For reasons best known to myself, I have installed Light Brick Studio’s Builder’s Journey on my Apple TV. Last week, the onscreen icon changed, and I thought I should find out why. The game has just undergone its 4th major version update, introducing a new series of puzzles: Robot’s Adventure. [Note: this post was already in development when this morning’s news about Light Brick Studio’s new game, LEGO® Voyagers, was announced]
Builder’s Journey features one of the simplest interfaces for a player to engage with a digital brick on a touchscreen that I have experienced. Point and click: pick up a brick from a pile on the level. Click again- spin it around. Give a sustained touch: it clicks in place. The studio has invested heavily in making the bricks as lifelike as possible – from their opacity, colour – even scratches and play wear on systems with selected graphics cards. Over the years, there have been a couple of content updates: one introducing new levels, and another introducing a creative mode, where you can use a handful of elements to create your own digital models.
4 years ago, LightBrick studio brought us LEGO Builders Journey. This game received a major update last week and continues to provide me with joy after all this time. (My review is following soon). Today at Summer Games Fest, the studio have revealed their second game: LEGO Voyagers. This multiplatform co-op adventure game is about friendship and play. When two friends make it their mission to rescue an abandoned spaceship, they embark on a journey beyond their wildest dreams, ultimately learning the value of being connected.
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)
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.
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.
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,
