The Lego Racers series made itself distinct from other racing games, namely Mario Kart, by embracing open-world adventure gameplay alongside racing. And it’s easy to understand the simple pleasure of this series: Take the build-anything ethos of the popular toy brand and apply it to an automobile assembled by the player, which can then be driven around a world composed entirely of Lego blocks and raced against other similarly imaginative cars.
A spiritual sequel to the original Lego Racers, Lego 2K Drive has you starting a new racing career in Bricklandia and taking on rivals to earn access to Grand Brick Arena races, each set in one of four uniquely themed environments, which, in turn, have their own unique hazards, such as alien invasions in the desert world of Big Butte County and car-sized spiders in the haunted world of Hauntsborough. Progression involves winning events to obtain flags, ranging from 24 different arcade-style races across the game’s brick-built world, to more varied minigames such as “Robot Invasion,” where you must drive your car into numerous antagonistic Lego figures to protect generators, and “Meatless Monsters,” where crazed citizens must be taxied safely away from minifigure skeletons in a sepia-tinted Bricklandia reminiscent of silent horror movies.
The story mode concludes in the Sky Cop Grand Prix, where the player must beat sinister antagonist Shadow Z and his goons to claim a comically gigantic championship trophy. Lego 2K Drive boasts tight and responsive racing controls and three unique terrains to traverse: classic on-road race tracks, hazardous off-road racing, and high-speed aquatic races across waterways. Tracks combine all three, taking the game’s action from streets to desert to rivers in quick unbroken succession, with the player’s vehicle rebuilding itself into the chosen preset based on the terrain being driven on. It’s visually impressive to watch the vehicles transform while in motion, and it’s just as fun to handle them. This fluid, seamless metamorphosis gives Lego 2K Drive a distinctive identity over its competitors and the previous Lego racing titles.
Games aimed at younger players frequently make the mistake of assuming that their target audience needs handholding tutorializing to understand even basic gameplay rules, despite the fact that in 2023 most children and teenagers have grown up with the medium of video games and are much more technologically literate than previous generations. Lego 2K Drive falls into the same trap, with multiple unnecessary tutorials on the basics of driving and the world layout, before immediately plunging players into surprisingly challenging races.
Also, Lego 2K Drive is significantly harder than its competitors, with AI-controlled opponents that are aggressive and skilled, and time limits that frequently feel unfair. The game’s difficulty, while ultimately surmountable, is completely at odds with its light-hearted, relaxed atmosphere.
It’s a shame, as Lego 2K Drive’s aesthetic is incredibly inviting, with the world lovingly rendered and fun to experience outside of those moments of frustration. Driving through Bricklandia is a joy in itself, with the frequent destructible hazards and crazed minifigures that frequently come into your path are the sorts of fun details that showcase the imagination and creativity that the concept of Lego embodies. This extends, in part, to the car-building section of the game, where the player is invited to build their own vehicle using thousands of different Lego bricks. Here, you’re only limited only by your imagination—and what’s currently unlocked in the game.
Lego 2K Drive features real-money payments to unlock a variety of vehicles, drivers, and bonus parts—a component of the game that feels even more insidious alongside a heavily advertised paid season pass. Modern games with similar building mechanics, like the vastly underrated Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts and the game you’re probably playing right now instead of this one, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, don’t hide building parts or functionality behind a paywall, allowing you to unlock them naturally through gameplay.
Conversely, Lego 2K Drive has multiple currencies, and playing through the campaign unlocks frustratingly little. As such, players are artificially restrained while frequently being prodding toward spending real money. And the unfortunate result of that is that Lego 2K Drive is, at best, a competent arcade racing game let down by its difficulty and microtransactions.
This game was reviewed with code provided by Finn Partners.
Since 2001, we've brought you uncompromising, candid takes on the world of film, music, television, video games, theater, and more. Independently owned and operated publications like Slant have been hit hard in recent years, but we’re committed to keeping our content free and accessible—meaning no paywalls or fees.
If you like what we do, please consider subscribing to our Patreon or making a donation.
