One thing that LEGO represents is creativity. So the announcement for LEGO 2K Drive including the fact you could build your own vehicles was an instant win for me. The open zone areas giving some freedom to explore was also something I was interested in. After all, creating your own vehicles isn’t as fun if you can’t stop and admire them. No chance of doing that in a race unless you want to come last.
The start of the story mode introduces what it has to offer with the small area known as Turbo Acres. It’s in this opening drive that the feel of the three racing surfaces and the handling of the vehicles is shown off. Since these mechanics are reliant on drifts (with two versions of it), there’s no going fast and turning tight without them. Using drifts fills a boost gauge, which can be used as long as there’s even a bit of juice in it.
These vehicles can jump, which comes in handy for finding shortcuts or grabbing items in the air. The items are a varied bunch, with a few that lock-on to opponents when close by. Some are overpowered if used right, such as the rainbow shower which can destroy an opponent if you stay locked onto them for a few seconds. Yes, these vehicles have health.
While losing bits of your vehicle doesn’t affect the handling, it will get destroyed when only the axle it was built on remains. Those precious seconds respawning could be all it takes to lose the race. Fortunately, smashing into breakable objects will restore parts to your vehicle. Whether roadside objects such as lampposts and fences, or even traffic on the road, it will all help with repairs.
This opening also introduces the main characters and progression of the story. The commentators Vicki Wheeler and Parker Carr, the mentors Clutch Racington and S.T.U.D., and the main rival of Shadow Z. Who you don’t face until the very last race, but still provides some entertaining moments at key points in the story. Other characters get introduced as rivals, with each race having a particular rival that in turn dictates the theme of the race.
Of course, it isn’t just races within this story. Challenges task you with completing objectives quickly to grab the gold medal. Quests have you completing a singular objective within a set time. These are all varied, with the challenges living up to their name at times with what they ask to achieve that quickest time. Also around are collectibles, such as gold trophies, rainbow bricks, or Brick Bucks. It is those bucks that present one of this game’s problems, however.
Completing races, challenges, quests, finding collectibles, or even just doing an action enough for a repeatable accolade will earn you Brick Bucks and experience. The experience will level you up to improve your rank and thus your overall stats. The Brick Bucks are used in Unkie’s Emporium, the shop where everything brick-based can be bought. Except it cannot be accessed without first linking to a 2K account. And the 2K account is a safeguard to stop access to the microtransactions.
This is a game aimed to a young demographic, after all. Can’t have the kids spending bundles of money to get more Brick Bucks to quickly get access to all of what’s in the shop. But… that’s also affected the entire economy of the game. There’s a lot of things in the shop worth over 10,000 Brick Bucks. The payout from races is low. Very low. While helped somewhat by first-time rewards from winning races, quests, and challenges, it is still only a one-time boost. After roughly a third of the way through the story, I’m sat at just enough to get one of those over 10,000 items.
Why buy pre-made vehicles when the main fun is in creating your own, however? The creator has enough bricks to start to allow for limitless possibilities, with standard bricks, more technical pieces, and the special ones such as steering wheels and windshields. For each of the three vehicle types, there’s a few axles to choose from that you’ll then build on top of to create the vehicle of your dreams. Or whatever other madness you want to drive.
Each brick can be painted individually, with flat, metallic, clear, and glowing colours. The customisation options allow changes to the wheels, horn, engine sound, and vehicle stats. While the weight of the vehicle depends on how many bricks are used for it, the other stats of speed, acceleration, handling and health are simply applied from the pre-sets available in this menu. Each pre-set is balanced so that two stats are buffed while two are nerfed in equal measure.
For as great as the creator is, there are a few issues. You have to work bottom to top with it, as you cannot build sections away from the axle to then place them onto it. You also are not moving the piece you want to place, but instead using the cursor to guide it into place. As such, the piece can be difficult to get into place with more complex builds, requiring careful utilisation of camera and cursor position to get that piece where you want it.
Away from the story, you can race any of the tracks or play any of the minigames from the menu. Tracks are sorted by the location they’re found in, with several cups bringing four tracks together in a mini championship for players to compete against each other or the AI with. There’s also online multiplayer, but this also requires a linked 2K account to access. You still earn Brick Bucks for doing these things, but the payout is still terrible.
Overall, despite the terrible economy and fiddly control in the creator, LEGO 2K Drive is still a fun time for anyone looking for a racing game to spend some time with. Smashing through LEGO objects will never get old, nor will barrelling through a group of minifigures to send them flying to watch them get up again as if nothing happened.
The charm of LEGO is here, then. Witty writing, while sometimes feeling a bit one-note and basic, brings smiles and laughter. There’s colour everywhere, with plenty of things to find within these open zones. While I will say this is well worth a purchase, keeping in mind the monetisation tactics and how much they will affect your enjoyment is key.
Images Taken From:
LEGO 2K Drive | Xbox Series S
