A few months ago, I made the leap to a new gaming PC after much deliberation about whether to upgrade. The moment I powered it on, I immersed myself in a world of games, reveling in the ray tracing effects that my previous AMD GPU could not support. This journey has led me through a whirlwind of titles, both new and old, as I seek to write about my experiences. However, this “content tourism” has made it challenging to fully invest in any single game, as I find myself hopping from one hour of gameplay to the next.
Among my recent adventures, I surprisingly completed LEGO Horizon Adventures. This title, part of Sony’s 2024 initiative to create a family-friendly game within the expansive open-world action RPG genre, may not be the first that springs to mind when discussing groundbreaking PC games. Its launch last year didn’t exactly set the gaming world ablaze, and judging by its current player numbers on Steam, I might be one of the few who has seen its credits roll recently.
Earlier this year, I had the chance to explore it on my PS5, where I was immediately captivated by its stunning visuals. Built on Unreal Engine 5, the game has faced its share of criticism within the gaming community, particularly regarding its demanding system requirements and performance issues. While UE5 promised to deliver ray-traced lighting and seamless game worlds, it has also garnered a reputation for shader compilation problems and stuttering during traversal in expansive environments.
Technical Execution and Gameplay Experience
Fortunately, LEGO Horizon sidesteps many of these pitfalls, thanks to its design and technical execution. Unlike larger titles such as Borderlands 4 or the Oblivion remake, this game operates on a smaller scale, featuring a handful of levels inspired by the vast world of the original Horizon. Its narrative, which condenses a thirty-hour story into a more digestible format, is complemented by the game’s effective use of Unreal Engine’s Lumen and Nanite technologies, resulting in breathtaking lighting and environmental detail. Additionally, it offers various scaling options for players with less powerful hardware and a competent performance mode on PlayStation.
On my PC, the game performed even better than on the PS5. Utilizing the Nvidia App, I was able to implement DLSS 4, enhancing the experience further with its transformer upscaling model and multi-frame generation support. The outcome was a remarkably smooth and visually striking gaming experience. The game’s meticulous recreation of lifelike plastic figures drew me in, allowing me to complete its story and some optional content in just a couple of days. At times, it effectively mimicked the high-quality visuals of the LEGO Movie.
The production value of LEGO Horizon is strikingly high, especially considering that the family game genre is often associated with quick cash-in titles. The Horizon IP seems to target fans of Skyrim rather than a younger audience, making the concept somewhat perplexing. However, Sony’s technical prowess in executing this project deserves recognition, showcasing that Unreal Engine 5 can indeed deliver a solid gaming experience.
Amidst the ongoing discourse surrounding Unreal Engine 5, opinions are polarized. Many players express frustration over performance issues and the demands of ray tracing hardware, while those with more powerful systems tend to appreciate the engine’s capabilities and remain hopeful about its visual potential. Epic Games’ CEO Tim Sweeney recently entered this debate, suggesting that developers are not optimizing their games effectively for the technology. While there is truth to this, the engine was marketed with grand promises of impressive visuals and solid performance, even on consoles, which has led to heightened expectations.
Reflecting on the Matrix Awakens demo, which showcased high resolutions and a mostly stable 30FPS in a detailed procedural city, it raises questions about the performance of actual shipped games that struggle with stutters in expansive worlds. The earlier Lumen in the Land of Nanite demo displayed a vibrant open landscape filled with detailed rocky formations and dynamic gameplay, making the performance issues of real games feel somewhat disheartening. I have yet to see significant applications of Unreal Engine 5’s physics system outside of a memorable moment in Hellblade II, where rocks shattered during an intense encounter. LEGO Horizon may utilize it for interactive elements, but it lacks the groundbreaking feel one might expect.
The game’s commendable performance on Unreal Engine 5 may have been bolstered by the development of a Switch version, which required reworking assets and lighting systems to accommodate the older hardware. This experience likely contributed to performance enhancements for more powerful platforms.
As someone who appreciates graphics, my time with LEGO Horizon on my new PC was enjoyable. However, for those less enthused by stunning visuals and intricately designed plastic figures, it may be a tougher sell. While it captures the combat mechanics of the larger Horizon titles in a simplified isometric format, the gameplay may not resonate with diehard fans. The story, a lighthearted retelling of the original game, may require prior knowledge of the source material to fully appreciate its humor, leaving some to ponder why the developers opted for a spoof rather than creating an entirely new narrative.
Fans of other LEGO titles developed by TT Games may find themselves disappointed, as LEGO Horizon was crafted by Studio Gobo and Sony without input from the established team behind the LEGO gaming franchise. While TT Games is busy working on the promising LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight, it’s likely that this upcoming title will surpass LEGO Horizon in various aspects. The gameplay in Aloy’s LEGO adventure is straightforward and brisk, and without the impressive graphics, it may struggle to stand out among the myriad of excellent action games available.
To maintain focus amidst my gaming exploration, I created a document to track the titles I complete on my new PC, hoping to steer myself away from the chaotic sprint through visually appealing games. Thus far, the only entry on that list is LEGO Horizon Adventures. It serves as a testament to the potential of Unreal Engine 5, demonstrating that it can indeed run smoothly, and I appreciate having this example to reference against other more problematic releases. While the game itself may not linger in my memory for years to come, its technical achievements will likely leave a lasting impression, warranting recognition even if it stands out as one of Sony’s less successful first-party endeavors outside of Concord.
I purchased a copy of this game on Steam with my own funds and was not compensated by the developers or anyone else for this review. I do not use affiliate links in my articles.
