LEGO Horizon Adventures Review – Dinosaur Syllabics

A few days ago we were raving about how incredible the second installment in the Horizon series, Forbidden West, looked on PlayStation Pro. We can’t let the first part go again when it comes to its extremely clever hardcore sci-fi plot that explains the reasons for the destruction of human civilization and the emergence of robot dinosaurs. As you can see, the management of the PlayStation publisher also has great confidence in this series, because in addition to the main series, they are allegedly preparing a multiplayer branch for us, and now they have also added a version of Horizon, intended for children or for them to play together with their parents.

• Platform: PS5 (review version), PC, Switch
• Release date: 14/11/2024
• Manufacturer: Gobo Studio (England)
• Genre: action adventure
• Czech localization: text
• Multiplayer: 2 players, offline or online
• Download data: 15 GB
• Game time: 10 o’clock
• Price: 1689 CZK (Alsa)

The Tale of Aloy

When I first heard about the existence of a LEGO game based on the Horzion series, I automatically assumed that it would be a surprising twist to the story. But I was completely wrong, because LEGO Horizon Adventures is actually a retelling of the first game in the series (Zero Dawn) with some elements from the second game (Forbidden West). However, since the game is primarily intended for children aged ten years and older, and the plot of the original game was very demanding of hardcore science fiction (apocalypse, nanorobots, cloning, etc.), this presentation is greatly simplified and is additionally flavored with a significant dose of simple humor is not an outright parody like some LEGO games, but all sorts of simple gags are not uncommon here.

Source: Martin Zavrzel / Zing.cz

Source: Martin Zavrzel / Zing.cz

Source: Martin Zavrzel / Zing.cz

Source: Martin Zavrzel / Zing.cz

Source: Martin Zavrzel / Zing.cz

Source: Martin Zavrzel / Zing.cz

Source: Martin Zavrzel / Zing.cz

So, we take another look at the story of Aloy, who was found abandoned in a cradle near the mysterious ruins of the “old world” by the villagers. The old world, of course, was ours, but a thousand years later only ruins remain, and people live in villages with primitive technology reminiscent of the beginnings of prehistoric civilization. Aloy embarks on a journey to uncover the secrets of the old world and her origins. This will be complicated by the variety of all kinds of dinosaur robots, as well as suspicious cultists and their very dangerous robots.

The game is mainly intended for children aged ten years and above.

The game world is divided into your village, which you will return to and improve, and then into separate areas or biomes, which you go to on separate missions as part of the story campaign. The game is viewed from a top-down perspective, but in some parts the camera is deliberately lowered to offer a compromise between a side view and a top view. The individual environments aren’t very large, and they’re also broken up by fairly frequent loading screens, quite possibly due to the Nintendo Switch version of the game. The story is largely simplified, so if you’re looking for a summary as an adult fan of the original, a lot of things are completely missing or explained completely differently. The English dubbing and Czech translation of texts and titles are performed at a high level.

Suitable for family play

As for the game content, most of the time you will be shooting with a bow, but in addition to all kinds of ammunition (incendiary, freezing, etc.) and special weapons (grenades, decoys, traps, etc.) you will also gradually unlock three other playable characters whose equipment and playstyles are relatively different. The game also features the ability to sneak through grass to sneak attack or flank enemies, but overall it’s mechanically quite simple. Of course, there are plenty of extra cubes hidden in the environment, as well as a few treasure chests here and there, so in addition to fighting and the occasional jump, you can also sneak around and look for hidden objects or paths.

In your home village, all fans of LEGO sets will be delighted, because you can gradually rebuild the village not only with the help of components and attractions from the world of Horizon, but also with the help of classic LEGO sets such as LEGO City or LEGO Ninjago. Even after completing the story, you have the opportunity to roam the world freely and complete several additional side quests. The game is not complicated or long, but it can be fun to play with two children (together on the couch or online) or a child with a parent, which will undoubtedly come in handy during the upcoming holidays. Audio-visually the game lives up to its premise and offers quality and performance mode. It’s worth noting all sorts of small details, how the creators really solve everything, including special effects or small details, with specific LEGO set components.