LEGO Brawls

Genre: Action-Platformer

Players: 1-8 Competitive (Local / Online)

.

Review:

LEGO Brawls is a multiplayer-focused arena-based Action-Platformer released on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch in 2022. In this game, up to eight players compete in fairly small enclosed spaces to try to take out opponents and maintain control over the space within a time limit.

I have heard some people compare this game to the Super Smash Bros. franchise. This is not a particularly accurate comparison, or if it is comparable it is only in the most vague, remote fashion. Firstly, none of the characters in this game play differently, they are all just skins over the exact same gameplay. Additionally, that gameplay is fairly simple and straightforward – you have a jump, a melee attack, a drop-down attack, and you can store up to two expendable power-ups that give you some sort of brief upgrade, weapon, or assist. That’s it.

There’s not much nuance here, no deep strategy that I can see. This game really boils down to “mash the attack button and hope you do more damage than the enemy” or, if you find an item box, hope you get an item good enough to turn the tide of battle.

Unfortunately, when you make contact with the enemy, your hits are not at all satisfying, being silent and seemingly ineffectual save for at times pushing the enemy back a bit. This is backed by a mostly-forgettable soundtrack, although you do have a few memorable tunes in arenas borrowed from other franchises, such as the Jurassic Park/World franchise. This combines with 3D visuals that are decent but not especially noteworthy or interesting in any way.

Look, I’ll just cut to the chase here – LEGO Brawls should be a free-to-play game. Its combat is dull and unengaging, there’s little strategy to be found here, and there’s nothing in the presentation to really pull you in and make you want to keep playing. I give this game credit for having a lot of customizable cosmetics to unlock, but I can’t imagine why I would want to unlock them when I have zero interest in ever playing this game again after finishing this review.

tl;dr – LEGO Brawls is a multiplayer-focused arena-based Action-Platformer that some people will tell you is like Super Smash Bros. Do not listen to them. Not only is this a dull, shallow, pointless game that lacks the fun of Super Smash Bros., but its gameplay does not feel especially close to Super Smash Bros. either. What it does feel like is a waste of time and a waste of $20. Do not buy it.

Grade: D+

^{You can support eShopperReviews on Patreon! Please click HERE to become a Sponsor!}

^{This month’s sponsors are Ben, Andy Miller, Exlene, Homer Simpin, Johannes, Talissa, Eli Goodman, Gabriel Coronado-Medina, Ilya Zverev, Kristoffer Wulff, and Seth Christenfeld. Thank you for helping to keep the reviews coming!}