LEGO 2K Drive is so close. This colorful arcade racing title makes great use of its license and has laid a great foundation for fun, chaotic driving. However, as much as the LEGO brand brings to a game like this, publisher 2K Games clearly saw dollar signs over its monetization potential. The end result is a super fun racer that’s somewhat stifled by the push for microtransactions.
Before we get too far down this rabbit hole, let’s talk about the positives first, because there are many. To reiterate, LEGO 2K Drive is an arcade racing game that makes the most of the eponymous brand to provide a fun, free time. Its Story mode is where you’ll spend most of your time, although you can also play Cup Series or single races and of course take the action online. In other words, there’s a lot to do, and that’s before we get into the garage’s impressive building tools.
So, Story Mode, then. You are cast as a rookie driver tasked with competing in Bricklandia’s racing championships, which culminate in the Sky Cup Grand Prix—the winner of which will be crowned the best racer in the entire country. You’ll quickly meet friends and enemies along the way, and their characteristics are just as silly and carefree as you’d expect. Like all LEGO games, there’s a good sense of humor here that has broad appeal to players of all ages.
While the main beats of Story Mode are the races themselves, there’s plenty to enjoy outside of those circuits. A total of four sand maps give you room to drive around as much as you want, and it’s joyously limitless. Possibly inspired by The Crew 2, your vehicle will automatically switch between street car, off-roader and boat when traversing different types of terrain, meaning you can go almost anywhere. The open world is also full of objects, traffic and pedestrians, all of which can be run over with impunity. There are actually several benefits to smashing these LEGO props: you gain a boost, your vehicle regains some health, and it feels incredibly satisfying.
Each map contains its own set of collectibles to encourage exploration, as well as fast-paced events, quests, and other challenges to keep you busy. Some of them are mandatory, and while they’re never as much fun as just racing, they’re all pretty harmless. There’s almost enough of this side content to justify sand maps, and again, it’s just fun to fly around without a care. Whether you’re touring the open world or competing in races, the driving itself is easy to understand and extremely enjoyable; big, soft drifts charge up your boost meter, while a quick turn and generous jump allow you to have decent maneuverability.
When you hit the track, racing feels more like a go-kart racer. This is largely due to the selection of power-ups and weapons you will be using Mario Kart-style to clear your way to first place. Some of them are pretty standard, like homing missiles and bombs that you throw forward, while others are more imaginative. Ghost Power is an evasive tool that can quickly turn offensive, while teleport feels like a throwback to LEGO Racers on the PS1.
You can replace your set of vehicles with others you’ve unlocked, and they all have unique stat bonuses and weights that affect how they perform. On top of that, the perk system allows you to apply various passive effects. It’s nothing too complicated and honestly doesn’t feel all that necessary in a game like this, but we’re sure some will appreciate the slight extra depth.
If you don’t like any of the pre-built vehicles, you can create your own with a seriously robust assembly mode. In the garage, you can choose an axle to build from, and then the sky’s the limit. There are hundreds of LEGO bricks and pieces to choose from, and you place them wherever you want, one by one. You can change the colors of each piece and apply special effects, then equip and ride it as much as you like. If you want, you can also build those vehicles you’ve unlocked with step-by-step instructions, again using real-world LEGO parts. Controlling the camera in this mode can make the build a bit of a pain, but it’s still a very impressive toolkit overall.
The only real downside is that you can’t currently share your creations online, which seems like a huge missed opportunity. This means that those averse to crafting new cars and boats will instead have to rely on unlocks or head to Unkie’s Emporium, the in-game store where you can spend your hard-earned cash.
Awarded for winning races, discovering new events and completing challenges, Brickbux is the primary currency in LEGO 2K Drive and is used in Unkie’s Emporium to purchase new vehicles, drivers and even LEGO parts for the build mode. This looks good at first, but the speed at which you earn Brickbux is quite slow – especially online, where a first place score nets you a whopping 5 Brickbux. New parts are usually 4000 each, while characters are usually 6000 and cars are mostly 10000. After playing for about 15 hours, we accumulated about 25000 Brickbux.
Obviously, this slow supply of currency pushes you towards microtransactions. You can buy large amounts of coins which can then be converted into Brickbux. 500 of these, which cost £4.49, transfer to 10,000 Brickbux. So, about a fiver for an average vehicle in the game if you don’t want to bother with story mode racing. You do get coins as part of premium Drive Pass seasons, but access to them obviously costs money in the real world as well. It all feels pretty jarring, especially in a game aimed primarily at kids. If the balance was changed to allow you to earn more Brickbux through regular play, it would go some way to fixing this problem, but right now it’s all a bit too much.
It’s a shame, because as mentioned, the base game has a lot to offer. LEGO fans will love the crafting mode, while there’s a lot of fun to be had with the racing itself, as well as the open world design, as simple as it is. If you can look past the microtransaction stuff and just focus on the fun, you’ll be in for a treat — but slow currency payouts (and the fact that the game costs up to £60/$70 to start with) make the in-game store hard to ignore.
Conclusion
Whether you’re a fan of LEGO, arcade racing, or both, this game comes highly recommended by us, with the unfortunate caveat that it also includes some pretty aggressive monetization. The tactile open worlds have a decent amount to discover, the Story mode hits the perfect tone, and the driving itself is great fun. On top of all that, the impressive build mode lets you make your own crazy cars, though it’s a shame you can’t share them with your friends. Unfortunately, the microtransactions are hard to ignore and they drag down what is otherwise a creative and engaging racer.
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