LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2: Deluxe Edition

LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 doesn't deviate much from the established LEGO template, but its wide variety of settings, heroes, and abilities make it constantly fun to play, especially in co-op. The combat is still quite simple and it's sometimes difficult to tell what you should do next, but the story is lighthearted and fun enough that mild annoyances like these fade into the background.

It may be formulaic, but Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 still retains the series' trademark charm and fun.

The latest Lego game is a typically crammed tribute to Marvel comic lore that buffs the well-worn formula up to a shine.

Perhaps that's the issue. Deep within all of this stuff, under layers and layers of outdated game design carried by the Lego brand, is a promising game. The writing and character direction is, by and large, excellent. At its best, the game is a celebration of Marvel, putting together characters from lore deep-dives with big-screen names like Captain America and Star-Lord. At its worst, it is a vague, opaque slog through hundreds of identical enemies and bad level design. Sadly, Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 is more “stepping on lego bricks” than “excelsior.”

Despite a fun core of a game here, rampant technical issues make it impossible to recommend

If you want a new Lego game to sit down and play with your kids, or indeed by yourself, then this is the one you've been waiting for since 2013.

The latest marriage of LEGO and Marvel is a mixed but promising step-up. Its star-studded story, inventive hub-world and new presentation style all add much-needed freshness to a stale format. However, technical issues, clumsy controls and overwhelming déjà vu remain. LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 still has the power to entertain, but while the game's chronological theme has allowed the brand to stride confidently into the future, its core mechanics remain rooted firmly in the past.

It's another Lego Marvel game with a so-so story leading to an immensely engaging open-world experience. That's fine if you primarily play Lego games to collect all the things.

Playing LEGO Marvel Superheroes 2 is a constant battle between being pulled in by TT Games' charm and being pushed away by the repetitive gameplay. For every excellent moment there are seemingly multiple forgettable ones, but if you can stomach the lows of the story, then there are some fun times to be had. Still, this middling effort shows that the LEGO series is in need of some revitalising changes.

LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 offers the kind of warm-hearted knock-about action the series has become famous for, all wrapped up in a truly impressive open world package. It's a shame that the underlying mechanics remain so defiantly clunky, while the controls seem a little haphazard in places. Multiplayer is curiously inessential, too.Ultimately, though, LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2's generosity of spirit and lightness of tone mean that it's likely to win over a whole new generation of fans.