Tag Archives: Video Games

Even if you’re not an Xbox, PlayStation, or Nintendo gamer yourself, and even if you’ve never played one of the many LEGO games, it’s hard not to appreciate the strange and stunning LEGO creations inspired by video games. Look for lots of LEGO models inspired by Halo, the Legend of Zelda, Gears of War, Pokemon, Final Fantasy, and more. Game on!

From above Liyue, the LEGO Jade Chamber beckons

It’s not everyday that you see a tribute to the video game Genshin Impact in LEGO form. But that’s not the only thing that’s exceptional about this microscale Jade Chamber by builder Quy Chau. For instance, those roofs tiled in pearl gold are quite fetching! Sharp angles aplenty adorn the structure in the clouds, from the central octagonal tower to the hexadecagonal stone base it rests upon. The trans-light blue pond that rings the main tower is a great splash of color, with all its accompanying greenery. While I’ve never played the game, this model certainly makes me want to give it a try!

Jade Chamber (Genshin Impact)

You’ll definitely hear this 8,000 piece LEGO Tremortusk coming

Man, I really need to play the Horizon series of video games. Now that might seem like a bit of a random ramble from yours truly (hey, it’s what I do best). After all, Horizon: Forbidden West came out 18 months ago now. The reason it’s suddenly on my mind is down to this mean-looking machine that Nicola Stocchi has built from nearly 8,000 pieces. This elephant-like creature, called Tremortusk, is apparently designed “to cull the human population”. I’m glad I read that particular piece of information. Had I only heard the name I would’ve guessed Tremortusk was a Pokemon or something. Somehow, I doubt this thing will take kindly to a Pokeball being lobbed at its head. So now I know not to try that. Every day is a school day!

Lego Tremortusk UCSThis isn’t the first creature in Nicola’s Horizon menagerie either – have a look at some of the others. They’re not all as friendly as Tremortusk here, mind, so tread carefully.

A Pikachu’s thunderbolt, recreated in LEGO

From my childhood days spent playing Pokémon Red and my countless hours in front of the TV watching Ash Ketchum fulfill his quest to be a Pokémon master, there has been nothing more indicative of that great video game franchise than the electric-type pocket monster known as Pikachu. And here LEGO builder Zane Houston has captured the little, yellow ‘mon using its signature move, thunderbolt. The powerful blast of electricity emitting from Pikachu’s red cheeks is captured with an interesting studs-out technique, layering white plates vertically on a column of medium azure bricks. Pikachu’s body is similarly built with studs facing outward, away from the center of the character. It helps to give the Pokémon almost a fuzzy, static-y kind of look, quite befitting given its current attack.

Thunderbolt

LEGO Mosaic from A Plague Tale: Innocence exudes hope and happiness in dark times

While I’m not going to pretend to be an expert on the video game A Plague Tale: Innocence, it’s fair to say I know my way around a LEGO brick. So when I say that this mosaic by General 尓àvarre (W. Navarre) is one of the most impressive bits of 2-D brickwork I’ve seen. At this scale, the General must employ clips aplenty. These clips are used adeptly to hold all manner of barred piece, forming an intricate picture of the game’s main characters. And if that wasn’t enough, there’s additional work around the edges of this mosaic to give the 22×30 stud rectangle the look of a aging photograph. It’s a masterful union of color, texture, and technique, capturing a moment of happiness in a dark, bleak setting.

Happiness and Hope

Winning at Minecraft, fatherhood, and LEGO

You may have noticed that the LEGO corner of the internet is currently awash in builds featuring the Drowned trident from Minecraft sets. And that must mean we’re amid another round of Iron Builder. Defending champ Caleb Schilling channels his love of LEGO minecraft with this tribute to the wholesome meme known as “Are ya winning, son?” The perfect recreation of the pixelated game on the son’s computer monitor is spot-on (and a great use of the skeleton head 1×1 plates I was drooling over in this recent review). The look of the two brick-built characters is wonderful, especially the little details like how the kid’s shoes bend outward slightly at the ankles, or the 1×1 brick with a stud on the side for the father’s mouth. And the trident part definitely takes center stage, used brilliantly in the legs of the desk. Intertwining the prongs to form a right angle is quite the pro LEGO move!

Are ya winning, son?

LEGO Icons 10323 PAC-MAN Arcade – Reinventing a beloved classic [Review]

In 1980, Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc. released a little arcade game revolving around a pizza-shaped character eating his way through a maze, being chased by ghosts. They knew they had a good thing going, but they probably didn’t realize it would be one of the most beloved games of all time and a pop-culture icon. Now, over 40 years later, they teamed up with The LEGO Group to bring us an epic tribute to the original game. Join us as we chomp our way through the 2651-piece LEGO Icons 10323 PAC-MAN Arcade, which will be available June 4th and retail for US $269.99 | CAN $349.99 | UK £229.99.

The LEGO Group sent The Brothers Brick an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.

Click to WAKA WAKA WAKA!

Cubone: the tragic backstory Pokémon

For a franchise that’s squarely aimed at kids, Pokémon can get really quite dark sometimes. Consider Cubone, ably built here by Joey Klusnick. Adorable, right? Well, according to various Pokédex entries, the skull it wears as a helmet is from a deceased parent. Moreover, the ‘dex entries also mention crying a lot. How tragic — this is a kids’ game, remember! Thankfully Joey’s creation is so well-built I think we can focus on how cute this little guy is otherwise. That Bram sphere tummy in particular makes it look very huggable. After reading all the lore on Cubone I (and it, probably) could do with a hug…

Cubone

This LEGO Moldy Crow from Dark Forces tosses Star Wars canon into the trash compactor

Folks, every story has a beginning. And the beginning of my love for the Star Wars universe began playing the Dark Forces video game on my Playstation as a kid. Decades before Rogue One became the new canon, I spent hours playing as Kyle Katarn as he tracked down the Death Star plans in his ship, the Moldy Crow. And thanks to builder Luca, that HWK-290 light freighter now exists in glorious LEGO form! From my numerous failed attempts, I know the sharp angles of the spaceship to be particularly difficult to capture in brick form. Add that to a lack of space-y parts in brown and dark tan tones, and the true talent in this build comes into focus. Its sharp angles are impossibly clean, and the colors perfectly match those in the game’s cinematics. Even the background build, showing the Crow docked while Katarn uncovers more of the Dark Trooper project, feels like a Dark Forces screenshot. Take that, Jyn Erso!

Eevee: a picture perfect Pokémon

Eevee, in almost all instances, is adorable beyond measure. This LEGO portrait from Tim and Dannii (who you may know from LEGO Masters Australia) continues in the tradition. Right away, I’m super glad Dannii allows Eevee’s ears to spill out over the frame! Eevee has beautiful ears that get to shine rather than being clipped by the boundaries of the frame. The building technique at work here, the brick-built 3D character, gives the portrait the feeling of a window. It’s like Eevee is taking a peek at us from the Pokémon world! Definitely a great choice over doing a flat studs-only picture. This way Eevee seems more alive, which is exactly what we all want with Pokémon.

Game Boy Color: Get into it!

While this LEGO Game Boy Color (GBC) doesn’t play actual games, it’s still a treat to see from Nick Brick. Personally, I never owned one of these handhelds, but that has never stopped me from appreciating the look and feel of the hardware. This build captures one of the iconic bright colors of the console – kiwi green. That’s something I love about the GBC: all the different colors it came in instead of the flatter colors of the Game Boy and Game Boy Pocket. It takes some imagination and sweet designing to build this handheld out in LEGO. It looks like you can just flick the power switch and hear that iconic chime before playing whatever game you want. Personally, I’d love to throw The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening DX into this thing and play around on Koholint Island.

Game Boy Color

This Pikachu-wannabe just wants a hug!

I can’t think of a creepier Pokémon than Mimikyu, even in LEGO form. While some may mistake it for a sickly-looking Pikachu, the clever disguise hides a malicious Fairy/Ghost type underneath. Builder Brickmill has created a wonderful likeness of this spooky creature, complete with two shadowy arms emerging from underneath its costume. Cheese slopes are doing quite a bit of work in this creation, from the tattered end of the ‘Mon’s sheet to its zig-zaggy mouth attempting a smile. And while a simple solution, its menacing claws are spot-on for the specter underneath.

A Pokémon sun & moon from the Ruby & Sapphire era

I’ve been following the LEGO Pokémon creations of pino_creations and nunsseugae for a while now. But when these two trainers combined their talents to handle the duo Solrock and Lunatone, they really knocked it out of the park! The pockmarked craters on Lunatone’s surface are perfect, as is its little beak of a mouth nestled right inside its crescent. And I particularly like the use of this T-bar for the vertical pupil on this ‘Mon in the moon. Solrock’s eyes are also spectacular, utilizing the minifig handlebars to great effect. The flame yellow fins jutting out in all directions are wonderful, as are the pyramidal points bisecting its body.