Despite a handful of games on the Game Boy Advance, PlayStation 2, and the like,Scooby-Doohas never truly broken into the video game sphere with any real impact. It’s a brand that is beloved by many and is seeing new revisions all the time, but never in gaming, which is a shame given the obvious potential it has to craft and re-craft great stories and characters.HBO’sVelmahas become the internet’s newest punching bag by making some major changes to the formula that haven’t stuck the landing. Fans looking for something more conventional shouldn’t be isolated just to TV, however, as gaming (and not justMultiVersus) can offer it a lot.
LEGOboasts a pretty clean gaming resume with plenty of products that do a good job of adapting pre-existing IPs. Taking on a litany of beloved characters, settings, and tales and handling them with the utmost respect is hard. With such a lofty reputation comes an eagerness from fans to adapt their favorite properties.Scooby-Doois absolutely one of them, and the landscape of gaming as well as the franchise’s absence on the medium means a new title is long overdue.LEGOshould be the vessel to bring Mystery Incorporated to consoles and PC, as it has yet to falter in any substantial way.
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Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?
Whileother cartoon franchises likeThe Simpsons,Rick and Morty, andSouth Parkhave enjoyed some successful video game outings,Scooby-Doo’s potential is largely unrealized. Some forgettable titles on old hardware are simply not indicative of whatScooby-Doocan offer gamers, as the investigative angle and lovable characters are ripe for more stories to be told. The biggest mystery that surroundsScooby-Dooin the games space is that of its prolonged absence, and that has to be solved soon.
Thematically, it’s not a stretch to assume that a modernScooby-Doogame would find an audience, given that the cartoon has a similar tone and comedy style tothat ofLuigi’s Mansion. That franchise is revered even among Nintendo’s expansive first-party catalog, and three titles have released over the last two decades that each develop on the last.Scooby-Doohas the luxury of having more than one character with unique personalities and abilities on the case, which can work in the favor of a potentialLEGOgame where multiplayer is of paramount importance.
LEGO Adapts Pre-Existing Franchises Wonderfully
WhileLEGO City Undercoveris a fantastic offeringthat doesn’t lean on any IP other thanLEGOitself, Traveller’s Tales is most known for adapting, reimagining, and remodeling fictional properties. It makes fun, family-friendly, and cooperative video games that strike the perfect balance between mindless fun and head-scratching challenge. FromLord of the RingstoThe Avengers,LEGOhas been the go-to for fictional properties if they want to enter the gaming space without the stress of forging a game all their own.
There are small differences between eachLEGOgame, but most are easy to pick up and play depending on which license the game is adapting. Save forLEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, which alters the gameplay in the most significant way, the franchise is one of the most consistent in gaming, and it’s yet to get stale. It’s hard to say if a brand-new, AAAScooby-Doogame would be a hit, so building one from the ground up is a risky venture. The best way for the Warner Bros-owned franchise to giveScooby-Dooanother shot in the gaming space would be to lean on the exploits of Traveller’s Tales and itsLEGOgames, as the studio don’t seem to miss.
