Funko Fusion is what happens when you take the Lego Games formula and suck all of the fun and charm out of it, resulting in a bland and corporate celebration of B-tier pop culture.
Singleplayer.
Funko Fusion is a great-looking game, and the concept and narrative are decent; the problem is each world is essentially the same with one or two minor changes, with each themed world having some combination of the following levels.
While that is not a bad selection of level types, the problem is each world feels very similar, and after completing a few different worlds, it all started to blend together, as while each world looks vibrant and unique, the mission structure is so similar, its almost as if every world is a copy of the one before it, with a coat of paint and a few (admittedly often very amusing) cutscenes thrown in for good measure.
The repetitive nature of each world could be at least partially excused if Funko Fusion had enjoyable combat mechanics and challenging puzzles.
Unfortunately, Funko Fusion has lacklustre third-person combat and decent but far too easily solved puzzles.
When I first encountered a puzzle that required me to close off a valve, I assumed I would need to hunt high and low for the wheel to do so.
Unfortunately, that was not the case in that puzzle or any other that I have encountered.
The vast majority of puzzle solutions are within a few steps of the puzzle itself, sometimes in a chest or occasionally just sitting there.
The same applies to almost every puzzle type, with fuses, batteries, item dispensers, and other items required to solve each puzzle being very close to the puzzle itself.
I could understand if Funko Fusion was developed with very young children, but it has a PEGI 16 rating; young adults and older will be playing this, and making the puzzles at least somewhat challenging would have gone a long way towards making up for the combat system which is nothing short of atrocious, reminiscent of the low budget TV/Movie spin-offs of the early 2000s such as Lilo & Stitch: Trouble in Paradise (2002) and Buzz Lightyear of Star Command (2000).
While Funko Fusion has plenty of licenced characters, most play very similarly and are from niche or B-tier franchises, with few exceptions; while Jurassic Park is pretty close to being an A-tier franchise, it’s one of the smaller A-tier franchises, while stuff like Battlestar Galactica (1978) is barely a B tier franchise at all, having been cancelled just ten episodes into its second season.
What makes this lack of A-tier franchises so odd is that most of the missing A-tier franchises, such as Star Wars, Disney, Game of Thrones, Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Marvel Comics, DC Comics, etc., are available as officially licensed FunkoPops on the official FunkoPop website.
While this is undoubtedly due to the cost associated with adding these characters to the game, I would rather play a smaller-scope game with great crossover characters with unique abilities, such as Gandalf, Daenerys Targaryen, Harry Potter, or Obi-Wan Kenobi, than a longer game populated by Colonial Sanders, Scott Pilgrim and Shaun of the Dead.
While I, as an elder millennial, was glad to see Lieutenant Starbuck as a playable character because I am a fan of Battlestar Galactica (1978), in all likelihood, Funko Fusion’s primary demographic were not even born when Shaun of the Dead (2004) was released, let alone Battlestar Galactica (1978) which is older than I am.
10:10 Games has confirmed they have been “planning and plotting” in regards to what comes next, and they are considering a multiplayer mode; however, let’s be real, Funko Fusion currently peaks at less than 100 players each day on steam with a 24-hour peak concurrency of just 57 players, it doesn’t make sense to release DLC or further developed a game that capped out at just 542 players on steam and currently has just 31 players online and zero people watching it on Twitch.
No matter what the developers wish to do, funding ongoing development will be difficult, if not impossible, without an alternative funding source.
Looking at how poorly Funko Fusion has sold, I am not sure who (if anyone) would be willing to offer than funding, considering how little interest there is in the game and how poorly it has been reviewed by gamers and critics alike.
Many gamers have a love/hate relationship with Funko Pops; while they are peak geek collectables, in the eyes of many gamers, they have stolen the shelf spaces of many of their favourite game stores, earning the ire of gamers who prefer to buy physical over digital.
I must admit I am not one of those people; the moment digital games became a viable option, I jumped ship, and with very few exceptions, such as older titles for older platforms that do not have access to online libraries, I have not purchased more than a handful of physical in the last 15 years, and do not intend to purchase any physical games anytime soon, and yet even I would be disappointed to go into a game shop and see row upon row of Funbko pops where video games and consoles used to be.
However, I am also a realist and, most importantly, a Follower of Jesus Christ who believes in the Golden Rule. Physical games just do not sell well anymore, and game stores struggle to stay open without expanding their product offerings.
While I and many others may not like Video Game stores slowly becoming merchandising hubs for various brands, the decline of physical media is unavoidable. If selling merchandise such as T-shirts and Funko Pops can keep stores open a little longer and keep people employed until something better comes along, I am all for it.
Funko Fusion is a adventure video game developed and published by 10:10 Games, it was released on 13 September 2024 and retails for $49.99.
Funko Fusion is available on the following platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC, Playstation 4, Playstation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.
The following peripherals are officially supported:
Funko Fusion is rated PEGI 16+ and contains:
As a fan of Lego games since the 1990s, I am very passionate about games like this. As someone who owns essentially every Lego game based on popular IP and has enjoyed them thoroughly, I was excited to see a new take on the genre.
While I do not collect Funko Pops (or any similar product, including Lego), I was eager to see what the developers could do with the concept.
With childishly easy puzzles, repetitive gameplay, obscure and dated pop culture references, an IP aimed at elder millennials, and a repetitive mission structure, Funko Fusion feels like a game was made to market Funko Pops instead of a fun game that uses that aesthetic.
While it’s nice to see some older IP, such as the original Battlestar Galactic, receive attention, I only feel that way because I am old enough to remember and enjoy it, something that will not be the case for younger games or those with only a passing interest in B tier 1970’s sci-fi.
Ultimately, Funko Fusion is not a bad game, but for the same price, you can buy around a dozen Lego games if you can wait for a sale, including huge titles such as LEGO® Star Wars™: The Skywalker Saga ($10.42*), LEGO Marvel Super Heroes ($1.87*), LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 ($3.51*), and with that in mind I suggest you pick up a few of those, and save money for some of the excellent games we have coming out in early 2025 and beyond.
*Prices are based on each title’s all-time low sales price, per Is there Any Deal?
