Preview: Funko Fusion feels like a Lego game, for better and for worse

Despite how it looks, Funko Fusion isn't just a corporate cash-in

10:10 Games

When I first saw gameplay footage of Funko Fusion, my first thought was “Huh, that looks a bit like a Lego game.” It makes sense, of course, given its developer 10:10 games is packed with former staff from Traveller’s Tales, the studio responsible for just about every Lego game ever made (except the upcoming Lego Horizon Adventures), but it was still a bit weird to see the familiar Lego minifigs swapped out with Funko vinyl figures. Having now played a chunk of the game, that strange feeling is still there, but I certainly didn’t hate my time with it. 

If you’ve played Lego Dimensions, or any of the Lego games, a lot of what’s on offer here will feel very familiar. There’s a hub world through which you enter game worlds based on various IPs, most of which seem to come from Universal’s library, although not all. You pick a figure, usually one from the world you’re playing in, and jump on in. 

In terms of story, there’s not a lot to go on just yet. This is an early build of the game, with only a few worlds available, but it feels like the bulk of the Freddy Funko – the main protagonist of the game – story will take a bit of a backseat to the world’s story. Two main worlds were available in the build I played, one based on Jurassic World, and another based on Hot Fuzz, and given I have never seen Hot Fuzz, I focused mostly on the Jurassic World… world. 

Each world takes you through a loose interpretation of the story the property is based on, toned down a teensy bit to make it just a little bit more family friendly. Jurassic World didn’t need a lot of help in that department, but suffice to say you’re not going to see a realistic depiction of somebody snapped in half by a dinosaur with blood pouring out of them. That’s not to say there isn’t blood, because as you’ll see in the Hot Fuzz level, there certainly is a surprising amount for something that leans more family-friendly, but it’s not scary in the slightest. 

I haven't seen this film, but Funko Fusion made me interested / 10:10 Games

Instead, the storytelling leans into the Funko-ness of it all, acknowledging and even making fun of the fact that the world and its inhabitants are made out of vinyl. It’s an approach that worked with the Lego games, and it mostly works here, too — it’s silly, doesn’t take itself too seriously, and can get a laugh every now and then. 

As with a Lego game, you’ll wander through the world, following little bits of story, beating up enemies that burst into vinyl pieces, and solving environmental puzzles. I don’t love the combat, if I’m being honest, which consists largely of shooting enemies from afar with a very generous aim assist or mindlessly mashing the melee button when enemies are near. I’m sorry to bring it up again, but this all does feel a lot like a Lego game, and the combat being a bit dull falls in line with that, too. The aim assist is adjustable, at least, but there’s not a lot of reason to do so, as combat isn’t really the main draw here. 

The puzzle solving is much more interesting, though, and it varies quite a lot. Some of the environmental puzzles are just like that of a Lego game, where you simply wander until you find the very simple solution, but some were actually pretty brain-teasing. I’m not saying any of them are going to stump you for more than a few minutes, but I did have to actually think about some things, and one of the puzzles I didn’t finish at all because I couldn’t quite figure it out before I decided to move on. 

The art style grows on you / 10:10 Games

Funko Fusion does a good job of incorporating its source material into each world, too. In the Hot Fuzz world, you’ll need to use a scanner to find clues about a suspicious car crash, and subsequently investigate the murder of a guy named Tim, which I’m told is fairly accurate to what happens in the film. The Jurassic World world has you tracking down dinos and tranquilizing them to stop them from terrorizing guests or running from big dinosaurs as they stomp through the park, and it all feels very respectful and moderately faithful. It’s clear the team at 10:10 has great adoration for the IPs they’re working with here, which goes a long way in helping it feel less corporate and sanitized. 

And I guess that’s my main takeaway from my time with Funko Fusion. Despite being a Funko video game, based on one of the most corporate-feeling merchandise lines in recent history, Funko Fusion just barely manages to scrape by with a level of earnestness that you wouldn’t expect. It’s entertaining, it looks good, and the gameplay is, more often than not, quite fun. It may just be a Lego game with the minifigs swapped out, but there was never anything wrong with Lego games, and there’s nothing really wrong here, either. 

Funko Fusion will be released on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on September 13, 2024, followed by a Nintendo Switch and PS4 release on November 15, 2024.