One day I’m going to wake up and find a Funko pop staring at me from the end of my bed as its dark, unblinking eyes swallow me into p⛄urgatory. Until then, at least, I have cool video games like Funko Fusion to look forward to. Except this new title from 10:10 Games is really just a different kind of hell. One where all of our childhood hopes and dreams go to die. A he♏ll born out of nostalgia.
My colleague Eric Switzer has already covered how Funko Fusion is a spiritual successor to Traveller’s Tales’ beloved Lego games, and it comes from many of the same developers that brought those games to life in the first place. But while those games adapt a single property or retell the stories of specific films or television shows, Funko Fusion takes it one step further. Much like the short-live🅰d𒁏 Lego Dimensions, it wants to combine stories and characters and worlds into a singular whole, which is either a terrible idea or utter genius.
Funko has been losing money for a long time, resorting to dumping unsold figures into actual landfills as it tries to create so many characters from so many universes that even collecto🎃rs who live and breathe the brand have grown tired. You can’t walk into a shop that specialises in pop culture these days without being bombarded by walls of the buggers.
Here are just some of the properties Funko Fusio⛎n will include: Jurassic World, Back to the Future, Hot Fuzz, The Thing, Battl🌟estar Galactica, The Walking Dead, and He-Man & the Masters of the Universe.
Stores that used to specialise in video games have given way to waves of plastic tat, and that’s a future we’ve only doomed ourselves to. But the tide seems to be changing, and🔴 I bet Funko has s𝔍tronger chances of success in the video game realm than trying to stuff our living rooms with plastic monstrosities with dead eyes and massive heads.
Whether that can be a success remains to be seen, as Funko games have flopped before, but never has it entertained something this massive. From the reveal trailer 🌼alone,꧒ it is obvious we’ll be taking control of countless iconic characters and living out the stories of several classic properties, before being given the freedom to mix and match to our heart’s content.
Gameplay seems to have you walking around simplistic levels to solve puzzles and deal with enemies, albeit with a little more violence and style than we’d seen in past Lego games. There’s even blood, which I suppose was necessary since you’re not able to break Funko pops apart like those figurines. I can’t tell if it will be any good, but I am far too excited𒈔 about it. I am here for the familiar properties, even if I know the thrills that come from seeing them in this form will be forever fleeting.
As a kid, licensed Lego games traded on their universal familiarity. They are my parents' top games because they know that regardless of how they play or look, they will still be enjoying familiar stories and characters from a new perspective. One where anyone can pick up and play without having to worry about learning too many controls or mechanics.
I played dozens of them with my siblings growing up, chasing 100 percent completion in all the Star Wars games even if the eventual rewards felt miniscule. It was fun, and all of them still are. But it has grown long in the tooth in recent years, so maybe there is a chance for Funko to attrac൩t that very same audience with a simple and broad game about things we already know well.
Funko Fusion could be mediocre, but I’m ashamed to admit that will be more than enough to pull me in. If you’re anythin𝕴g like me, chances are you’ll be along for the ride, too.
