Mega Bloks Builder

Mega Bloks Builder is a peculiar beast. Part Tetris homage, part tower-builder, and part platformer, it throws a lot of ideas at the wall in the hope that one of them will stick.

It’s as if the game is suffering a kind of thematic schizophrenia, locking it into a constant battle of internal one-upmanship.

If Mega Bloks Builder's clashing design ideals were translated into a three-way dialogue, it would go something like this:

Voice 1: "So, you like Tetris, do you? Well, how about I chuck in a tower building mechanic that causes structures to collapse if unbalanced? We can stick a timer in the corner, too, really put them under pressure. How’s about that, eh?" Voice 2: "Not bad, not bad, but it's still lacking something. Why don't... Why don't we throw a little man into the mix? He can catch the blocks and build the tower.

"Then, when the tower is tall enough, he can jump into a tunnel and escape the level. It'll be just like Mario, only with falling Lego bricks instead of that Luigi bloke."

Voice 3: "Tetris? Mario? Is that it?! People will be booting up Snake after five minutes! Let me see...

"Wait - I've got it! What if, while the blocks are falling, the man is running, and the clock is ticking, we start throwing bombs in from the top of screen? They’ll never see that coming."

Voice 1: "And robots." Voice 3: "Robots! Of course. Can’t believe we nearly forgot the robots."

While this abundance of mechanics might be admirable, it all adds up to a bit of a mess.

Imprecise controls make it tough to accurately catch and place blocks, leaving you constantly tapping 'left' and 'right' to bully your avatar into the correct spot.

When the time comes to start fighting aliens and intercepting bombs, the juggling act becomes all the more frustrating, leaving you longing for a straight block puzzler or refined platformer.

Mega Bloks Builder

While you’ve got to admire its ambition, Mega Bloks Builder tries to stack too many elements onto a shaky foundation, and ultimately collapses under under its own weight
Score
James Gilmour
James Gilmour
James pivoted to video so hard that he permanently damaged his spine, which now doubles as a Cronenbergian mic stand. If the pictures are moving, he's the one to blame.