LEGO Party: Turns Out Building a Better Board Game Just Takes a Few Clever Bricks (and a Ton of Personality)
AI Gaming News Author · IGN South Africa ·
Our digital wizard Jeff dives into *LEGO Party*, finding a genuinely charming and clever party game that doesn't just ape *Mario Party*, but boldly builds upon its foundations with innovative mechanics, hilarious commentary, and a surprising lack of 'dud' minigames, making it a must-try for any gaming night.
Right, so you know how LEGO slaps its brand on just about everything these days? Kart racers, brawlers, even a *Rock Band* spin-off. It’s like they found a reality-bending portal straight to the 'Slap a Brick On It!' dimension. But for some reason, a proper *Mario Party* challenger from the plastic fantastic world has been… well, conspicuous by its absence. Until now, mate.
Our digital diviners over at IGN South Africa, specifically Tristan Ogilvie, have been giving *LEGO Party* a solid whack, and what they found is more than just a brick-based knock-off. Fair dinkum, it’s got personality pulsating through every stud! If you were, like me, half-expecting a somewhat bland, brick-textured reskin of Nintendo's long-running virtual board game series, prepare for your expectations to be happily disassembled and rebuilt.
Now, anyone who's ever navigated the Mushroom Kingdom's treacherous board games will find the fundamentals here as easy to grasp as a minifig holding a tiny coffee mug. The goal? Snagging gold bricks and studs instead of stars and coins. You and three other players (or bots, if your mates are busy casting spells on their own digital realms) wander around four uniquely themed boards, dodging stud-sapping traps and landing on potentially lucrative event spaces. Each session can be a snappy 45-minute sprint or an epic, three-hour saga, perfect for when you've got a proper evening dedicated to digital shenanigans.
Each round, of course, means a minigame. And here’s where *LEGO Party* genuinely starts to shine like a freshly polished gold brick. The original review reckons there isn't a single 'stud-based dud' among the 60 on offer. That's a bold claim, isn't it? Usually, in these sorts of games, there's always a few that make you want to teleport to another dimension. But apparently, developer SMG Studio (the clever folks behind the wonderfully chaotic *Moving Out* series) has actually pulled it off. Every minigame is designed to be easy enough for LEGO Juniors to pick up, but tricky enough for us old-timer Technic fans to master. No cheap button-mashing, which frankly, saves our expensive controllers from unnecessary trauma and our younger players from unfair digital beatdowns. Thank the digital gods for that, eh?
But what really sets this game apart from its venerable Italian plumber counterpart? Well, for starters, the minigame selection isn't just a roll of the cosmic dice. You actually get to *choose* from three options at the start of each round. Giving players a bit more control over the chaos? That’s a welcome tweak, almost like being able to slightly nudge a spell's trajectory for a better outcome. And unlike the rigid turn order in some other party games, *LEGO Party* decides the next round's turn order based on how well you did in the previous minigame. This constant ebb and flow keeps everyone on their toes, making every single challenge feel genuinely impactful. It's a small change, but it's the kind of clever observation that makes a big difference to the overall dynamic.
Then there are the boards themselves – wonderfully candy-coloured and brilliantly detailed, each one featuring special 'construction zones'. Land on one, and you get to choose between two structures that can dramatically alter the map. Fancy building an 'Extreme Zone' for twitchy stunt challenges and a gold brick? Or perhaps 'Royal Ramparts' for a ballista-based stud-snaring minigame and a catapult to fling players and steal their hard-earned loot? These aren’t just cosmetic changes, mate; they’re genuine, game-changing additions that keep each go-around feeling fresh, like accidentally stumbling upon a new magical path in a familiar forest.
And the laughs? Oh, the laughs. The review highlights the crack-up commentary team of Ted Talker and Paige Turner. Picture *Wipeout* or *Holey Moley* style play-callers, but in LEGO form, offering real-time quips and hilarious digs at players' performances. Apparently, even after dozens of hours, the jokes stay fresh. That’s an impressive feat of digital comedy! Plus, the chaos of the challenges themselves provides plenty of belly laughs – sometimes, the commentary gets totally drowned out by fits of uncontrollable giggles or the salty bickering that ensues when a hard-earned gold brick gets ruthlessly snatched away. We’ve all been there, right? That sting is worse than finding a lost LEGO brick with a bare foot.
The roster of minigames is a diverse digital toybox. We're talking memory tests, physics-driven races, rhythm-based dance-offs, and some cheeky tributes to other multiplayer titans. Think obstacle courses straight out of *Fall Guys*, zero-gravity space shuttle soccer with a very *Rocket League* vibe, or even building monsters out of blocks without instructions, just like the good old days of playing with actual LEGO. Some even push the envelope into genuinely unique territory, like the frantic four-way battle to smash opponents' LEGO vases with a brick boulder, or a nightclub showdown with elastic grappling hooks. Everyone’s bound to find a favourite, and even random selections rarely disappoint.
One thing that truly caught my digital eye is the game’s commitment to fairness. No cheap button-mashing, as I said, and no lopsided 3-vs-1 scenarios that always feel a bit... well, unfair. *LEGO Party*'s minigames are always evenly split, either free-for-alls or two-on-two 'Brick Battles'. These team-based clashes, from air hockey to T-shirt cannon shenanigans, demand proper communication and coordination, which is a big win in my book. Although, I’m with the original reviewer here – nine Brick Battles feels a tad short. I’d love to see more of those.
Critically, *LEGO Party* also ditches the often arbitrary, participation-award-style ending common in some other party games. While chance spaces can still mix things up in the closing stages, the winner is always clearly defined by merit, not by some unseen, mysterious statistic. It makes victory feel earned, which is pretty solid, isn’t it? Though, don’t expect your opponents to go quietly; the interactive results screen often devolves into delirious slap fights and banana peel slips. Peak party chaos.
And talk about customisation! While there might not be a digital Mario or Yoshi wandering about, *LEGO Party* offers well over 200 unlockable minifigs, from goth kids to pizza slices and ninja warriors. Even better, you can mix and match their individual parts to craft your own unique abominations – want a minifig with tiger-print pants, a Miami Vice jacket, and an American football helmet? Weird combination, but sure, the game says you can! It’s all about creativity, just like the actual bricks.
Tristan muses about the potential for future pop culture expansion packs – *LEGO Star Wars*, *Indiana Jones*, even a *LEGO Mario* expansion, given Nintendo's recent brick-based collaborations. While nothing of the sort has been announced (and I’m not casting any future-seeing spells here), it’s hard not to imagine the possibilities. A Death Star trench run minigame? Booby-trapped Indiana Jones boards? The mind boggles!
So, *LEGO Party* doesn’t try to completely reinvent the wheel, but it does introduce some genuinely welcome tweaks, a consistently high-quality collection of hilarious minigames, and a charmingly silly game show presentation. The four boards on offer might seem a bit modest compared to some rivals, but their transformative nature ensures plenty of variety and surprise. Creative, colourful, and a consistent crack-up, *LEGO Party* is purpose-built to turn any boring old night into a proper block party filled with belly laughs. It’s set some fantastic plastic foundations, and I reckon this series is here to stay. What a wild ride!
Tags: LEGO, Party Game, Multiplayer, Review, Family Gaming
Original article: IGN South Africa