There’s something that occurred to me the other day. I have never sat down and looked at all thirty Adventure Worlds in Lego Dimension and ranked them. This came back to my mind the other day while answering a question on Reddit, so let’s do it.
Of course, this would be highly opinionated, so I have decided to simplify it. I separated the Worlds into three categories: Fun/Great, Neutral/Indifferent, and Boring/Dislike. I won’t be raking them in numerical order, instead by the order I wrote down the worlds from the wiki, only separated by the three categories. And remember, these are my opinions, not fact.
Let’s start from the “bottom up”
Boring/Disliked Worlds
The Back to the Future World was one of the first that had a “gimmick” to it. Using the Delorian Toy Tag, you are able to access a total of three different versions of Hill Valley. Unfortunately, the majority of tasks are confined to one small space, which means that there is a good amount of the world that just isn’t used, except for space for racing. It just doesn’t do it for me.
Here’s one of my opinon worlds: The Simpsons world is boring. The cel shading on characters is inconsistant, the area is mostly flat, and it did nothing to entise me to watch the damn show. It was always going to be a no from me.
I kinda feel bad about this one, but I’m not a fan of the Scooby Doo world. The cel shading is more consistant, but the world itself mostly feels like it has reused ascets from the level in the game. There really also wasn’t much to do here.
The Knight Rider world from Year 2 is probably one of the more wasted worlds. There’s a very small town, the Vegas strip, and a very large expanse of rocky desert. It’s overly large and boring. The only good thing is you can get a large amount of studs here in a very short amount of time, if you need them.
The final world I dislike is actually the only one I truly hate. That would be the Lego Batman Movie World. It looks unfinished. There’s really no added details to the very straight and plain buildings. There’s nothing that really stands out. For the final world, it’s a big let down.
Neutral/Indifferent
The Ninjago world for me is pretty forgetable. It’s set up beautifully, with enough different spaces that it doesn’t feel boring, but also not over crowded. Unfortunatley, I just have to really think about it before I remember the first thing about the world, which is a shame.
The same can be said for the Legends of CHima world. This world also features some pretty diverse cretaive choices, but really does nothing to make it stand out. It’s done well, and plays with the height limit, but it’s not anything to write home about.
The A-Team world is one that I have trouble classing, as it is part of a group of worlds that I just don’t get the inclusion of (but I’ll discuss that in a bit). The detail here is great, but I had some trouble navigating around, especially with some of the characters.
The first of the Story Packs, the Ghostbusters (2016) world actually looks pretty nice! Except, there is a lot of wasted space due to the inclusion of several skyscrapers that aren’t used for more than decoration, which leaves valuable real estate unavailable. Most of the gold bricks are basically on top of each other, and it just didn’t do it for me.
I kinda feel bad that I’m not that much of a fan of the E.T. world. It’s overly large and decently detailed, but the way they designers chose to lay it out just didn’t work for me. Especially because the trees in the forest just exist to make obstacles for me to fly around. It’s okay, but not one of my favorites.
I do love how very detailed the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them world ended up being. So many of the broken buildings are explorable, and it really fits what the developers were trying to do. On the other hand, it felt very similar to a couple other adventure worlds, and there was a lot of wasted potential around the edge of the world (where they basically ignored 1/5th of the available space.)
My biggest issue with the Gremlins world is that it is pretty dark. I know the “story” of the world is supposed to take place at night, but a lot of the details are shrouded in darkness, while breakable Lego objects are as bright as normal. I did however like how they set it up, though I don’t know much of anything about the franchise.
The Beetlejuice world is split into two large areas. You have the original Saturn area where you spawn in, and it barren and boring. Then you have the Winter River world that you enter from the Saturn area, and it’s so much better. I like one and dislike the other, hence the middle ground.
I’m combining these last two for one reason. My issues are the same. The Powerpuff Girls world and the Teen Titans Go world are almost identical in how they are set up. They are overly bright. Both have a lot of throwbacks to their new cartoons, which is fine, but it would have been nice to see some OG references (or, you know, just ignore Go altogether. It’s still a crime against humanity).
Fun/Great Worlds
The DC Comics world is by far one of the most creative worlds. It merges pieces of Gotham and Metropolis almost seamlessly. The actual layout is amazing. And the fact that Atlantis is hidden below is just gold. It’s a great starting world, and it is clear that a lot of thought was put into it.
Normally, I wouldn’t be caught dead saying anything nice about this franchise, but the Lego Movie world actually surprised me. It combines a good deal of references from the film and game into one world that actually works. There’s a few hidden spots here too, and it’s worth checking out.
The Lord of the Rings world blew my mind when I first played it, as I had yet to touch the full games when I did. It combines most of the important locations from the LotR series, as well as the Lego game. It’s absolutely gorgeous and I love playing through the whole area.
I’m actually not a fan of the film (damn those damn flying monkeys to hell), but I will be the first to say that the Wizard of Oz world is an amazing representation of the film. Featuring all the major locations as well as Kansas in sepia, it’s worth going to simply to see all the references.
If you want to be challenged with puzzles, the Portal 2 world is right up your alley. Most of the gold bricks are hidden by actually challenging tasks, some that actually confused me my first time through. It may be compact, but that adds to the detail. It’s a great representation of the game.
The Doctor Who world is cool, because you build it as you go. There are five pieces that are combined to make one world, and to get all the gold bricks, you have to unlock them all. I had a blast with it once I figured out the gimmick, and I think that it’s highly detailed enough for anyone.
I never expected to like the Jurassic World world, but I ended up really liking it. There are references to all four (at the time) films, including the inclusion of several characters from the original trilogy of films. Except in a few places, it does a great job of emercing the player inot the world.
You’d think since I rated the reboot low, I’d do the same for the Ghostbusters world. Well, you’d be wrong. This version of the film is heavily detailed, including a haunted version of the Titanic. It’s actually a lot of fun, and I usually enjoy taking care of it in one sitting.
It’s hard to create a tribute area. Somehow, the developers created the Midway Arcade world, and it’s amazing. You’re able to access any game you happened to unlock on other levels using the arcade cabinet tag. There are so many little references that I’ve actually had to look a few of them up, because I didn’t know.
Though I was never a fan of the show, I have to admit that the Adventure Time world is well done. The cel shading is pretty consistant, and most of the areas are detailed to the level they are in the show. What really impressed me was that there were a few gold bricks that liked to alude me, which made completing this world all that more sweet.
I absolutely enjoy the Harry Potter world. It’s a near perfect representation of the films and books, and I have too much fun exploring all around. Even Neville makes an appearance! I love that they went with a snowy motief, because it makes Grimmauld Place spooks, and it works.
When I saw that there was going to be a Sonic the Hedgehog world, I laughed. There’s no way that this could be good. Instead, it has ended up becoming the most challenging world in all 30, simply because of the Sonic races. But you know what? I enjoy the challenge, even if I want to throw my controller. So much of the games and comics are represented here, it’s amazing.
The Mission: Impossible world is an amazing representation of the series. So many little details have been preserved, and the challenges are quite good for the most part. I do like that the real world locations are given a detailed respect, which is more than I can say for some.
The Goonies world ended up being a surprise favorite of mine, mostly becasue I liked the fact that you really had to use your brain. Much of the world’s content is up top in the town, but there is a lot underground, which adds depth to the world. I had a blast playing through this one, and I wouldn’t mind going back to it.
And finally, one of my favorite world’s of the entire game: Lego City. You want a damn good representation of source material? Look no further. Much of the game’s iconic locations made their way over, including Blackwell’s tower and the farm. It’s so much fun to run through, especially with Ellie yelling out my ear drums…
Final Thoughts
It’s interesting some of the worlds the developers chose to highlight. The A-Team, Knight Rider, Gremlins… all are properties taht haven’t been revived in the last several years. It was a very wierd choice to include them, as well as E.T. But that’s what I think, not what critics thoughts.
Going back through all 30 adventure worlds was a lot (especially since I ended up redownloading the game and Year 2 patch in the process). I had fun really trying to look at these worlds with a more critical eye.
Was I a bit critical with some? Yes. Was I biased? Also yes. Did I have fun with this trip down memory lane? Yes.
Until next time!
