When Light Brick Studios—fresh off the contemplative success of LEGO Builder’s Journey—unveils not one but two new titles, it’s impossible to look away. The studio proved with its last game that LEGO can transcend button-mashing platformers and tie-in cash grabs, delivering a meditative, atmosphere-driven experience instead. Now comes LEGO Voyagers, a co-op adventure with emotional puzzles, and LEGO Party!, a bustling mini-game extravaganza. But will these new releases push boundaries or simply lean on our collective plastic-brick nostalgia?
Light Brick Studios emerged in 2017 from a small team at LEGO Group’s R&D division, aiming to reimagine what a LEGO video game could feel like. Their first independent title arrived in 2019: LEGO Builder’s Journey. Critics applauded its art-house sensibility, minimal text, and serene puzzles—traits rarely associated with the brick-based license. It earned awards for sound design and visual art, proving there was an appetite for a quieter LEGO experience. That acclaim gave Light Brick the runway—and the confidence—to tackle bolder designs in Voyagers and Party! while still operating under the watchful eye of LEGO’s license holders.
LEGO Voyagers casts you as two tiny brick explorers stranded on a mysterious planet. Whether you play solo—switching between characters—or team up via local split-screen or online with a free “Friend Pass,” the backbone is puzzle-platforming. Expect classic maneuvers—double jumps, wall grabs, momentum-based launches—but each obstacle ties into an emotional beat. One sequence has players rebuilding a broken bridge under a sunset sky, echoing themes of trust and cooperation. Another forces you to split up, solving mirror-image puzzles that emphasize communication. The soundtrack, heavy on ambient synths and sparse piano, underscores the mood without becoming overbearing.
The Friend Pass echoes systems popularized by It Takes Two and A Way Out, removing purchase barriers and encouraging spontaneous matchmaking. Early trailers show a level where players manipulate light and shadow via rotating platforms to reveal hidden pathways—mechanically inventive and visually striking. Yet there are concerns: will these emotional beats land deeply enough, or will the puzzles become rote collection tasks? If Light Brick can sustain variety beyond these flagship stages—introducing physics-based water flows or magnetic repulsion puzzles—Voyagers could carve its own niche in narrative-driven co-op.
By contrast, LEGO Party! is pure, unfiltered chaos. Over 60 mini-games draw from iconic LEGO themes—Pirates, NINJAGO, Space, and more—while an optional board-game mode binds them into a night-long competition for golden bricks. Players dash through obstacle courses, assemble quick-build models under time pressure, and even wage asymmetrical “boss fights” in a last-man-standing showdown. Cross-platform play for up to four participants ensures you can drag in far-flung friends, and avatar customization—complete with hats, capes, and color swaps—adds personalized flair.
Yet mini-game volume isn’t a guarantee of quality. Mario Party veterans know that a handful of standout events buoy a lot of forgettable filler. Early footage hints at a few inventive modes—like a zero-gravity tetris-style assembly challenge—but also some yawners that reuse chasing mechanics or simple button-mash timers. The key test will be whether Party! introduces modular board events or dynamic rule tweaks—think rotating tiles or surprise boss rounds—to break up predictability. If not, it risks joining the heap of “one-more-try” experiences that end with you booting up Jackbox instead.
Light Brick’s signature is subtlety. In Builder’s Journey, each brick felt like hand-crafted poetry; will that careful design translate to these larger, more chaotic formats? Voyagers still carries an unmistakable literary bent, arriving scene by scene like chapters in a storybook, complete with environmental storytelling—cracked statues, half-buried shipwrecks, and echoing robot voices. Meanwhile, Party! wears its license on its sleeve, gleefully leaning into vibrant palettes and character cameos. The art direction walks a fine line: enough charm to thrill LEGO purists, but not so saccharine that it drowns out mechanical innovation.
This fall’s release schedule is crowded. AAA blockbusters and indie darlings vie for attention, and party-co-op is a fiercely competitive subgenre. Nintendo’s Mario Party remains the gold standard, while Jackbox and indie packs like Move or Die have reinvented living-room play. On the co-op adventure side, titles like Unravel Two and Trine offer physics-based puzzles with narrative threads. Voyagers must strike a chord with players fatigued by mindless shooters, whereas Party! has to convince audiences that more mini-games equals more fun.
Looking ahead, I predict LEGO Voyagers could emerge as a sleeper hit—if its midgame introduces fresh mechanics, like time-manipulation crystals or shared-resources puzzles, that deepen player engagement beyond the opening world. It may not topple It Takes Two, but it could secure a loyal following among families and co-op enthusiasts craving gentle challenges. In contrast, LEGO Party! faces an uphill climb. Unless at least a quarter of its mini-games feel truly original—think a procedural dungeon run or a story-driven set piece—it will likely be remembered as a fun rental rather than a party-night staple.
Light Brick Studios has ambition in spades: thoughtful co-op adventures in LEGO Voyagers and high-octane chaos in LEGO Party!. Both games lean on crossplay, physical editions, and the sparking strength of our favorite plastic bricks. Yet the core question remains: can these titles build something memorable, or are they comfortable rehashes of familiar formulas? For now, I’ll keep my optimism calibrated—but I’ll be watching every reveal, eager to see if Light Brick can once again surprise us beyond the nostalgia.