Wake me up before you Ninjago-go…
I was quite surprised we didn’t get a Lego game for the Lego Batman movie, but since we’ve had 3 stand-alone games from that series I wasn’t too disappointed. I was then surprised to hear that the now-released Lego Ninjago movie has its own game coming. I know very little about the series other than the appearance of the series in Lego Dimensions, so was intrigued about whatever it was all about…
The game obviously loosely follows the plot of the film in which the city of Ninjago is under attack from the evil Lord Garmadon, and puts you in the robes of ninjas who constantly stop his attacks on the city. Garmadon’s son Lloyd fights against his father but is despised by the city who do not know his identity. It feels like if Kung-Fu and Star Wars had a baby…
The gameplay is classic Lego-fare. Smash bricks, collect studs, beat up enemies and find collectables. It doesn’t mix up the formula but it does add some new moves like wall-running and combo moves, plus you’ll have to mix up your attacks for some enemies who will block your current strategy.
I was lucky enough to try out both PS4 and Xbox One versions of the game and I can report that there is no performance difference between them. There’s sadly no PS4 Pro support to speak of, which is a shame…seeing this run in 4K with HDR would have made it stand out so much more.
The game looks great though and the world plus its inhabitants are well animated. The voice-acting is great too, delivering funny lines as you would expect. I did come across a few bugs and the game did lock up for me a few times, which is a shame…but I’m sure it’ll be patched. It only happened a few times throughout my time with it, so it may not even happen to you.
The Verdict
Lego Ninjago is a decent entry into the series, although it doesn’t really add anything new. Still, it’s good fun and just what you’d expect. Definitely one for fans.