LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 Review

"Brick Heroes Squared"

Campaign

The first LEGO Marvel Super Heroes is one of my all time favorite LEGO titles and with this follow-up there was a fair bit of hype involved. It brings a massive roster of heroes, but with a stronger focus on the current Marvel Cinematic Universe brand. You still get some very out there characters that you probably might not have heard of though the absence of some franchises is troubling. From a narrative point this takes place right after the events of the first game yet Deadpool, X-Men and the Fantastic Four are not present, that's disappointing.

The story is decent with Kang the Conqueror out to take over the universe and then he bridges various dimensions together creating a mega area. This is rather cool as it brings so many varying times in Marvel history together; you get new folks, some from the Olde West, 2099 or even the Noire era.

The story was solid in length, providing some good laughs with its voice acted cinematics and wide range of Marvel heroes. I enjoyed it and for those wanting more the game is stacked with content. There are a pile of side missions to do, random activities and even Gold Brick hunting mini tasks that can be done. A local battle mode is also available for those that want a couple multiple player battles to engage in locally.

Gameplay

It's really your typical LEGO title, local splitscreen coop or just straight up single player brick building. There wasn't really anything new here, but I will comment that Dr Strange's ability needs a better indicator. It was frustrating to understand from the icon and it really didn't make sense. It needs a rotating icon or something, very annoying. The world looks great bringing real aspects and LEGO blocks together in harmony. You get a wide range of worlds with this dimensional splashing and it works well there.

The performance was solid, I did notice some background items slightly loading in and out while flying however. That's understandable considering the scale of the world and for what feels like the first time I really didn't come across any level breaking bugs. I will mention though that I miss the character select wheel during missions, that having "B" as grapple and a task button isn't great with a final thought that the progression bars from LEGO Ninjago should have been included for doing certain tasks as that was helpful in that game.

The Conclusion

It's a solid follow-up to the first game though just not quite as epic. I really felt the lack of those other core Marvel franchises and it was sorrowing to see them excluded. Still, the narrative was solid and entertaining. It's a fun game to waste just hours away running through the main missions or exploring the vast world.

There are many things to do whether you want to play alone or with another person in local cooperative play. There are so many heroes to unlock and you'll meet some rather strange ones going through even the regular campaign. Don't forget to prepare for collectible hunting as that is just as expansive as ever.

Read our LEGO Ninjago Game Review
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LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 Review on Xbox One X
Review Code Provided by LEX PR

Rating Overall: 8.0