LEGO Indiana Jones 2 reminds me of The Skywalker Saga in a lot of ways. Both games were made to ride the hype wave of their respective franchises getting a new movie (Kingdom of the Crystal Skull for Indy 2 and the sequels ending with The Rise of Skywalker for Skywalker Saga before Covid and other delays) and stray far from the original LEGO game formula, being more experimental in nature. These experimental changes make me appreciate the game for trying something new but also wish some of these new design changes and features were more thought out.
I'll be describing the game, while discussing what exactly is different compared to others and give my take on the changes.
[h3] The general gameplay [/h3]
It remains the same as every other LEGO game. You start the game in the respective box and solve basic puzzles with the mechanics returning from LEGO Indy 1 to get to the next stage. With small differences like Indy's new AOE whip attack and orange handles now needing to be targetted to interact with them.
I appreciate subtle changes in gameplay. It helps Indy 2 stand out without fully abandoning the LEGO game idea that Tt Games put in place.
[h3] Boxes in place of hub worlds [/h3]
Instead of having one or two hub worlds and chapters with levels, like other classic games, LEGO Indiana Jones 2 opts for "boxes", which are small-scale open worlds centered around one of the movies (or parts of a movie for Kingdom of the Crystal Skull), each with their own character roster, levels, one super bonus level and 3 extras. To fully complete a box, the player has to buy every character and vehicle, beat all levels with true adventurer status, unlock and find the extras and then complete the super bonus level.
I don't necessarily hate that change, as I had fun beating every box, however I have one gripe regarding it. The progression. You are required to buy specific vehicles or characters to access certain parts of the boxes, which drains you off of money you could've tried to save up for more expensive unlocks like score multipliers, that you have yet to find.
[h3] The levels [/h3]
There are 15 levels per box + the super bonus level. They are usually confined to a single room and don't take more than 10 minutes to beat. They come in 3 types - story, treasure mode or bonus. The story levels are the closest to traditional levels seen in LEGO Indy 1 with actual puzzles, boss fights etc. although watered down. Treasure mode levels, which reuse the level structure of story levels, while changing some aspects to fit their goal of obtaining a treasure chest. The bonus levels are made completely in the custom level creator made for the game and also all share a goal of obtaining a treasure chest. The super bonus level is a 1 milion bonus stud level made in the level creator, that is unlocked after beating every treasure mode and bonus level of the box. [spoiler]Unlike other LEGO games, beating it grants actual 1 milion studs you can spend.[/spoiler] Among the story and treasure levels, there's also a vehicle level, one for each category.
The levels are far from LEGO Indy 2's strongest suits. This is one of the aspects that reminds me of Skywalker Saga in a bad way. Short, braindead levels revolving around a single boss fight or a very simplistic goal. Vehicle levels and controls in this game get a lot of flak and I can see why. While a rollover with a standard car isn't much easier here than in your average LEGO Marvel or LEGO Batman, motorcycles will throw you off constantly if your turn was too sharp.
[h3] The characters and puzzle mechanics [/h3]
In other LEGO games, buying a character with a certain ability once would suffice, however due to the box and level structure of Indy 2, using the shovel, wrench or bazooka requires buying a specific character in the respective box. The rosters themselves are way smaller, excluding many characters or their skins that were present in the first game.
I'm not a fan of this, as it leads to the player needing to buy the same vehicle or character multiple times (Army Jeep being the most prominent offender) and also locks certain abilities to specific boxes, which then doesn't let you for example use Maharajah and Belloq (Robes) mechanics in the same level in the level creator.
[h3] The new extras system [/h3]
With LEGO Indy 2 introducing semi-open worlds, the extras are now unlocked by breaking 10 of the same objects in the open world, rather than completing a puzzle and collecting it in-level/posting a parcel. With it, the extras were split into 3 categories, one of each per box, signified by the brick's color - red for score multipliers, blue for utility (fast dig/build/fix, invincibility, stud magnet) and miscellaneous (poo money, disguises, etc.).
I'm indifferent about color coding extras, though it's a fun idea if the game has a lot of those, however the way of getting them was in my opinion boring and lazy. I'm glad it didn't replace actual, diverse puzzles in level or open world.
[h3] The freeplay [/h3]
Unlike other LEGO games, the levels have no special content locked behind freeplay. The roster of characters you can switch between is also reduced to the characters you either need to complete the level for or those that were in the original stage, which results in you getting 4 characters to play the levels with.
As a big fan of freeplay and pitching different characters to beat certain stages and having them fight specific bosses, this change hurts me. If I played as a kid and it wasn't for short levels, I would probably consider this game as one of my least favorites because of that.
[h3] The Creator box [/h3]
The game has a creator box, where you can access freeplay, create your own 15-level set, up to 18 custom characters and many more custom levels. You can pick one of six movie themes and then shape the level's landscape, add enemies, interactable objects, roads, vehicles and even level goals. Every level theme has its own purchasable props, which need to be bought again. Vehicles transfer over from the box you've bought them in (ex. Jungle Cutter from Kingdom of the Crystal Skull part 2 will be unlocked in the level creator after you purchased it in the box)
Seeing this many custom character options fills me with joy, and they even get unique pieces in the creator. It's one of Tt Games' best creator even if the game doesn't encourage freeplay as much. If it wasn't for the movie theme restrictions in the level creator, I would probably use it more. As it stands, I guess it's not a bad design for Tt Games' first take on a level creator but personally, the restrictions did put me off. Also, it's annoying to have to buy things like the roads, lamps and other mechanisms for every theme.
[h3] Final verdict [/h3]
To summarize, LEGO Indy 2 is, in my opinion, a fun game despite its shortcomings. I did enjoy playing, despite initial comparisons to Skywalker Saga, which I'm not a fan of and if you're a LEGO game enthusiast and it goes on sale, I do recommend you check it out.
