Tag Archives: Short

“LEGO Builder’s Journey” Review

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LEGO Builder’s Journey is a short, casual game about building with LEGO. However, the choice of characters and theme make this game shine.

You play alternately as a LEGO parent or a child in a LEGO world. You start with simple acts of bonding, such as the parent taking the child hiking. You return home, where the parent juggles the demands of a dull, repetitive job and playing with the child. Then something interesting happens.

The gameplay consists of moving bricks to traverse a level and solve puzzles. The controls are straightforward but sometimes frustrating, clearly borrowed the original mobile version. It can be hard to see whether a mouse click will place a brick or drop it. The game provides no guides or other indicators, presumably prioritizing realism. 

The player learns and infers the simple mechanics through trial and error, even when facing new mechanics or goals. LEGO Builder’s Journey is a master class on teaching through subtle but effective hints and limited options. 

Like many games in the LEGO franchise, LEGO Builder’s Journey is also a master class in expressing emotion through character animation. It establishes the parental bond through simple acts like cooperative play or extinguishing a campfire once the child is asleep. It also captures the frustration and conflict parents have with balancing work and family.

The graphics are gorgeous, using ray tracing on high-end graphics cards. The game looks just like playing with LEGO bricks in real life but animates some of them, like subtle waves in transparent blue water bricks or bubbles popping on brown mud bricks. It imbues otherwise sterile LEGO bricks with imagination and energy.

The soundtrack is ambient, ethereal and slightly upbeat. Extended, soft chords encourage contemplation. Occasional scale fragments sound like learning an instrument, just as the child is learning LEGO.

LEGO Builder’s Journey is short. It takes about three hours to complete, including all achievements. Some expect a longer game at its price. However, stretching it further risks diluting rather than enhancing it. I suspect the LEGO corporation also takes a significant cut.

LEGO Builder’s Journey is a brief, beautiful and heartfelt game about playing with LEGO. It celebrates a new generation growing up with a toy build around imagination and creativity. It is accessible to all ages. However, parents will appreciate the themes more. The game should be called LEGO Builders’ Journey, with the apostrophe after the “s”, to emphasize shared play and joy.

“A Short Hike” Review

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A Short Hike is an exploration game with resource gathering, light puzzling and a few quests. You play as Claire, an anthropomorphic bird, who travelled to an island with her Aunt May, a local ranger. The goal is to climb Hawk’s Peak, the island‘s mountain and namesake.

Connecting with people along the way is where this game shines. Fuelled by childish naivety and a good heart, Claire’s every interaction is curt but cheerful, helpful and lacks any conflict or aggression. She never judges people, even those ripping her off, with seeming silly superstitions or realising their shortcomings.

A Short Hike does not challenge the player, letting them explore, advance, or backtrack freely. Quests are not tracked in a quest log, reducing pressure to complete them. Most are completed by a keen eye when exploring or chatting honestly and openly to everyone you meet.

Some minigames, like “beachstickball” or parkour sections, require some effort but are optional and fun. Sometimes you just glide over the foggy landscape and relax. The light, upbeat soundtrack supports the cheery atmosphere, and the pixelated art style keeps the game non-serious, almost retro.

A Short Hike is an allegory on life. One may start with a goal (reaching Hawk’s Peak), but life happens on the way. We often need to deviate (such as to acquire golden feathers and learn how to climb, glide or run). We frequently get side-tracked to help others (quests) or satisfy short term goals (the many side paths or shortcuts). While others can appreciate our achievements, introspection determines how important a goal was. Everyone’s journey is different. Perspective and experience help tackle and cushion us from life’s ups and downs.

What elevates A Short Hike is its unashamedly uplifting outlook and minimalist but effective game design. It is a non-challenging and quickly completed (3 hours to see most of it) ray of sunshine that runs counter to the grit, darkness, or moral ambiguity common in modern media.