LEGO Fortnite has turned out to be a surprise success for two companies that have perfected their crossovers. Now, perhaps the success of LEGO Fortnite might teach LEGO how to hit the mark better if it ever decided to develop a sequel to LEGO Worlds.

With the incredible number of highly successful LEGO games, LEGO Worlds left plenty to be desired. The game that was described by players as LEGO's attempt to piggyback on the success of Minecraft lacked that special something that open-world games need. It used some of LEGO’s non-licensed characters and environments and allowed players a free exploration and building experience. All the building blocks were present, quite literally, but they just didn’t assemble into a wholly meaningful experience. Since LEGO has worked with Fortnite to create an open-world survival game, maybe it has the knowledge to succeed in a possible sequel to LEGO Worlds that could deliver what the original couldn’t.

Split image showcasing LEGO Fortnite gameplay in Survival and Sandbox modes
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LEGO Fortnite is What LEGO Worlds Wanted to Be

LEGO Worlds was meant to be a game that LEGO fans could pour hours into exploring, collecting pieces, and building their dreams, but the reality of that vision never lived up to its potential. Despite LEGO games having incredible open worlds, LEGO Worlds felt barren and uninteresting. The game did include locations that were fun for players to explore, like a candy world and a planet inspired by LEGO's Power Miners line, but the worlds often felt empty, lacking many NPCs or activities to complete.

In a bare-bones story mode, players could unlock mechanics that would help in building and exploring, and some worlds included vehicles and traversal options that shook up gameplay a bit. Otherwise, the game never gave players much reason to keep playing.

By working with Fortnite, LEGO has finally achieved success in creating an open-world exploration game. The key to making this work is that LEGO Fortnite places a strong emphasis on its survival mode. Taking even stronger cues from Minecraft, LEGO Fortnite includes both a creative and survival experience. LEGO Fortnite’s survival mode offers players loads of pre-designed blueprints that they can build, as well as the option to use their parts to create their own ideas.

Players need resources in order to build and they must build to stay alive—this simple, familiar game loop makes a world of difference in keeping players engaged.

LEGO Worlds Demands a Cohesive Thread

LEGO Worlds deserves another chance now that mistakes have been learned from and rectified. Since the release of LEGO Worlds, LEGO has established itself as a larger player in the gaming scene. With LEGO creating sets based on popular games, not to mention announcing games like LEGO Horizon Adventures, there has never been a better time for the company to take another shot by borrowing ideas from LEGO Fortnite and putting the mechanics in a new LEGO Worlds game.

Another Fortnite move that LEGO might want to try is the inclusion of tons of different IPs. Fortnite has become one of the world’s largest crossover entities, a fact which plays no small part in its success. Though LEGO does have partnerships with many companies, a LEGO Worlds sequel could be a chance to include its newer IPs, like Hidden Side or DREAMZzz, as explorable environments. After all, that is one of the few things about the first game that kept fans excited.

Tossing in a version of their newly announced Great Deku Tree set couldn’t hurt either, though. Regardless, a LEGO Worlds sequel that takes influences from LEGO Fortnite but puts that incomparable LEGO spin on it could be the experience that players wanted from the very beginning.