Most Lego games feel like repeats of the previous entry with a different theme. LEGO City Undercover is not only the first original game in the series, but it's the first game to actually feel like a new game. That being said, it's still lacking in comparison to other AAA open world titles. Some of this game's errors can be excused due to its toy-like nature such as the floaty driving, but it has many faults in the main campaign. This game's idea of variety is the same shallow mechanics again and again. The disguise system is a cool feature, allowing players to swap between any character in the game, but the game relies too heavily on it. It isn't a good foundation, and as a result the gameplay suffers. The usual monotony is broken up by driving sections and cutscenes, which pushed me to finish to the end. Speaking of cutscenes, the real winner of this game is surprisingly the story and soundtrack. The characters are uniquely interesting, and Chase McCain serves as a great protagonist. It has wit, charm, and is frequently funny even with a few jokes deliberately aimed at children. The story follows Chase trying to get his redemption at policework after a mishap a few years ago. He then must go undercover as he infiltrates mobs in order to get intel about the supposed villain, Rex Fury. What's cool is how the story takes its time to set the pieces and introduce new plot points before knocking it down. The soundtrack really shocked me with its various songs that mesh well into what's happening on screen. It has this song for the final part that I'm not gonna spoil, but god damn. LEGO City is pretty dense with a variety of scenery all while still feeling like the same game due to great graphical consistency. The same strategy from the main story is applied here, but this time with much better execution. There are 450 collectables not counting characters, vehicles, and extras. The things you can do aren't very wild, but it's the way the game cycles through them that makes it entertaining. You won't walk 10 steps without bumping into a new minigame or unlockable for you to do. It is worth mentioning that the open world can be pretty restrictive at times, especially in helicopters. LEGO City is probably TT's finest work period. It isn't the most in depth, showstopping game, but if you're looking for an experimental open world game, you can't go wrong with this shockingly good title.

I recently beat this with a friend of mine who got it on GWG. I thought it was too basic for what it was, found the collectibles hard to miss, the the puzzles serviceable, and the platforming not great. While the story was captivating, it was told in a way that made it unbound to the gameplay. I wished it would've taken a page out of something like INSIDE or Unravel and use the environments and atmosphere to tell the story, rather than rely on cutscenes. Speaking of the atmosphere, I felt it was kind of bland. It was either a solid snow or ice background, and that was it. Not a lot of variety either. The presentation was god awful. Plus the graphics looked off with how the characters looked comparatively.

However, I enjoyed the documentaries and I thought having them as collectibles was genius. The characters having entirely different movesets that change as you progress through the game was not only unique, but insanely fun, and ups the replayability. Despite its numerous flaws, I still enjoyed this. I definitely don't regret playing it and I hope the studio can learn from this game and make something even better gameplay-wise, while keeping the same inspiration and passion from Never Alone.