Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 – Xbox One

What do Star-Lord, Kraven the Hunter, and Kang the Conqueror all have in common? You guessed it, they all look fantastic in LEGO. Following on from the success of its 2013 predecessor, LEGO Marvel Superheroes 2 brings together a truly vast selection of Marvel characters that puts even Avengers: Endgame to shame. Packed with all of the charm of the franchise, Marvel Superheroes 2 sees up to four players journey through the twenty-chapter main story or delve into the stack of side missions and discover the secrets waiting to be unlocked.

‘No Eson of Mine’

The main story of LEGO Marvel Superheroes 2 is one of its most entertaining aspects. Throughout the story, players battle the dastardly Kang the Conqueror and his minions across all of space and time in an attempt to thwart his plans. After sitting through the annoyingly unskippable intro scene, players team up with other-worldly allies, working together to fight time-travelling villains. It has to be said that beneath all this, LEGO Marvel Superheroes 2 is still a LEGO game and so players should expect a whole lot of light combat and puzzle-solving.

What sets this apart from the rest of the franchise, however, is the storyline. In other LEGO games I have played, it always felt like the story was just there to make me use all of the characters on offer; it felt as if the story supported the characters and not the other way around. I am pleased to report that this is not as much the case in LEGO Marvel Superheroes 2. While there’s still a litany of puzzles that require character swapping, the story itself is stellar and provides a bit more for players to get their teeth into.

‘Avenger’s World Tour’ 

Along with the amusing main story, the setting for the game is superb. LEGO Marvel Superheroes 2 brings together an array of locations from throughout time and space, all into one place: Chronopolis. At Kang the Conqueror’s evil hand, Xandar and The Old West are now neighbours, along with the likes of Wakanda, Nueva York, and Asgard, to name but a few.

Even in this vast new metropolis, there is still the level of content we have come to expect in LEGO games over the years. From rescuing Stan Lee to collecting gold bricks, there has been no scrimping on the amount of stuff there is to do. If you get bored on your mission in the Hydra Empire, just have a mosey on down to Manhatten Noir and see what’s happening.

If this is your first even LEGO game, this may sound a tad daunting, but when you get into it the story helps guide you and gently immerse you in the worlds and you’ll be romping around Chronopolis before you know it.

‘I Sphinx We Have a Problem’

There is one crease I would like to see ironed out, however, which lies with how the game controls extra characters during play. A few of the puzzles you’ll come across will have a few steps and so are made a lot easier with more players. This becomes a more trying task when you are going solo as all other characters are controlled by the computer, instead of by a friend.

The LEGO games have never been known for their AIs and Marvel Superheroes 2 is no exception. It’s not that I want the computer to do the work for me, more that the AI isn’t particularly intuitive and so you can find the other characters just moping around, or even getting in the way, slowing you down. This can be incredibly frustrating, especially when mixed with the game’s lack of direction when it comes to some puzzles and rather restrictive camera control.

This comes with the cost of having to keep the characters near in case you need to swap to one to solve a puzzle. This is very useful but can just become frustrating as you go on. However, as I say, this is just a crease and is only an issue in a portion of gameplay.

‘High-Noon Saloon’

Overall, I am a big fan of LEGO Marvel Superheroes 2. It combines the much-loved formula of the LEGO games with a cracking story packed with characters, content, and more.

I really do have to commend the attention to detail in this game, especially given the huge amount of content. Each character has their own sayings, some characters even have different outfits, and there are a ton of references to comic books and Marvel films. While the outfits don’t change character powers, they do show the amount of care and work that has gone into designing this game.

Care has also been taken to keep gameplay light, even Kang the Conqueror’s wicked plans aren’t safe from funny cutscenes and the odd pun. Even the slightly dodgy AI can’t distract from the delightful experience you have playing this game and I think it is a real step up from previous LEGO games.