video games

LEGO® Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. Nostalgia Isn’t What It Used To Be… [Guest Review]

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Like many people of a certain age, I grew up watching the Original Trilogy of Star Wars Movies as they rolled out in the cinemas. I then set watched the prequels as they played out, around the same time as my kids were born and in their early years. Finally, their first exposure to Star Wars came: not through the movies in the first instance, but through playing the TT Games – LEGO® Star Wars (covering episodes 1-3), LEGO® Star Wars II – Espisodes IV -VI, and then picking up the omnibus Complete Saga, on an alternative platform. This also served as part of their introduction to video games, and as a parent, I preferred this style of gameplay – mixed puzzles and cartoon gunfire, while tethered to each other, and taking the journey together. To be honest, I would have never completed episode VI if it were not for the cooperative play afforded by my son.

Now, 15 years is a long time in video games, but it might have even been a bit longer. Our kids have pretty well grown up (but are still at home), and the closest thing we now have in our house to cooperative regular game play is a game of Trivial pursuit (either via a Nintendo Switch or going old school, using a board, actual pieces and a 6-sided die.).

So part of me was quite excited about the prospect of sitting down again and replaying LEGO® Star Wars, covering the entire saga and spending some quality couch time with Harry. He has spent a little bit of time contemplating Games And Interactivity at university, while focussing on creative writing. I figured I could get him to write a review.

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Announcing LEGO® Bricktales – A New digital adventure from Thunderful and LEGO® Games

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Announced today, LEGO®Brick Tales is a new puzzle-based, digital adventure from Thunderful Studios called. We are missing a few details (including platform, price and release dates- I’ll update this post when they become available). This game takes the player through a variety of challenges, typically involving brick based construction, in a beautifully rendered world.

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Release Date for LEGO® Star Wars™: The Complete Saga will be April 5, 2022 ; Gameplay Trailer Now Available

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After what feels like years of delays, TT Games ‘LEGO® Star Wars™: The Skywalker Saga’ has finally been given a release date:April 5 2022.

The final gameplay trailer was released overnight,and it looks like, while the delays have been frustrating with large gaps between updates, as well as rumors of the game being cancelled, its might all have been worth it. Having been around LEGO Star Wars since the beginning, LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy was probably one of the first games that I played with my kids. Now, almost 20 years later they are grown up, and seeking out gaming experiences of their own.

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LEGO®: Builder’s Journey [Review]

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We have a guest contributor today. While I play a few games on my phone, my son Harry has experienced a far greater range of diverse games iacross a variety of platforms. I thought it would be helpful to get his opinion on LEGO® Builder’s Journey – the debut game from Light Brick Studios. His opinion might be a little different to mine… and that’s OK. Read on for his take on the game…

Lego: Builder’s Journey

Developer: Light Brick Studio

Platforms: PC (Steam and Epic Games), Switch, iOS/Apple Arcade

Genre: Puzzle

Replayability: Low – Medium (depending on future updates)

Screenshots PC version. GTX Graphics
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Going On A Builder’s Journey With Light Brick Studios [Fan Media Round Table].

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LEGO® Builder’s Journey, the game from Light Brick Studios was updated a couple of weeks ago. It delivers new content to a broader audience – extending from Apple Arcade to Nintendo Switch and PC (on Steam and Epic Games Store). Having completed the game in its first iteration, I sat down to replay it. The game follows the adventures of a father and son, initially hiking together, and playing. Then they get interrupted while the father goes to work.

I decided to extend this metaphor, by engaging the services of Harry, our household games consultant (ok… its my son!), to provide a review. I’m a dab hand on the iPhone, but as far as understanding PC gaming, I’m at a loss.

We subsequently attended a round table discussion with representatives the Light Brick Studios, LEGO Games and other Recognised LEGO Fan Media – Racing Brick, Cafe Corner, Bricksfanz, Blocks Magazine and ADFL.it.

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‘Builder’s Journey,’ Light Brick Studio’s LEGO Based Puzzler Comes to Nintendo Switch and PC

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A year or two ago, Apple Arcade opened – a subscription model for a games service in the Apple Ecosystem. One of the launch titles, Builder’s Journey, saw a number of AFOLs sign up for the service, and I suspect a few of us failed to cancel our subscription after completing the game.

The game is a puzzle based game, involving the journey of a stylised father and son, exploring a world of LEGO Bricks. The game’s beautiful aesthetics is capped off by the relaxing soundtrack, which also features heavily in the LEGO Games Podcast ‘Bits N Bricks.’ In fact, there is an episode of the podcast dedicated to builder’s journey, which you can find here (episode 6 to be exact…).

This week, the game has been released for PC via Steam, and the Spic Game Store, as well as the Nintendo Game store. These versions, as well as the new version on Apple Arcade, represent an expanded version of the original game.

I’ve set the Household Gamer (ie the game player of our household) the task of working through the new, Steam Based version, and putting together a review for the Rambling Brick – I look forward to hear he has to say about it. I really enjoyed the game on Apple Arcade, when it first came out, and am setting out on revisiting the game with the latest version.

According to the publisher’s website, the game

The LEGO® Group is taking players on an epic, inspirational experience in LEGO® Builder’s Journey, available now on Nintendo Switch and PC. The game follows a father and son on a heartwarming journey through a stunning brick-built universe, filled with geometric puzzles that will surprise and delight players

“When creating LEGO Builder’s Journey, we were inspired by the new movement of games that focus on the overall experience for gamers,” said Karsten Lund, creative director and head of studio, Light Brick Studio. “We chose to focus on the emotional and evocative aspects of storytelling to spark players’ imaginations, and to encourage them to reflect on the importance of play and creativity in all of our lives.”

In addition to the playful themes sewn seamlessly throughout the narrative, the Light Brick team has designed a world featuring graphical upgrades to further immerse players in the game, including ray-traced ambient occlusion, global illumination, reflections, shadows, and other effects that make bricks feel more tactile and movement more fluid.

LEGO Builder’s Journey is available now for $USD19.99 on Steam, the Epic Games Store and the Nintendo eShop. This translates to $29.99 AUD.

To learn more, please visit https://www.lightbrick.com/builders-journey.

Have you played Builder’s Journey? Have you been frustrated by the limited platforms that it has been available on? Did you fall foul of the ‘Signup for the free trial and forget to unsubscribe’ business model that Apple use?

Why not leave your comments below, and until next time,

Play Well.

Bricks N’ Bits: The Making of a Celebration.

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Have you been enjoying Bricks N’ Bits, the podcast detailing the 25 year history of LEGO® Games? The second series launched properly last week, with a discussion of LEGO Brawls. Along with Extra Pieces co-producer (and editor of Jay’s Brick Blog), Jay Ong, I was fortunate to attend the Recognised LEGO® Fan Media Days last week.

This virtual gathering provided an opportunity to participate with other Fan Media in several briefings about projects that the LEGO Group has underway. We were treated to a presentation by the LEGO® Games team. They took us on some deep dives into the world of podcast production, as they brought us some of the stories behind researching and producing Bricks N’ Bits.
The second season is now underway and the latest episode has just been released. It brings us some of the stories behind LEGO Marvel Superheroes – a game first released in 2013.

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The LEGO Group Marks Tenth Anniversary Of LEGO® Universe With Remastered And Never Before Released Soundtrack

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Do you remember the Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game, LEGO Universe? The weekly podcast Bits N’ Bricks is discussing the history, production and and eventual demise over several episodes. This weeks episode explores the music and soundtrack of the game. To commemorate the 10th Anniversary of LEGO Universe, the remastered soundtrack has been released.

Read on for details…

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Unity x LEGO Game Jam: Ideas Edition Feb 13th 2021

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A couple of months ago, we mentioned the new Unity x LEGO microgame platform, now online. Lining up nicely with the 25th Anniversary of LEGO Games, there is now a LEGO Ideas contest in pregress for creators of these games.

And everyone’s a winner! Well, Every participant will receive a custom, limited edition, Unity Minifigure.

But, that has been in progress for a few weeks now. Why the excitement today?

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Bits N’ Bricks Podcast: Celebrating 25 Years of LEGO® Games

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Over the last few decades, LEGO Bricks have been competing with electronic platforms for the attention of the youth of the world. It was inevitable that they would start to get involved in games of their own – either developed inhouse or through external studios. This year, the company are celebrating 25 years since their first foray into such games. Today, we see the announcement of a Bits n Bricks, a ten part podcast charting their history.

With episodes dedicated to specific instances in LEGO Gaming History, the program was produced by documentary maker Ethan Vincent, who had already documented the making of LEGOs first Massive Multiplayer Online Game, LEGO Universe from 2008 – 2011, and games journalist, Brian Crecente, co-founder of Polygon.

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