Lego The Incredibles Review

After Star Wars and Marvel Cinematic Universe got the Lego treatment, developer Traveller's Tales turns its attention to The Incredibles with Lego The Incredibles for PS4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and PC. If you've played any of the past games that adapted movies to its brick-fuelled aesthetic, you'll know exactly what to expect. And if you haven't well, Lego The Incredibles lets you wreak havoc through 12 levels spanning the original movie and The Incredibles 2 that's in theatres this week. You'll solve puzzles, partake in thrilling sequences, and beat down evil henchmen aplenty all while swapping between multiple characters from the franchise.

The familiarity is tempered with the decision to have the game begin with the events of The Incredibles 2 rather than the first movie, letting you access the latter later on. It's a perplexing choice as it ends up making significant reveals feel hollow; for example, you learn about the origins of Jack-Jack's superpowers after you've spent the entire game using them.

While it may have been a bold, subversive idea on paper, the execution leaves a lot to be desired. Perhaps it was an attempt on banking on what's fresh for audiences now given that the second movie is out at the moment, but it falls flat as it impacts gameplay as well. Your heroes are more powerful early on than they are towards the end making the experience not as enjoyable as it could be.

Where Lego The Incredibles could have been better served with ingenuity is in its gameplay. There are great set-pieces that have you in a motorcycle chase and levels that have you stalling a giant drill before it tears the city apart. Although they're entertaining segments, the moment to moment gameplay feels rote.

Each hero has its own abilities. Mr. Incredible can smash through walls, Elastigirl can contort her body into shapes, Dash is the fastest in terms of movement, and Violet has invisibility and shields. Through the main story you'll swap between them and other heroes such as Frozone, Jack-Jack, and Reflux as you match a hero's ability with the obstacle in your way such as swapping to Elastigirl to make a bridge allowing others to pass or using Violet's shields to cross through toxic waste. It's par for the course and despite the apparent variety on display, there's nothing really new here.

This extends to the unlockable characters as well. Sure, they tally over a hundred - including from other Pixar movies like Woody from Toy Story - but some of them seem to exist to just make up the numbers. You can play as the old woman whose cat Mr. Incredible rescues, which is a bit of a stretch, as is the character count considering a lot of powers remain the same. What's cool though is the ability to kit out your own superhero from the Lego you've collected, though you can't use it until you've completed a mission at least once.

All of this compounded by a camera that loses focus ever so often and button prompts that don't work as they should, putting a damper on what should be a straightforward experience. These issues result in your character being killed more often than it really should. At times it feels that Lego The Incredibles' biggest villain is the lack of polish and attention to these elements, further hamstrung by an erratic frame rate and texture pop-in on the Xbox One X that doesn't make it look as good as it could be.

Clocking in at around 12 hours, Lego The Incredibles' questionable narrative choices and bland gameplay make it one to avoid. If you're looking for your Incredibles fix, check out movies instead because the game is far from incredible.

Pros:

• Great set-pieces
• Make your own superhero

Cons:

• Bland gameplay
• Odd narrative choices
• Technical issues

Rating (out of 10): 5

Gadgets 360 played a review copy of Lego The Incredibles on Xbox One X. The game is available on PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch priced at Rs. 2,999 ($60 in the US). The PC version costs Rs. 1,299 ($40 in the US).

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