Following yesterday’s reveal of the Horizon Forbidden West Tallneck LEGO set, LEGO have officially signaled that it’s taking Gaming seriously, and this set could be a pre-cursor to a loose LEGO Gaming theme in 2022 and beyond.
The Tallneck model releasing in May 2022, based off the upcoming Horizon Forbidden West game is gorgeous (and priced really well too!) is given the LEGO For Adults packaging treatment, with the bleak black box, another sign that LEGO is beginning to look into gaming franchises and properties as a means to grow their adult audience.
It makes sense for LEGO to play in this area – the video game industry is absolutely massive (US$180 billion~ in 2020), eclipsing the movie industry and projected to grow even bigger, thanks to changing consumer habits from the pandemic, and as adoption of consoles, smartphones and PCs continue to increase.
In the last few years, LEGO has been steadily increasing its video game licenses, with the best-selling LEGO Minecraft theme (now in its 10th year!), LEGO Super Mario, and even the now-defunct LEGO Dimensions, so it’s not uncharted territory for LEGO, but with Horizon Forbidden West, it’s clear LEGO are now re-orientating themselves towards adult gamers.
The sky’s the limit here for LEGO with endless worlds, and household names to tap into, but here are five video game franchises that I’d love to see as LEGO set or themes.
The Legend of Zelda
The Legend of Zelda, one of the most popular and long-running Nintendo franchises is a no-brainer for me, especially since LEGO already have a great relationship with Nintendo through LEGO Super Mario.
As one of Nintendo’s “Big Three” (Mario, Zelda, Samus), and one of the most critically acclaimed genre-defining games in its library, the fanbase is absolutely massive, so this just makes perfect sense in my head.
With the sequel to what is considered one of the best video games of all time – Breath of the Wild due to be released sometime this year (if not delayed), I think this might be the year we get a Legend of Zelda set.
After all, LEGO fans are clearly energised by franchise, judging by the countless 10,000 vote LEGO Ideas project based on Legend of Zelda.
- Hyrule Castle (The Legend of Zelda)
- Hyrule Castle 30th Anniversary
- The Legend of Zelda BOTW Stables
- The Legend of Zelda BOTW: Hyrule Castle
- The Legends of Zelda project
- The Legend of Zelda King of Red Lions Play Set
I’ve got my fingers and toes crossed for this, as it would be a childhood dream if this were to happen.
Portal
This is kind of cheating since LEGO have technically already made a Portal 2 set in LEGO Dimensions, but we only got a Chell minifigure, Sentry Turret and Companion cube.
Portal is a franchise from Valve (creators of Half-Life) and one of the most cherished PC games, blending a first-person-shooter (FPS) type game where you wield a Portal gun, that allows you to open Portals that connect to one another to solve puzzles in test chambers.
Since LEGO already has a relationship with Valve through the LEGO Dimensions sets, I would love to see a buildable Test Chamber set, which you can customise with Turrets, and create your own designs/obstacles.
It’s been over 10 years since Portal 2, so I’m not sure if the fanbase is as active as it was, but maybe if Valve finally learns to count to 3 and announces a sequel to Portal 2… a LEGO set would be great.
Till then, be inspired by some Portal LEGO Ideas projects.
League of Legends
Another contender which would align with LEGO’s strategy of looking East to capture the China market, would be League of Legends, a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game from game developers Riot.
The popular game which is a fixture on Twitch, and has a millions of concurrent players, both in the East and West has also spun off a Netflix animated series Arcane, which is very very good.
It features a huge cast of characters, from humanoids, to monsters, and rich lore and fantasy-settings – all the ingredients you’d need to make an incredibly popular set or theme, especially in Asian markets. China alone has 75 million monthly unique players.
If LEGO were serious about establishing its foothold in China, they should be courting Riot for a license – which wouldn’t be inconceivable given they have various Funko Pops and licensing agreements with Spin Master.
Mass Effect
To win over LEGO Space fans, who have lamented LEGO not creating enough spaceships – a sci-fi theme based on the popular Mass Effect role-playing game (RPG) from Bioware would be incredibly cool.
With a vast universe to explore, aliens, and tons of incredibly spaceships like the Normandy to tap into, LEGO would make a lot of sci-fi fans really happy if they could take on this franchise.
To see what a LEGO Mass Effect set could look like, Redditor SonofRevvan build this incredible Normandy SR2!
Final Fantasy
Another franchise that I think would do really well would be Square-Enix’s Final Fantasy – another long-running Japanese role-playing game (RPG) that’s got a huge fanbase.
It would tick the fantasy box in so many ways, as there are tons of different video games LEGO could draw inspiration from – from Final Fantasy 9’s idyllic Medieval European meets steampunk charm, to Final Fantasy 7’s more modern aesthetic, to Final Fantasy 12’s airship-filled world of Ivalice.
It does high fantasy with a distinctively Japanese flavour incredibly well – filled with knights, dragoons, mages, thieves and all sorts of mythical beasts.
Final Fantasy minifigures alone would set the gaming world on fire, and I think could fill a very large, Fantasy Medieval-shaped hole in LEGO’s portfolio.
With LEGO courting the videogame community, these are my Top 5 picks that I would absolutely LOVE to see get turned into LEGO sets or themes. There’s just so much great material that resonates with adults of all ages who grew up playing these, or are discovering them as game developers remake and re-release these classics.
Time will tell if any of these eventuate, but here’s hoping!
What would be your dream LEGO videogame license? Let me know in the comments!
To get the latest LEGO news and LEGO Reviews straight in your inbox, subscribe via email, or you can also follow on Google News, or socials on Facebook, Instagram (@jayong28), Twitter or subscribe to the Jay’s Brick Blog Youtube channel.
To get the latest LEGO news and LEGO Reviews straight in your inbox, subscribe via email, or you can also follow on Google News, or socials on Facebook, Instagram (@jayong28), Twitter or subscribe to the Jay’s Brick Blog Youtube channel.
I’d like to see fighting games like Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat get some love. Some of the stages/arenas in those games would make some awesome dioramas and LEGO can just re-use pieces from the Ninjago and Monkey Kid themes.
If LEGO plans on continuing it’s collaborations with Playstation/Sony, I would like to see something based off of Uncharted. LEGO did the Indiana Jones theme, so why not another treasure hunting adventure franchise?
Legend of Zelda would be a great addition. I think Animal Crossing would also do well – the game and Lego are similar in the build your own town concept. (I’m not familiar with Fabuland, but apparently it also has cartoon animal residents, so is similar to Animal Crossing in that regard?)
It depends on whether Lego wants one-off sets or would like a series. Some games lend themselves well to one-offs as tie-ins, memorabilia or nostalgia. They can be short (perhaps even limited to X sets) runs or manufactured to demand. Long series are a mainstay for Lego, but shorter production runs will keep things fresh with new sets.
Some games (like the Mario series) are better off as a Lego set series as there’s a lot in the game that could be adapted and sold by Lego. They can be sold in general retail and produced for a year or two.
Maybe you should have made this a Monday Musings post?
I’d love me some Monkey Island sets, or the Witcher.
But but but we need The Last Of Us Part 2!
That would be the BEST Lego set ever in the whole world ever forever.
I would happily stomp on some bricks if they put out some metal gear solid sets. Rex, Ray, Zeke, Geckos, BB Corps… list goes on…
Metal Gear was on my shortlist, but I think it having too many military themes might put LEGO off given that’s one line they won’t be willing to cross unless something drastic happens to LEGO’s values 🙁
There’s a new Gran Turismo game coming out in a few weeks, and I’m so excited. I have been a huge fan since the very first game back in the dim dark PS1 days. Strange to think I bought my first Gran Turismo game before I bought my first Lego kit! The only thing that could make me more excited would be a Speed Champions tie in. Gran Turismo often has a hero car, often released as liveried model cars, so it’s not too much of a stretch.