LEGO Brawls brings the minifig fight to consoles this summer

This all-ages brawler debuted on Apple Arcade

Room for one more Smash Bros.-adjacent slugfest? Bandai Namco will bring LEGO Brawls, a “family-friendly” brawler, to consoles this summer, including a physical release. While the exact date is up in the air, the fighting game is heading to Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S, with pre-orders pointing to a $40 price tag.

Bandai Namco posted a new trailer to catch us up to speed.

As the footage shows, LEGO Brawls is a platform fighter, and it’s going for a “playful chaos” sort of vibe. The most appealing part is probably the characters themselves — they’re minifigs. Players can customize their looks and abilities to stand out from the normies.

“A cactus with an attitude? A scrappy janitor ninja who happens to have fighting chickens? A sledgehammer-swinging clown with a few scores to settle? Sure! Build the ultimate brawler and level them up with unlockable content,” summed up the developers.

Up to eight players at once

LEGO Brawls was created by Red Games Co., a family-friendly game maker, and publisher Bandai Namco has confirmed that the console versions will have local and online multiplayer. There’s support for eight players online and up to eight players offline for Nintendo Switch and Xbox. PlayStation, meanwhile, caps out at four local players.

This may very well be your first time hearing about this game, as it was for me. That said, it’s another case of the every-so-often Apple Arcade effect. LEGO Brawls debuted on iOS platforms via Apple Arcade in 2019, and it has been updated over 20 times since its launch with new levels, modes, and seasonal content sprinkled in. Another mobile-turned-console game, LEGO Builder’s Journey, recently had a similar trajectory.

I’m not sure where I’d rank this premise against Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl or Warner Bros.’ extremely eclectic MultiVersus, but I like the idea of facing off as a classic minifig.