LEGO 2K Drive video game review

LEGO 2K Drive is the racing game we’ve been waiting for and while not perfect, it’s an astounding example of what can be done beyond TT Games.

Now that TT Games is no longer the sole developer of LEGO Games, with 2K Games and their Lucid Games studio added into the mix, we hope to see more titles like LEGO 2K Drive in the future. This new title demolishes previous expectations of LEGO games, even if that is both for better and for worse.

LEGO 2K Drive is the first in a multi-title partnership with 2K Games, focusing on racing on asphalt, dirt and water with destructible vehicles and scenery. It is one of the first major LEGO games not to be developed by TT Games. As well as a story mode, multiplayer and singleplayer racing, minigames and an in-game shop with optional microtransactions are included

For this review, we received the Awesome Rivals Edition on PlayStation 5, which granted us a few extra cars as well as access to the Drive Pass when it launches. While these additional cars helped bolster our loadout, we felt satisfied with the story mode’s reward cars and we were given enough to get creative with our vehicle selection over time.

Despite this, LEGO 2K Drive has a lot of microtransactions and the (real-world as well as in-game) prices for coins and, by extension, rewards in the shop feel a bit too expensive. It is important to note that it is entirely possible and extremely easy to avoid the microtransaction-heavy shop altogether and, while some pieces for use in the garage are locked behind a paywall, the selection available in the base game is monumental and will likely suit most people just fine. However, it’s disappointing to see creativity limited in any way.

Cars, bricks and minifigures can be purchased with Brickbux, which is earned through standard gameplay or can be traded for coins. We found in our lengthy playthrough that Brickbux, while plentifully given, wasn’t coming in high enough quantities and after around six hours of gameplay, we could only afford one vehicle for 10,000 Brickbux. While the intention of the shop is to get players to spend more money, the rate of free Brickbux rewards should at least be doubled, all the same.

The cars include real sets, though we feel that the selection included is actually a missed opportunity. The only labelled themes that we saw were City, Creator and Speed Champions. However, unlabelled sets include at least one from LEGO Friends and Monster Fighters each.

It is easy to understand why retired themes aren’t labelled, but adding current themes with a label seems only logical. It makes it look as if there aren’t as many themes in the game as there are. We’d like to see more added in the future too, provided we didn’t miss them during our gameplay. Good contenders include NINJAGO, Monkie Kid and possibly licensed themes.

Of course, that’s not the only way to get cars in LEGO 2K Drive as the in-game garage is just like your favourite brick-building program but much more accessible. The part selection is colossal and can be further expanded, but even so the base pieces are more than enough to make some creative cars. You can angle, move, rotate, paint and apply stickers to bricks in the same way as you can in real life.

However, this time, your creations can then be used as fully-functional vehicles with bonus functions depending on what you have equipped. You can even program parts to activate with certain triggers. It’s an incredibly in-depth system and one that we look forward to experimenting with further as more content is released. Building is tied to a specific chassis but there’s a decent amount and you can modify existing cars too. It’s also incredibly easy to fix big or small mistakes, such as placing the chassis the wrong way around as we did.

As exciting as the garage is, the main draw of LEGO 2K Drive is its story mode with a sizable campaign that we have few complaints about. The writing is excellent and we’re not ashamed to admit that we found ourselves laughing out loud more than a few times. The cast is wonderfully diverse and meta with references to the player and your avatar.

The first hour of gameplay in the story feels unfortunately overwhelming, unlocking worlds, races and new features faster than we could fully comprehend. We began to worry that the campaign was a lot shorter than we had anticipated, unlocking the second-to-last world by the end of the hour. Thankfully we seem to be quite a way off that point after around eight hours of racing. Still, it’s a pacing issue that affected our initial enjoyment.

Unfortunately, the extensive customisation for cars doesn’t extend to the minifigures as you pick from a selection of premade characters, which only change your cosmetic appearance. These do not include voices, just designs on elements that cannot mix, whilst of course more minifigures can be purchased via the store. This is a huge waste of potential considering the creativity throughout the rest of the game and hopefully, this is something that can be changed with time.

LEGO 2K Drive doesn’t quite hit the mark perfectly but it’s still an amazing open-world racing game – one that fans of the LEGO Speed Champions Forza Horizon 4 DLC will adore. The content included in the base game is generous and well worth the asking price, whilst the gorgeous graphics on next-generation consoles only adds to the impressive nature of the title, especially compared to previous LEGO games.

Unfortunately, the shop and its microtransactions focus is an expensive and limiting addition and one that we recommend avoiding at least until the free parts of the Drive Pass start – you won’t need it anyway. In general, fewer microtransactions in future titles from the developer would be excellent, as at present their inclusion can’t help but feel like a bit too much for what is otherwise a family-friendly game.

TT Games will always be the most iconic LEGO game developer, but we’re thrilled that they’re not the only ones anymore. LEGO 2K Drive is a shining example of what other creative minds can do with digital bricks and we can’t wait to see what else comes of this multi-title partnership.

LEGO 2K Drive is available now on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X, Nintendo Switch and PC. Check out our initial impressions of the game for more insight.

This game was provided for review by 2K Games.

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