LEGO Horizon Adventures 77037 Aloy & Varl vs. Shell-Walker & Sawtooth review

LEGO Horizon Adventures 77037 Aloy & Varl vs. Shell-Walker & Sawtooth deftly demonstrates the similarities and differences between adult and junior sets.

To date only the second LEGO set hooked to Guerrilla Games’ Horizon franchise, 77037 Aloy & Varl vs. Shell-Walker & Sawtooth is a belated follow-up to 2022’s 76989 Horizon Forbidden West: Tallneck (review) – but where that set offered a towering 18+ build intended first and foremost for adults, this one aims for a younger audience to tie in with 2024’s LEGO Horizon Adventures video game. That doesn’t mean it’s not worth your attention, though…

77037 Aloy & Varl vs. Shell-Walker & Sawtooth

Release: Mar 1, 2025

Retiring: Dec 31, 2026

Price: £39.99 / $44.99 / €44.99

Pieces: 768

Minifigures: 2

Indeed, while the box art for the two sets clearly communicates that they’re for different audiences – one’s bright and colourful, the other’s plain black – there’s less separating these two sets from a design perspective than you might first assume. That’s mainly thanks to the demands of the source material, which are pretty consistent regardless of who’s putting these models together: the machines of the Horizon universe are still unique beasts with their own character and personality, as well as a very particular aesthetic.

The challenge here is packing all of those traits into substantially smaller models than the Tallneck, although this time with the benefit of being able to do so at much closer to minifigure scale (the LEGO Tallneck is still drastically undersized compared to the in-game machine, despite standing a lofty 34cm high). But it’s one 77037 Aloy & Varl vs. Shell-Walker & Sawtooth navigates with relative ease.

First up is the Shell-Walker, a tricky machine to tackle but one pretty expertly achieved here. There’s plenty of flexibility in the legs, which are attached via ball joints, while its hexagonal cargo container – an intriguing bit of building in spite of its repetition – even sits at a slight angle, just like in the game. It pops off fairly easily too (again reflective of the source material), while the use of trans-light blue traffic signs for its hexagonal shield is one of the best parts implementations you’ll see all year.

The Sawtooth is arguably an even more complex proposition in LEGO, because even while the LEGO Group has mastered brick-built four-legged creatures across a variety of themes, the challenge here is communicating that character and personality while still capturing the jagged, machine-like aesthetic of Horizon’s take on the sabre-toothed cat. But again, there’s little to complain about here: you can honestly ignore that 9+ label on the box, because nothing about this build feels dumbed down.

There’s some interesting building in multiple directions to take in, especially around the head and neck, and it strikes a fine balance between integrity and articulation. The poses possible feel appropriate for the in-game Sawtooth, serving up a decent adversary for the included Aloy and Varl minifigures, while not forgetting too the weak point at the back that can be easily detached to harvest for resources.

Those minifigures similarly show no signs of compromise to say that 77037 Aloy & Varl vs. Shell-Walker & Sawtooth is not intended primarily for display in the same way as the Tallneck, each boasting printed arms, legs and toes and unique hairpieces. Aloy is pretty similar to her last rendition in 76989 Horizon Forbidden West: Tallneck, save for a slightly more jovial expression (the one major tell that this is based on LEGO Horizon Adventures), while Varl smartly has enough detail to sit happily alongside her.

So, if the line in design of minifigures and machines between 9+ and 18+ sets is so small to effectively disappear, where are those differences mentioned up top? Well, they’re slightly more ‘big picture’: while the Tallneck sits on a detailed display base that both anchors it in place and recreates a hefty slice of Horizon’s post-apocalyptic world, the focus here is almost entirely on the two (smaller, more playable) machines, with some relatively simple long grass and a campfire acting as the only hint of scenery.

That’s more in line with what you’d expect from a set targeted towards younger builders, who are probably less interested in spending much time building out terrain when they could be bashing machines and minifigures together. The good news is that the change of scope and approach doesn’t diminish the compatibility of these two separate Horizon-themed sets…

LEGO Horizon: Tallneck, Shell-Walker and Sawtooth comparison

If you can overlook the scaling issues (and you’ll have needed to back in 2022 anyway, because the Tallneck was already out of scale with Aloy), both 77037 Aloy & Varl vs. Shell-Walker & Sawtooth and 76989 Horizon Forbidden West: Tallneck sit very nicely together on a shelf.

The absence of wider terrain for the two smaller machines will only encourage more creatively-minded fans to come up with their own extension of the Tallneck’s base to imagine more of Aloy’s world, while for those without the time, money or capability, there’s enough to enjoy between these two sets to make 77037 Aloy & Varl vs. Shell-Walker & Sawtooth worth adding to your collection regardless.

And that’s really the rub here: 77037 Aloy & Varl vs. Shell-Walker & Sawtooth may be built for a younger audience than 76989 Horizon Forbidden West: Tallneck and attached to a more junior video game, but it still feels like a natural continuation of the previous set in both design and aesthetics. Here’s hoping it isn’t the last time we venture into Guerrilla Games’ universe – not least because this is also one of the best-value sets of 2025, and an easy recommendation at full price. How often can we say that?

Our honest opinion: With two detailed machines that show few signs of compromise for their lower age recommendation, and two equally detailed minifigures, there’s a lot to love in 77037 Aloy & Varl vs. Shell-Walker & Sawtooth.

This set was provided for review by the LEGO Group.

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