LEGO 21322 Pirates of Barracuda Bay is an epic love letter to classic LEGO Pirates

In a month full of doom and gloom, this was a sorely needed bit of uplifting news.

LEGO have officially announced the next LEGO Ideas set – 21322 Pirates of Barracuda Bay, an epic 2,545-piece love letter to Classic LEGO Pirates.

The set has a release date of 1 April (not an April Fool’s joke) and will be available from LEGO.com. It’s unlikely that LEGO Stores will be open by then, so I’m going to assume that the online shop will be the only place it’ll be available at launch.

LEGO 21322 Pirates of Barracuda Bay [US] – US$199.99
LEGO 21322 Pirates of Barracuda Bay [AUS] – AU$299.99
LEGO 21322 Pirates of Barracuda Bay [UK] – £179.99
LEGO 21322 Pirates of Barracuda Bay [EU] – €199.99
LEGO 21322 Pirates of Barracuda Bay [CAN] – CA$259.99

The Pirates of Barracuda Bay’s origins lie within the successful LEGO Ideas project by Bricky_Brick.

If I could describe it, it’s as the classic Pirates sets 6270 Forbidden Island and 6285 Black Seas Barracuda had a beautiful pirate baby.

There are so many things I love about this set – that it’s a 360° playset built in and around a Pirate shipwreck, to the all the nostalgia oozing from the set.

LEGO and their graphic design team really went the extra mile with the nostalgic box design, complete with aqua blue letters, and yellow borders that are reminiscent of classic LEGO sets.

The only thing missing that would make the packaging perfect would be a box that had an opening flap, and plastic inserts that give you a little preview of what’s inside.

Perhaps the coolest and most surprising thing about the Pirates of Barracuda Bay set is that it has more than one “mode”.

The build comes apart, and you can reconstruct it into a standalone Pirate Ship, much like LEGO sets of old and the alternate builds.

Sure, this set is on the expensive side, but the fact that you get the option between an awesome Pirates playset OR a Pirate Ship just screams incredible value.

You get eight minifigures in the set, and all are delightfully Piratey, with the level of detail that you’d come to expect from minifigures in 2020. I especially love the classic Pirate Captain, and the tough shirtless guy with Pirate tattoos all over his chest.

Also, there’s a Pirate kid, so I’m guessing the Pirates have been busy while being castaways on the island.

Also included is a shark, pig, 2 parrots, 3 crabs, 2 frogs and 2 skeleton figures. Again, it’s a bummer that they didn’t bring back the LEGO monkey, which is almost synonymous with Classic Pirates.

The set is packed with a heap of cool little details, including living quarters for the pirates, and even some cannons because hey, it wouldn’t be a Pirates set without cannons.

The Pirates of Barracuda set is an absolute beast on display, measuring over 23” (59cm) high, 25” (64cm) wide and 12” (32cm) deep .

This lifestyle shot is hilarious, why is the dude posing in the background? LMAO

Honestly, LEGO have another smash hit on their hands. While this may not be the cheapest or most affordable LEGO set on the market, I believe it’s worth every single penny, especially if you’re a fan of LEGO pirates.

LEGO Pirates celebrated their 30th anniversary last year, and I feel like this set was designed specifically to celebrate that milestone, but somehow got delayed.

It’s better late than never, because I haven’t been this excited about a LEGO set since the LEGO Saturn V. I can’t wait to get this in my hands, and savour every single bit of Piratey goodness.