LEGO: Pirates of the Caribbean

I went back to LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean expecting a nostalgia-fuelled mess of dated mechanics and was genuinely surprised by how much it still holds together. Traveller's Tales built out all four Pirates of the Caribbean films across more than 20 levels, running from Port Royal and Tortuga through to the mermaid-filled chaos of On Stranger Tides. The structure is pure classic LEGO: story mode first, then Free Play, where you bring back unlocked characters to access ability-gated secrets you couldn't reach on your first run. That loop, clear the level, unlock the roster, replay for collectibles, is as compulsive here as it was in the Star Wars and Indiana Jones entries. The character abilities are where the game earns its keep. Jack Sparrow's compass actively nudges you toward hidden items, Will Turner throws axes at distant targets, Elizabeth Swann double-jumps to higher ledges, and Davy Jones wanders underwater without a breath timer. It's a smarter use of the licence than most LEGO games bother with, each character's abilities slot into the films' logic rather than feeling arbitrarily assigned. The hub world, called The Port, also evolves as you progress, unlocking new areas and housing the full 79-character roster to hunt down and purchase with LEGO studs. A character customisation workshop, gated behind 24 gold bricks, even lets you assemble and share custom minifigures via code. There are rough edges worth knowing about. Some puzzles drop onscreen hints entirely, leaving you breaking random scenery until something clicks, a frustration that hasn't aged out. The drop-in, drop-out local co-op is fun in principle but can skew lopsided, with one player doing the heavy lifting while the second trails along. Occasional platforming sections are slipperier than they should be, and returning players who have already worked through LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga or LEGO Indiana Jones will recognise the formula so well that the déjà vu sets in early. Critics at launch landed in the 6.5-to-8 range depending on platform, and the Steam community has stayed warm on it, 91% positive across thousands of reviews. So who is this actually for? Younger players or anyone new to the LEGO game format will get the most out of it: the slapstick cutscenes reinterpret the films with genuine wit, the violence is toy-brick-shattering-into-pieces harmless, and the difficulty curve is forgiving enough to stay fun. Series veterans who have burned through the modern LEGO titles will feel the age showing, no voiced dialogue, simpler level layouts, and a camera that occasionally fights you. But as a completionist playground built around a licence that suits the treasure-hunting format well, it delivers more content per hour than its modest profile suggests. Alex, Scout Team