Is LEGO 2K Drive Underrated

GamesRadar

20/07/2024

Lego 2K Drive is here, but how good is it?

Transcript

00:002K and Visual Concepts get their first shot at the LEGO franchise and have instantly delivered

00:09one of gaming's most convincing open world races in LEGO 2K Drive.

00:13All the competition, challenges and collectathon good times you might expect are present, complementing

00:18a solid single player story-led adventure.

00:21Your vehicle instantly and automatically switches between street, car, boat and off-roader depending

00:26on the terrain that's under your wheels at any one time, allowing you to zoom across

00:30land or water without worry.

00:32This makes for breathless races and unrestricted exploration, exactly what a modern open world

00:37racer needs.

00:38And no element of LEGO 2K Drive feels compromised or cobbled together, it's all very assured.

00:44LEGO 2K Drive comprises of three main areas, there's a LEGOified version of Arizona called

00:49Big Butt County, yes it's very funny but it's actually pronounced boot, a Transylvania-esque

00:55spooky themed area and a Prospecto Valley, essentially an Oregon-like gold rush mining

01:00settlement with trees all around.

01:02There's also one more small area that's all you have access to begin with, which is basically

01:06just a green LEGOLAND which serves as the perfect introduction to the game, especially

01:10for young players.

01:12Even after the intro there's no escaping the child-focused delivery.

01:15Not only are you constantly referred to as kid throughout your story, the 2K portal even

01:19asks you to verify your child's email, assuming that you're making an account for a minor

01:24instead of for yourself.

01:25Adults like LEGO too, come on now.

01:28But the ironic thing is that LEGO 2K Drive soon reveals higher levels of challenge and

01:32skill depth clearly designed to challenge those already well-versed in racing games.

01:37There's loads of scope for properly skilful play by mastering the subtleties of a deceptively

01:41deep control scheme, with its separate drift and sharp turn buttons.

01:45And there's a perk system which unlocks as you progress, affording everything from

01:49defence buffs for your vehicle to a double jump later on.

01:52There does however appear to be some degree of rubberbanding going on during the races.

01:56No matter how well you drive, the leader, or maybe another car or two, will always zoom

02:01out of sight, reappearing within a lap to go before vying for you for first place before

02:06suddenly losing some speed, either by getting taken out by a weapon or just going slower

02:10than it needs to so that you win.

02:12It isn't as pronounced later on in the campaign, so LEGO 2K Drive isn't at all watered down,

02:17but races do often feel artificially close when you get a feel for what you're doing.

02:22That said, the gameplay itself is excellent, races are fast, responsive, impressive to

02:26look at, and LEGO 2K Drive even runs at a reasonably solid 60fps for the most part on

02:31an Xbox Series X.

02:33Despite the screen being filled with the scattered LEGO bricks and scenery elements, not to mention

02:37dynamic waves in the water and some of the most convincing mud spray effects I've seen

02:42for a while, it's big, bold and beautiful, and some of the later races are truly superb.

02:47Many of the best LEGO games are known for their silly sense of humour, and while that

02:51is present here with some excellent character names, sight gags and funny signage, 2K Drive

02:56isn't as witty as some of the other games.

02:58It's all good fun and kids will undoubtedly laugh at the few, thankfully infrequent toilet

03:03jokes, but it's seldom laugh out loud funny, offering just enough to make you smile.

03:08In 2K Drive you can start with four wheels and literally build your dream car from scratch,

03:13brick by brick.

03:14Even better than that, any pre-built car you find has instructions that let you build it

03:18yourself on the screen, which could absolutely be replicated in real life with real bricks.

03:23It's superb.

03:24While each of these cards do have unique handling and characteristics, there's nothing to stop

03:28you just sticking with one loadout for the vast majority of LEGO 2K Drive and remaining

03:32competitive throughout.

03:33This also extends to the weapon set.

03:35This game is based more on cornering and jumping to find shortcuts than mastering the weapon

03:40system, which feels loose and imprecise compared to say, Disney's Speedstorm or Mario Kart

03:458 Deluxe.

03:46Nonetheless, the weapon element does make 2K Drive feel more like a kart racer than

03:50a straight racing game, though the scope, speed and scale of the courses means it rarely

03:54feels as compact as the genre's best.

03:57The campaign isn't as long as you might expect given the game's size, with the story mode

04:01easily beatable in a weekend at around 8-10 hours long.

04:04You spend most of your time entering races and beating rivals, each with their own backstory

04:08and daft characterisation, earning chequered flags from wins until you have enough to enter

04:12the area's Grand Brick Arena, which is a special one-off showcase race with bombastic

04:17spectacle.

04:18Once the story mode is done, there's still some 80% of the game itself to tick off, and

04:22it will surely take weeks to find everything and complete every challenge that LEGO 2K

04:27Drive has to offer.

04:28Then there's online mode, where you can race with friends or in public lobbies which

04:32support crossplay.

04:33If you sign into a 2K account, you can even carry your progress across to another platform,

04:37which is becoming a very welcome trend in games like this.

04:40There's also the ability to play the whole of LEGO 2K Drive in split-screen with a friend

04:44in local multiplayer.

04:46This allows each player to go wherever they like within the same biome and play the game

04:49at their own pace, together or apart, until a player decides to change biomes or start

04:54a race.

04:55It runs beautifully with only a hint more draw in on the distant scenery.

04:59It's very, very slick.

05:00Indeed, LEGO 2K Drive is absolutely a very classy game.

05:04It looks great, runs well, is fully featured and well balanced to ensure that everyone

05:08has a good time.

05:10LEGO 2K Drive is an easy recommendation then, regardless of whether you're looking for a

05:13gift for a child or just want a wholesome palate cleanser for yourself.

05:18We give it 4 stars out of 5.

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