Review: LEGO Marvel Super Heroes (Nintendo Switch)

I love a good LEGO game, from Harry Potter to Indiana Jones and everything in between. Whether it’s the tongue-in-cheek humor, my absolute obsession with stud collecting, or the various puzzle and action elements, it’s a fun series, especially with a pal in co-op mode. Marvel Super Heroes may not be the best of the bunch, but it still scratches that LEGO itch.

Marvel Super Heroes is a port of a 2013 game, one which I played on the Wii U back in the day. The Switch version comes packed with all DLC, a nice but expected inclusion. On the plus side, this means there’s a LOT of content on offer here, with a whopping 180 characters to unlock.

The story is an original tale that isn’t based on the many Marvel movies or TV shows. On one hand, this is great, producing a completely fresh and unexpected plot. On the other hand, it’s not as engaging or well-written as Marvel’s screen outings, with some pretty basic banter between the characters and very pun-heavy text. Yes, LEGO games are known for a certain type of humor, but I’m not sure it works as well on an unfamiliar story. Having said that, it absolutely worked on LEGO City Undercover.

The LEGO games have a way of taking a popular franchise and playing with it. I loved what they did with the Star Wars and Harry Potter series. I can’t help but feel like a LEGO adaptation of the Avengers movies may have been more fun. There’s probably some reason why it’s not that simple – nothing ever is when Disney is involved – and this game isn’t tied to the Sony/Marvel disputes, allowing literally all Marvel characters to unite. So, if you’ve been wondering when the X-Men would finally team up with Iron Man or the rest of the crew, here it is. Enjoy!

I have mixed feelings about the gameplay. It’s a large game with sprawling levels that take you all over the city. There are 15 levels in total, which is plenty of content to keep you busy, especially if you want to collect everything. The LEGO series provides some of the most replayable games I’ve encountered. 

Where Marvel Super Heroes comes a little undone is with its puzzles. As always, there are sections in each level that are blocked, requiring some puzzle-solving element to proceed. While most of the time it’s obvious who to use and what to do, there are too many moments of frustration when the pathway isn’t clear. It can be unintuitive, and therefore not as much fun. I don’t enjoy being stuck in a LEGO game. It’s meant to be a simple pleasure, not an irritation.

There are also times when the camera angles don’t work in my favor. Some scenes allow movement around your character; others make you feel trapped in a certain perspective. This is fine until you need to access something that’s hidden behind a wall that you can’t rotate your camera around. It’s not ideal but isn’t necessarily a complaint unique to this game. 

I also experienced an interesting glitch. I was using the Hulk in one scene, and he somehow managed to build LEGO around himself, trapping him and making the level impassable. It was close to a save point, so a restart didn’t waste too much of my time, but it was silly and annoying and probably shouldn’t happen.

Thankfully the game looks and performs well, with cutscenes and full voicework that help bring the characters to life. Despite my criticisms, there’s a fun game here, albeit an imperfect one. It might not be my favorite LEGO game, but it’s still one worth playing. Now, where’s LEGO City Undercover 2?

Overall, LEGO Marvel Super Heroes is enjoyable for what it is, a mash-up of every single Marvel character you can think of in a unique LEGO environment. It may not be the best LEGO game out there, however the sheer amount of Marvel characters makes it fun for any fan. As an eight-year-old game, revisiting still comes at a hefty price, so watch for a sale – LEGO games tend to drop in price soon enough.