star wars come on the switch.
@darkswabber
Ah.... i see.
At least, there is 1 LEGO game that I have, LEGO CITY Undercover Nintendo Switch.
@Anti-Matter closest thing to non western stuff is either lego ninjago the movie the videogame for switch, lego ninjago legend of spinjitzu and nindroids on 3ds and psvita and the sonic the hedgehog dlc for lego dimensions on wiiU. You might want to give them a try.
P.S. Seeing that you don’t like violence do not be fooled by lego games using violent licenses. They are all but violent. I’d say give lego marvel a try on switch once it has a lower price, reading your past comments I really think it’s your cup of tea 😜
@Ryu_Niiyama That would be amazing. I didn't like the Ultimate Alliances because they tried to cram too much into it and the stories suffered. Now X-Men Legends, loved them.
I would like to see the Lego games shake up the formula for me anymore they are just the same ole same old song and dance in a word completely repetitive.
I would see a another LEGO Racer video game some day.
@Ryu_Niiyama I could definitely go for a new X-Men Legends. I'm also thinking of buying the Telltale Batman game, because I love playing superhero stuff that isn't tied to the movie versions of the mythos.
@Romeo-75 Lego Worlds tried to do that, but it looks like it didn't turn out the best
@chardir True.
It is on sale at toysrus
https://t.toysrus.com/product?productId=131767296
I'm one of the folks that loves these games. I own each and every single one of them. Ever since Lego Star Wars came out all those years ago. There's just something about them. They're quirky, funny, fun to play with friends. There's a sense of exploration about them, discovering new things, enjoying the lego-fied take on some popular movie franchises.
Some of the earlier games (Star Wars, Indian Jones, Batman) were love letters to their respective franchises, rich in detail and extras. Harry Potter was another. They haven't all been up to that level of quality, but still fun nonetheless. They're like warm apple pie - you know exactly what to expect, and it's exactly what you get.
I have this pre-order for uk but disappointment the deluxe Ed is not available in uk anywhere other than from American stores.
Getting sick of these samey licence Lego games, do something original again like Lego City undercover. or something like Lego island? maybe even make a NEW Engine, then reusing the Lego Star Wars one since 2005.
@Romeo-75 It's worse then cod when it comes to reusing gameplay with each game. the only thing that changes with each game is just it's looks.
I'll take the occasion to share with @Thanos_ReXXX the unbearable pain of waiting for the Infinity War trailer.
Why not on the ds3 Nintendo why
@Captain_Gonru I don't know if Lego Marvel 2 was on sale this week - wasn't sure if you were joking or not - but it IS already on sale for $20 off this week at Gamestop. It's $39.99 for the standard efition, $54.99 for the deluxe with the season pass.
I'm a cheapskate, I like sales, but man that's fast. My mom bought it for my son for Christmas, she probably hasn't even wrapped it yet. I don't doubt it was on sale BF - what wasn't? - but I was avoiding those sales best I could. I've gone about 22 hours without buying anything on Amazon and I'm jonesing to purchase something for some one. I think I may have one a snorkel mask earlier but not exactly sure how that works.
Ok, back to our usual spot.
Is it worth 9 bucks on sale? Interested but don't know if i wanna bite. :/ Been a while since i played a Lego game, and i do like marvel...
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