Although Horizon Zero Dawn and its sequel, Horizon Forbidden West, are not M-rated games, they aren’t the most obvious choices to get turned into Lego games. Earlier this summer, Guerrilla Games and Sony revealed that Aloy’s first adventure will be adapted as Lego Horizon Adventures. But considering that the Lego games are aimed at younger players than Horizon, some of the franchise’s rougher edges are being toned down.
“We have tried to keep as much of the story as possible,” explained Guerrilla Games’ narrative director James Windeler during an interview with GamesIndustry.biz. “A lot of what happens in the world, like the destruction of the old world… that’s a pretty heavy theme for an eight-year-old. So we needed to find ways to keep that present in the story, because it is essential to Horizon. But it is also not something we leaned on. You won’t find some of those devastating reveals from the first game, like those corporate masterminds dead around the table or anything like that.”
This wouldn’t be the first time that the Lego video games have softened some story moments for young gamers. The Lego Star Wars games turned tragic moments like Luke Skywalker getting his hand cut off into something more humorous. It sounds like Lego Horizon Adventures will follow a similar path to keep things from getting too dark with Aloy and her world.
Even though there will be some small departures from the canon of the first game, Windeler stressed the importance of making Lego Horizon Adventures “feel like Horizon.” He also noted that Ashly Burch and JB Blanc are reprising their roles as Aloy and Rost.
Lego Horizon Adventures will be released later this year on PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and PC.