The yellow PlayStation Plus logo is highlighted.
By
Kyle Gratton
Published 56 minutes ago
Kyle Gratton is an editor and writer based out of Kansas City. He received a bachelor's degree, dual majoring in English and History with a minor in Film and Media Studies, and has been a senior staff writer and reviewer for Screen Rant's Gaming section since 2021, with roles in editorial, and various freelance projects.
A terminal Midwesterner who graduated from the University of Kansas, Kyle also has knowledge and interest in literature, film, film adaptions of literature, and history.
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Sometimes a game feels like it almost belongs on a subscription service like PlayStation Plus. Live service games often have a better chance at gaining a dedicated player base with a lower barrier to entry, and indie projects can find both crucial funding and a wider audience by being more readily available upon launch. Then there are games like LEGO Horizon Adventures, which would have been a little less baffling as a day-one PlayStation Plus addition.
Guerrilla Games' and Studio Gobo's LEGO Horizon Adventures is one of PlayStation Plus' December games, available to everyone with a subscription at no additional cost. It becomes available for download via PS Plus on December 2, alongside Killing Floor 3, The Outlast Trials, Synduality: Echo of Ada, and stylish FPS Neon White. Roughly one year after its initial release, LEGO Horizon Adventures feels like it's arriving where it belonged in the first place.
LEGO Horizon Adventures Should Have Been A Day-One PS Plus Release
Aloy holding a spear in LEGO Horizon Adventures.
While LEGO Horizon Adventures' announcement was a bit of a surprise, it's not hard to see the logic behind developing such a game. The two mainline Horizon games are incredibly popular, and their trademark robotic dinosaur enemies already have a modular design that lends itself to the brick-based designs of LEGO.
LEGO Horizon Adventures immediately shot itself in the foot with a price tag of $60, though. Plenty of adults enjoy LEGO video games (myself included), but the target audience is clearly younger, and selling the game at a common triple-A price point – it is, admittedly, technically a triple-A game – puts it at a huge disadvantage with an audience that is primarily occupied with free-to-play games like Roblox and Fortnite. The latter even has its own LEGO survival and custom modes.
Upon release, it was immediately obvious that $60 was too much to ask. LEGO Horizon Adventures is quite short, running for roughly 10 hours if you take your time. A game's length doesn't necessarily have to inform its price, but people don't expect ground-breaking or even novel gameplay from LEGO titles.
Sony was clearly casting a wide net with LEGO Horizon Adventures, since it released on PS5, Nintendo Switch, and PC simultaneously. It would have been much better received, however, if it had come to PlayStation Plus day one in some capacity, likely as an addition to the Extra and Premium tiers' Game Catalog. Getting it for "free" with your subscription is pretty enticing, and could have cast the game in a better light.
LEGO Horizon Adventures Is A Perfect PlayStation Plus Game
Teersa, Aloy, Erend and Varl standing in a row in LEGO Horizon Adventures.
Instead of a small, over-priced game, LEGO Horizon Adventures could have been a nice bonus for subscribers: a first-party title released for no additional cost on Sony's service, but still available on other platforms (where a cheaper price would have still helped). It was obvious that a LEGO adaptation of Horizon wasn't going to draw as much interest as Forbidden West's inevitable sequel, but a day-one PS Plus launch would have definitely gotten more people to try it.
Releasing on PS Plus likely wouldn't garner better review scores, but it's a much better PR situation for Sony to gift its subscribers a first-party title. LEGO Horizon Adventures is the type of game that's better to play in co-op, and now that it's coming to PlayStation Plus, it's likely to find an audience for that purpose that wasn't willing to give it the time of day at its original, exorbitant cost.
LEGO Horizon Adventures
10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Like Follow Followed Adventure Systems
OpenCritic Reviews
Top Critic Avg:
71/100
Critics Rec:
54%
Released
November 14, 2024
ESRB
E10+ For Everyone 10+ // Fantasy Violence, Language
Developer(s)
Guerrilla Games, Studio Gobo
Publisher(s)
Sony Interactive Entertainment
Engine
Unreal Engine 5
6 Images
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Genre(s)
Adventure
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LEGO Horizon Adventures
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