Gameplay
It’s the gameplay that really makes the LEGO games the success they are. If you’ve played one you’ve played them all. You’ll make your way through a ton of levels, smashing objects and collecting studs. It’s a formula that’s been going for nearly a decade and yet it’s still fun to watch LEGO studs eject from breakables and then run around picking them up before they disappear.
Something is a little different this time around in terms of level design. Instead of being given an open-world to explore you’re presented with ‘hubs’ which serve as central, well, hubs that can be explored and lead into the levels, most of which are fairly long, uncomfortably long at times.
Levels can take around 45 minutes to get through if you stop to smash everything and attempt to collect all the collectibles (of which there are many!) but sometimes checkpoints are a little too far apart. It’s not a deal-breaker but it’s a bit of a pain in the bum.
Playing through the levels are still great fun and even better with a second player – the A.I can still be a little bit dumb and cause a few problems when they’re required to move to a specific place or perform an action, thought they’re bearable for the most part.
Levels are designed well and encourage you to branch away from the set path and try to find the hidden collectibles or simply just to see what’s behind big smashable object A and object B. Traveller’s Tales haven’t changed much up and at this point they really don’t need to. The gameplay is solid and beating down on enemies is still a helluva lot of fun, especially once you’ve unlocked a few more characters and get to play around with their abilities.
Some characters are naturally more enjoyable to play as than others with those who can fly taking the top spot, mainly because flight has been reworked and as such it’s much more enjoyable with easier controls. No more accidentally floating down a pit of doom…
The LEGO games have always appealed to children as well as adults and it’s still the case with LEGO Batman 3 with easy to pickup and play controls, fun combat, lots of collectibles and some easy puzzles. It’s the same old-same old but that isn’t too bad, but a lack of innovation does make it feel a little rushed and with no open-world akin to Gotham City it feels like a step backwards for the series.