14 DAY TRIAL // 
I love LEGO, in real life and in video games. The latter has the added advantage of being cheaper and not taking up so much space, but while various themes have conquered digital space, one element of the physical fun always seemed to be missing. Bricktales is here to challenge gamers of all ages to actually figure out builds and stick various pieces into functional structures.
After the epic length of the Skywalker Saga, which was a dream come true for all Star Wars and Lego fans alike, Bricktales takes a different approach. Instead of relying only on puns and crowd-pleasing innuendos hidden in simple puzzles, it challenges the players to build actual structures in the digital space. But the game of ClockStone Studio is not just a simulator with accurate physics, it is an actual game with a background story and plenty to explore.
It all starts with a rundown theme park that needs a bit of care and love, and a lot of elbow grease to regain its shine. The pop culture references are not missing our hero and his uncle resembling eerily Marty McFly and Doc Brown from Back to the Future. Your granddaddy, the nutty, yet brilliant professor does not invent a time travelling DeLorean, but a dimension hopping washing machine that lets you visit different worlds in search of Happiness Crystals.
Beyond the basic, yet functional background story, you also get a companion, a small robot that will offer invaluable help because trying to solve the challenges that will yield you the five magic items needed to restore the park. The different abilities granted in each dimension range from teleporting to jump starting electrical contraptions, are an essential element of exploring and solving the puzzles of the various inhabitants.
While exploration is a big part of the game, Bricktales is not an open world game. Rather it is a collection of beautifully crafted dioramas in which you have to follow a preset trail. The sense of freedom comes from the builds, which have more functional solutions than the ones envisioned by the developers. Just like in real life, once you get your hands on the bricks it is up to you how you build your stairs, bridges or even helicopters.
The dioramas themselves, while fairly detailed and whimsical, can be hard to navigate. The fixed angle camera makes it rather difficult to correctly assess the terrain and your avatar has an annoying tendency to get suck in the smallest environmental objects. While the dioramas can be freely rotated and zoomed in and out, the perspective chosen to control your hero is a different topic. The elevation will challenge you most, often giving you the impression that you can cross a certain terrain element, while actually you have to look for a way around.
The build screen in contrast is very clear and easy to understand, almost like an engineer’s table. It helps you have a very good overview of the bricks and track the progress you are making. While most of the time you will be building structures like stairs or bridges, there are memorable moments when the game challenges you to unleash your creativity by constructing generators, elevators or various vehicles.
As already mentioned beyond the solution of the developers, there are several functional ones. You can use all the bricks you have at your disposal to build something that is also visually pleasing, or just use the bare minimum to build physically sound structures. After the tutorial, the game lets go of your hand, so these builds will actually challenge you. If you feel inspired, you can return to each puzzle and build it differently.
It wouldn’t be a true Lego game if you couldn’t personalize your experience. By opening the chests hidden in the levels you can get currency that help you buy new clothing, new brick colors and very expensive special items. You can alter your hero’s look at any time and switch out any of their components to the ones you got from the friendly ghosts, accepting the currency you have amassed.
Visually the game looks compelling and there is definitely variety among the five realms you will explore. While the camera and the control may need to get used to, the dioramas themselves are really convincing. It is just like in real life: you can control the bricks easier with your hands than with a controller, but you would need a lot more time and expertise to be able to build such amazing decorum.
The Good
- Unmistakable LEGO vibes
- Beautiful and carefully crafted dioramas
- Freedom to build anyway you want
The Bad
- Finnicky controls that never feel natural
- Short with not too varied tasks
- Some builds could use more hints
Conclusion
We also have to mention that the game is fairly short, even if you aim to collect all the items. In barely 5 hours you have done everything you could have. It is far from a flawless experience, but it can be a fun activity for the family.
Review code provided by the publisher.
