Lego 2K player was interesting and also confusing to follow. When it was first revealed, I was excited to play it, but was a bit confused when I saw the different editions. LEGO games are generally aimed at players of all ages. This one seemed to cater to the sports gaming audience with its pricing and editions. I was still interested in checking it out as a new release of Forza Horizon with LEGO seemed to be centered around my taste.
I played Lego 2K player on Steam Deck and also on Xbox Series X, and I was impressed with many aspects, but disappointed with a few things in its current state. Having recently played Disney Speed StormI wasn’t too keen on the more free-to-play elements in a racing game, but I’ll get to that in a bit. Lego 2K Player looks like it takes the best bits of Forza Horizon structure, Sonic Racing kart racing and the charm of some notable LEGO brick themes and settings.
Lego 2K Player has the option to play solo, play with friends, and play with everyone. The play with friends option allows you to invite your friends to play together while the play with everyone option has matchmaking. Solo or just play option allows you to play story mode, cup series, quick run and mini games. LEGO 2K Hard Drives the story mode is the culmination of the experience with its humor, exploration and challenges.
The actual race feels very good. If you’ve played a kart racer recently, you know what to expect. Drift, skill and track layouts are very well laid out which makes the monetization aspect even more boring. This should have been a game I can recommend to any LEGO fan rather than one that has caveats attached in its current state. This is a full-price version with two more expensive editions that still have a battle pass with a premium option and a cosmetics menu straight out of Fall Guys or Fortnite. These shouldn’t be in a game like this. If that’s how it was designed, it shouldn’t be a full-priced release.
Lego 2K Player on PC lets you adjust resolution scaling, frame rate (up to 120 fps), interface scaling, toggle v-sync, motion blur, and choose DirectX version in the default video settings. The advanced menu lets you choose different presets and adjust anti-aliasing, texture quality, shadow quality, post-processing quality, effect detail, foliage detail, and draw distance. I used a mix of mostly medium settings with low settings and high settings. I got a good compromise hitting 40fps (with a 40Hz refresh rate) during online racing, story, and local play.
When I started Lego 2K player on Steam Deck after downloading the pre-release version of the review, I was pleasantly surprised at how well it looked and worked on Steam Deck right out of the box. After a few tweaks it looked great and ran great targeting 60fps, but things vary a bit depending on the card. Going for even the medium preset at native resolution sees drops into the 40s in maps like Dusty Devil Run. You can opt for 40Hz to save battery if you prefer, but you can also choose to play at a lower resolution for a smoother frame rate.
Visually, it runs at 4:10 p.m. during gameplay and 4:9 p.m. in menus and UI. Since all versions (PS5, PS4, all Xbox and PC consoles) prohibit Switch from supporting online crossplay, I tested this on Steam Deck. Online worked smoothly on Steam Deck and I was matched instantly at different times of the day. I specifically waited for the game to launch to see how online would hold up and to see the in-game store for that reason.
LEGO games generally have excellent audio design and Lego 2K player book on this front. It has great music in and out of races and very good voice dialogue. The only issue I have is the voice dialogue around the store. It’s a bit too squeaky. I also like the use of rumble on the Steam Deck to round things out.
I know this probably won’t be possible, but I’d like an option to completely disable the in-game store in Lego 2K player. Even owning the most expensive edition isn’t enough here and it looks like a huge grind if you want something specific with rotation in the shop. I’m also annoyed by the game’s inability to launch offline on Steam Deck. It crashes before launching into the game if you try to start and load your game offline. I tested this on all versions of Proton.
Lego 2K player is a great mix of Forza Horizon, Sonic Racing and LEGO, but unfortunately also contains some of the bad aspects of free games. Had Lego 2K player been a free game, that wouldn’t be a problem, but it’s a full price game with more expensive editions available. I can’t wait to see how it evolves over time, but for now it’s a great game held back by its monetization.
LEGO 2K Drive Steam Bridge Rating: 3.5/5
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