Ever since LEGO Harry Potter Years 5-7, Traveller's Tales has been releasing DLC for all its LEGO games. These DLC packs have added to their respective games in various ways, often expanding the playable character rosters immensely. They have given players a reason to keep coming back for more, but there was a time when Traveller's Tales did far more than LEGO character packs.
LEGO character packs have always been the main focus of Traveller's Tales' LEGO DLC model, but some LEGO games also got level packs alongside them. These level packs gave players new stories to adventure through and let them experience all sorts of LEGO shenanigans. While the packs really only added a level or two, it was still a really nice addition, and the studio needs to return to this forgotten DLC model.
It Is Time for a LEGO Level Packs Comeback
Traveller's Tales had solely been releasing character packs for its LEGO games until the release of LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham. Instead of just making character packs, Traveller's Tales chose to also add new levels to the game. Each DLC pack for LEGO Batman 3 added a slew of new characters to play with alongside a new unique level. Most of these packs were themed after popular DC films, while some of them explored wacky DC characters. While the focus was still on the characters, these DLC packs also gave those characters a purpose.
LEGO Marvel's Avengers would also get a bunch of new levels included with its character packs. The DLC added various characters based on classic comic book versions of popular Marvel heroes as well as TV shows like Agents of SHIELD. Each pack would add many new characters to control, and a fun little level to use them in. None of the levels were particularly groundbreaking, but they did give players more content to play.
LEGO Dimensions saw the most level packs throughout its tenure. This toys-to-life game operated a bit differently than other LEGO titles as the DLC was tied to actual LEGO figures. Characters from The Simpsons, Portal 2, Doctor Who, Back to the Future, and Adventure Time came with new levels inspired by their specific IPs. Movies like The LEGO Batman Movie and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them got their own miniature LEGO games within LEGO Dimensions via story packs. There were a lot of stories to explore in LEGO Dimensions, and Traveller's Tales had plans for even more before the game was shutdown.
LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens got new missions that expanded upon the events of the film, LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 got six new levels, and LEGO DC Super-Villains also received numerous post-launch levels. Each of these levels helped expand their respective games in exciting ways and gave players more characters to mess around with. However, Traveller's Tales seems to have changed its DLC approach with LEGO Star Wars; The Skywalker Saga.
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is a massive game, and its two season passes have made it even larger. As of now, the game has gotten 13 different character packs themed after almost every Star Wars project. This has given fans a lot of characters to mess around with, but these characters don't serve much of a purpose. The studio chose not to include new LEGO Star Wars levels with any of these packs, and that's made the post-launch support feel a bit lackluster.
Traveller's Tales needs to go back to its original DLC model for the next LEGO game. Character packs are fun, but level packs are even better. They better encourage players to come back and give the characters an actual purpose besides cosmetic fluff. While the studio has not announced what the next LEGO game will be quite yet, it will hopefully include a much stronger post-launch content stream.