Buy LEGO The Incredibles

"That was totally wicked!"

That's how I had hoped LEGO The Incredibles would end. Unfortunately, TT Games did not end with my favorite line from Pixar's "Incredibles" series. The studio has still created yet another charming entry in the ever-growing suite of LEGO video games.

To no one's surprise, the game came out alongside the release of Pixar's long-awaited "The Incredibles 2" movie. What is a pleasant surprise is that TT Games has packed both movie plots into the video game, leaving players with a healthy 12+ hours of content to smash, dash, and Jack-Jack their way through. The game consists of 12 missions, with each movie getting six missions to carry the player through the plot.

Packing both movies into 12 missions is a double-edged sword, and I'm not sure if it's to the game's overall benefit. On the one hand, it's a smart decision to quickly run through the story for players who want quick doses of nostalgia and for kids whose attention spans may wander too quickly. On the other hand, because the movie plots have been distilled to six missions that can be beaten in a couple of hours, story beats and tone-setting scenes are skipped entirely. In the end, the plot loses all the magic that Pixar so lovingly weaves into its characters and films.

This is exacerbated even further by the fact that TT Games has made the odd decision to start the game with "The Incredibles 2" and then tack on the first movie's story as the last six missions. Without spoiling either movie's plot, it makes for a nonsensical story arc.

Alas, most people don't go into the LEGO games expecting emotionally charged drama and life-altering thought pieces. They want charm, color, and stress-free gameplay — and in that regard, LEGO The Incredibles delivers with great success. Players have the option to take a break from the story and explore the open world, which is broken out into 10 regions across various environments and aesthetics. Whether it's Edna Modes' sprawling high-tech mansion or the seaside waterfront of New Urbem, The Incredibles' universe is free for the players to explore seamlessly without any load times between. One minute, you may be beating up some baddies in the Industrial zone, and the next minute, you may be helping a kid light a campfire in the wilderness. While the missions themselves are little more than simple puzzles and fetch quests, the change in environments between regions is enough to keep the player engaged.

Beyond the brick collect-a-thon and simple puzzles, there are also "Crime Waves" for the player to complete. Crime waves occur in a single region at a time. Upon entering a region, the player triggers a pun-filled cut scene that describes the havoc brought upon the area by a super-villain and his ring of cronies. While the puns can often be eye-rolling (my favorite being the castaway sea-washed news host who goes by the name of "Anchor Man"), they're charming and are ultimately something that both parents and kids will get a chuckle out of. Like most of the game, the crime wave is little more than a set of fetch quests and a boss fight. Sure, the actual gameplay during the crime wave can be mindless, but the rewards kept me coming back for more.

Pixar-obsessed folks like myself will be pleased to know that TT Games has included more than just the "Incredibles" characters in the game. Completing a crime wave within a region unlocks a character from another Pixar film, including "Monsters Inc.," "Wall-E," and even newer entries like "Coco." While the characters are no different than the 100+ other unlockable characters in the game, it's a nice touch that shows how far TT Games has gone to hit everyone's nostalgia points.

As stated, Pixar characters aren't the only unlockables. LEGO The Incredibles features over 100 unlockable characters, so players get a constant drip feed of new characters. The game has an insane amount of abilities (flying, super strength, swimming, teleportation, telekinesis, etc.), and each character has three or four abilities at their disposal to complete the various puzzles in the game. Some puzzles require Violet's shield, while others may only be accessible with a flying hero. It allows you to constantly change up your hero instead of sticking with the same character throughout the entire game. Unlocking heroes also adds their cosmetic pieces to a pool of selectable items in the character creation tool. While it's not necessary, it's a nice addition to a game that already has an absurd number of characters to choose from.

The character abilities feel fun to use, but some of the other controls can feel wonky. There were a number of times when certain context-sensitive events didn't trigger the action I intended because two different actions are mapped to the same button input. This will lead to moments of frustration when it's unclear whether you're doing something wrong or if the game isn't recognizing your attempted action. Beyond this, there's the driving. While it's infrequent, the vehicle controls may be some of the worst I've ever seen in a video game. Every vehicle (minus a few flying ones) feels clunky. Holding down the analog stick for a turn feels sluggish, only to have the car suddenly pivot at a 90-degree angle. Fortunately, there are very few missions that require driving.

Ultimately, LEGO The Incredibles isn't "totally wicked," but TT Games has created another charming LEGO game. Sure, the puzzles and quests are fairly mundane, and this isn't much different from the other LEGO games. At this point, it seems like everyone knows what to expect from a LEGO title, and they know why they're gravitating toward it. Thought-provoking narrative, branching dialogue trees, and complex side-quests aren't expected when booting up one of these games. Players are looking for charm, nostalgia, and pun-filled quips within a beloved universe, and in that regard, LEGO The Incredibles delivers. The game can be completed within 10-15 hours and has a decent-sized open world, 12 story missions, and tons of characters spread across various Pixar universes. LEGO The Incredibles offers just enough content to put a smile on your face without overstaying its welcome.

Score: 8.0/10