The world may have ended, but there are still LEGO studs to collect
I've previously observed that I tend to like LEGO tie-in games based on my attachment to that "tie-in" -- and Horizon Zero Dawn is a strong one to tee up. Unfortunately LEGO Horizon Adventures isn't as tied-into its inspiration as I was hoping.
LEGO games are kid-friendly by necessity, so it's not a surprise that Horizon's T-rated dystopian narrative would need some reinterpretation: LEGO Horizon presents a lighthearted, cartoony version of the original world and its events. Ancient technology left behind by "the old ones" is just a passing fascination, or a prop used for visual gags; Helis the mad Carja warlord is obsessed with sun, like, tanning in the sun; a holographic Elisabet Sobeck helps Aloy stop HADES the angry red sphere while glossing over the whole Faro Plague extinction thing.
I think there was some real potential in this idea, especially with the familiar voices of Aloy and Rost and Varl and Erend. (This Ashly Burch performance gives Aloy a little Tiny Tina energy, which is delightful.) But in practice, so much of Horizon is missing - not just the whole sci-fi backstory, but also Zero Dawn's contemporary stories, like Erend's quest after his sister; Sun-King Avad versus the Shadow Carja; the Banuk tribe altogether; heck, Mother's Heart is the only named location here - with so many omissions, LEGO Horizon's world ends up feeling almost unrelated to its inspiration.
Considering Horizon Zero Dawn and Forbidden West had great big open worlds to explore, full of memorable places and people and moments; and considering some previous LEGO games (like LEGO LotR's Middle-earth, LEGO Marvel Super Heroes's Manhattan, and LEGO City Undercover's ... LEGO City) have also pulled off open-world exploration; it's a real shame that LEGO Horizon lacks any of that scope. Even this game's campaign levels are just pseudo-random arrangements of generic level "pieces" -- small sections of forest or mountain or jungle or desert, with loading-screen transitions inbetween each section. Sections which feel increasingly repetitive if you bother revisiting them in the post-game.
Which I did! Because I'm a sucker for this formula, for the popcorn-like collectibles to unlock, even though these too are a disappointment compared to past LEGO games. (LEGO Horizon has a ton of costumes and other decorative unlockables, but only four playable characters. LEGO Marvel Super Heroes had an unlockable Stan Lee!)
LEGO Horizon Adventures isn't a bad game, it's a perfectly playable iteration of the tried-and-true LEGO game formula established by Traveller's Tales. But a lack of meaningful connection to Horizon, and an underwhelming amount of content, make it one of that formula's weaker entries.
Better than: ... Hob ?
Not as good as: LEGO City Undercover, LEGO Marvel's Avengers, The LEGO Movie Videogame
Weirdly, though: LEGO Horizon was not developed by Traveller's Tales, instead being co-developed by Guerrilla and partner Studio Gobo. Kinda odd that they mimicked the button-mashy parts of TT's games, without the open-world or huge-character-library parts.