LEGO 2K Drive Reviews
A Legofied open-world racer of bright humour and drift-heavy handling, scuffed by baggage and busywork.
A fun, if repetitive, kart racer whose charms are sullied by its predatory microtransactions targeted right at young children.
LEGO 2K Drive is a wild and whimsical all-ages kart racer with an incredible custom vehicle creation tool that’s just about worth the price of admission alone.
There is a lot here for a young kid to enjoy, especially one who is tuned into Lego. The tracks have solid variety, both in terms of aesthetics, obstacles, and various challenges (like lacking destructible items to fill the boost bar), but it barely matters when you'll win every race until you hit a progression wall that asks you to grind out cash generation or pay to skip it, and then start winning again. It's creative, but it's also a bit of a mess. Lego 2K Drive mixes Forza Horizon and Mario Kart together, but it's not as good as either of them, and doesn't bring much new to the table either. There are building blocks here for Lego to use for future IP-less games, but this doesn't quite put them all together in a way that will interest anyone who isn’t still in primary school.
The offensive microtransactions aren't a surprise but the tedious open world structure obscures what is a surprisingly nuanced and technical arcade racer.
LEGO 2K Drive is big, bold, and beautiful, and some of the later races are truly superb.
Lego 2K Drive builds an incredibly inviting world where speed and silliness reign supreme as you race and morph across its delightfully destructible setting. Despite some frustrating mission design and a smattering of bugs, Lego 2K Drive quickly won me over with its absurd narrative full of irreverent dialogue and moreish open-world challenges. If only the specter of microtransactions didn’t loom so large in this kid-friendly game, it would make for an even smoother ride.
The licensed racer from 2K and Visual Concepts is a delightful combination of open-world and kart racers, with tons of Lego customization to boot.
It’s really a shame that such a lovely and fun open-world sandbox is tied to stuff like a season pass, premium currencies, and expensive in-game purchases. Perhaps 2K will tweak some levers to make it easier to earn and unlock new cars—which would be nice—but until then the specter of greed will always be there, nagging at me as I build, smash, and race.
Slightly above average or simply inoffensive. Fans of the genre should enjoy them a bit, but a fair few will be left unfulfilled.
Lego 2K Drive does an incredible job of bringing Lego racing to life; it's unashamedly creative, consistently energetic, and confidently amusing. It's the kind of game that can bring families together in front of a screen, and away from it.
LEGO 2K Drive has many good things: a story mode, mini-games, online mode for up to 6 friends... but many of these virtues are soiled by a micropayment system reminiscent of NBA 2K, and that makes it necessary to go through the box to unlock some content. Something questionable, in a game so oriented to children.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
There’s a season pass in the works, so LEGO 2K Drive’s foundations may be built on and refined–and its creators are certainly committed to adding to it and improving it in the coming months–but right now, it’s lacking those all-important LEGO hallmarks. You can’t fault the passion that clearly went into it, but it needs to evolve to hit the highs that many gamers will expect from it.
LEGO 2K Drive's solid Story Mode is mainly undone by uneven pacing and the inability to play it online with friends. Add in the game's comprehensive vehicle builder, and it all leads to a solid debut for the 2K/LEGO partnership, even if the microtransactions can feel like stepping on a square LEGO brick.
LEGO 2K Drive is a racing game suitable for younger players and fans of the famous Danish bricks. Still, it is not highly recommended for those seeking a more severe and refined driving experience. However, Visual Concepts has created a motorized adventure full of activities and mini-games, supported by many contents that aesthetically follow the cheerful philosophy of the colorful LEGO universe. Although it is a fun racing game, especially if played with other players, the poor management of the game economy and other more or less essential defects end up limiting its potential.
Review in Italian | Read full review
LEGO 2K Drive is an ideal game for the little ones in the house, but it doesn't reach the level of other titles in the franchise.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Other than having vague missions at times to get to story-essential races, LEGO 2K Drive is an incredible time.
All in all, LEGO 2K Drive satisfies any craving for brick-racing that you may have had in the past with A+ class but still is rough around the edges because of its microtransaction system.
LEGO 2K Drive has some impressive features, and while the competitive elements could do with a little work, there's still fun to be had.
Lego 2K Drive is a racing game that so nearly reaches its potential, but it steps on a few stray bricks along the way. The core driving feels good, the Story mode has plenty to do, and the creation tools are legitimately impressive. However, it's let down by technical shortcomings, a lack of sharing options, and somewhat slimy monetisation. The foundations of a really great arcade racer are here, but poor optimisation in this Switch version and certain design decisions mean it's unlikely to overtake the competition.