It feels like LEGO games are popping up more than ever these days in numerous genres. We still receive the wonderful LEGO games based on series like Star Wars from TT Games, but numerous new developers have entered the fold and created vast new takes in block-filled worlds. In recent years, we’ve seen LEGO 2K Drive, LEGO Horizon Adventures, and even LEGO Fortnite, which has spawned its own sub-games.
The next LEGO game was officially revealed at Summer Game Fest to be LEGO Party!, a LEGO take on the multiplayer, minigame-filled style of party game. While many different games have attempted to breach the genre in recent years, many have found a challenge in differentiating from the extremely popular Mario Party series. After spending some hands-on time with LEGO Party! at Summer Game Fest: Play Days 2025, it’s clear that SMG Studio has put together yet another fun multiplayer experience.
Before diving into LEGO Party!, I think it’s important to give some background on SMG Studio and its prior projects. The studio is no stranger to multiplayer games, with both Death Squared and the Moving Out series developed by the team. For many reasons, I found LEGO Party! to be impressive. The game is as authentic to LEGO as can be, with even each piece of the UI built from LEGO bricks. You’ll even see iconic LEGO sets like LEGO Ninjago appear in the game, as well as LEGO Pirates and LEGO Space.
LEGO games are known for cheesy jokes, and LEGO Party! places these front and center. Two announcers sit above the game board and give commentary as the game unfolds, which only intensifies the fun banter you’re sure to have with other players. The LEGO humor is also scattered all throughout each area of the game, from the animations of each model to the random items and scenes you’ll encounter on the board.
Similar to Mario Party, minigames are played at the end of each round. Your goal overall is to collect the golden bricks, which are placed around the map at random and cost 50 studs. This currency can be earned by landing on lucky spaces, winning minigames, and more. Beyond purchasing golden bricks, you can also use studs to set traps for your opponents on the map, steal a golden brick, and much more. You can also win golden bricks if you land on certain spaces that pit you against other players in a 2v2 format. The winning team walks away with one golden brick apiece.
During my time with the game, I was pitted against one developer and two other journalists. The board we played on was based around pirates and the sea, so there were things like islands, treasure, pirate ships, and a volcano that was roasting a giant chicken because why not. As of now, the game is set to launch with four different boards. While this might seem like a smaller number than games like Super Mario Party Jamboree, I think the variety within these boards will be more than enough to keep players invested for the first few months after launch.
I found numerous different board-altering events in my preview session, with the game allowing you to choose between two different additions to build onto the board multiple times. If you land on specific spaces, you’ll get a prompt that you get to build onto the board and open a new area of the map. This isn’t something that can be changed, so you truly do get the chance to alter the board for everyone. I think this is a really neat mechanic, as it gives an advantage to the player who lands on the space if the area built features a golden brick.
The minigames themselves were also a great time. We’ve seen hundreds of minigames in this genre over the years, but all of the games I played felt uniquely LEGO. Sure, there’s clearly inspiration here and there, but every minigame was built around LEGOs and utilized different control schemes. With 60 planned to be available at launch, I think there will be more than enough to keep players occupied.
From the outside, it’s easy to think that LEGO Party! will struggle to carve out its own identity, but, in my experience, that could not be further from the truth. This is an original game that has a lot to offer, even for die-hard fans of Mario Party. It feels faster than the latter in some instances, keeping the fun engaging and intense. I had a ton of fun playing LEGO Party! at Summer Game Fest, and I’m eagerly looking forward to the full release later this year. If you’re looking for a new game to play with friends, I think LEGO Party! is going to be an excellent time if my time with the game is anything to go by.
LEGO Party! is set to launch in 2025 for Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam.
