LEGO video games have an extremely broad appeal to gamers. They are fun action puzzle platformers that, more recently, have focused on the licensed franchises that numerous sets have been based on. From Harry Potter to Marvel to Star Wars, there are tons of LEGO sets out there and games to accompany them. However, before the pop-culture licenses really took hold, LEGO games focused on in-house themes and sets.
RELATED: 10 Best LEGO DC Minifigures, Ranked
There have been LEGO video games since the mid-1990s, but their popularity took a massive leap with the first LEGO Star Wars game. Before that, the games that LEGO produced were still fun and played by a lot of fans and ranged from real-time strategy games to racing games and even city-building games.
LEGO Island was an action-adventure game that was released on Windows back in 1997. Players explored the island as one of several characters while building vehicles and completing side quests. The main story of the game followed a young pizza delivery boy named Pepper Roni as he tried to thwart the efforts of an escaped criminal, the Brickster, to destroy the island.
LEGO Island was played in first-person and featured the ability to customize the island, between jet-ski races and pizza deliveries. The game has enough of a cult following that there is currently a fan-made sequel in the works called Project Island.
The sequel to LEGO Island was released on Windows PC, PlayStation One, and Gameboy Color in 2001. The story picks up with the Brickster on his way to jail, but he breaks out, steals the Constructopedia, and begins destroying the island, building by building.
RELATED: 10 Best Video Games Where You Can Play As Thor
The player takes the returning protagonist, Pepper Roni, across the island, completing mini-games and side quests on his way to stop the Brickster once again. LEGO Island 2: The Brickster's Revenge also has a bunch of collectibles across the different themed areas of the island and is full of fun LEGO references.
In 2003, Bionicle was released on Mac, Windows, Gameboy Advance, Gamecube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox. It was based on the series of LEGO Technic sets that featured the Toa, warriors powered by different elements like water, fire, and earth.
Bionicle is a platforming game that features mechanics like lava surfing and snowboarding while adding in some basic combat against enemies. Players control all six of the Toa in each of the six elemental regions as they defend the island of Mata Nui against the dark forces of Makuta.
LEGO Creator was a sandbox creation game that was released in 1998 on Windows PC. It was originally supposed to be a live-service type game, where expansions of new product themes (space, knights, etc.) would release over several years.
LEGO Creator began as a free-form construction game, but it shifted its focus to gameplay because computers at the time couldn't handle an unlimited number of bricks on screen for creation. There were sequels, rather than add-on packs, that focused on the Knights Kingdom and Harry Potter franchises. The game was highly ambitious for the time, but its original vision was realized with LEGO Worlds in 2017.
There were two versions of LEGO Rock Raiders that were released in 1999. The Windows version was a real-time strategy game, similar to Dungeon Keeper, where players explore caves looking for lost Rock Raider characters or collecting enough crystals to complete the mission.
RELATED: 10 Video Games That Will Make You Better At Gaming
The PlayStation version was an action-strategy game where the player controlled one Rock Raider character instead of a handful at once. The missions are still very similar in collecting crystals or finding lost characters.
LEGO Alpha Team was a puzzle game based on the Alpha Team secret agent sets. It was released in 2000 on the Gameboy Color and on Windows PC. For each level, players selected directional movement pieces and placed them so the Alpha Team member used in that level could make it to the goal.
Players set up their pieces and then watched the character move through the stage, hitting the markers and changing direction to navigate obstacles. LEGO Alpha Team was an interesting game, but it lacked action.
While the LEGO Racers game featured the standard bricks and Minifigures, Drome Racers gave the Technic part of the LEGO brand a spot on the podium. It was released in 2002 on Windows, PS2, Gamecube, and Gameboy Advance.
Drome Racers was set in a Drome that had several environments where high-speed races took place. Players could use pickups like Boost and Rockets to blast their opponents and race to the finish line. Players could also modify their vehicle via wheel or chassis upgrades to better suit the different environments.
The third game in the LEGO Island series, LEGO Island Xtreme Stunts, was released in 2002 on Gameboy Advance, Playstation 2, and Windows PC. Thanks to Pepper Roni's heroic efforts, he has been cast in an action movie and, due to some trickery, the Brickster is out of jail and also part of the production.
LEGO Island Xtreme Stunts, like its predecessors, is an open-world action game with collectibles and mini-games scattered all over the island. There are tons of vehicles to drive and players must perform stunts in order to complete missions on their way to, again, capturing the Brickster.
LEGO Battles is a very light real-time strategy game with turn-based combat. It was released in 2009 on the Nintendo DS and featured three different stories based on the sets from Knights Kingdom, Pirates, and Space. Players get to choose from several varieties of units and guide them through the levels in order to defeat enemy troops and clear bases.
RELATED: 10 Classic Racing Games That Need A Victory Lap
In 2011, the sequel LEGO Battles: Ninjago was released, also on the DS, based on the Ninjago sets and the first season of the animated show. Both games allow the players to play on either side, good or evil, for a different experience.
Back in 1998, LEGO Loco was released on Windows PC. It was a city-building game that focused on trains similar to SimCity and RollerCoaster Tycoon. The game begins with players selecting roads, buildings, and train tracks to place in the space provided however they choose.
Once everything is placed, the player begins the simulation and the city comes to life with minifigures moving into houses and populating the city. Players can then add trains of different kinds, passenger or freight, to the tracks and watch them travel around their newly created city.
NEXT: 10 Licensed Versions Of Classic Board Games