Funko Fusion marks the arrival of the famous Funko figurines in the world of video games, developed by 1010 Games, a British studio formed by former creators of Lego games (that’s good). The project, although promising, leaves a mixed impression between good ideas and shaky execution which struggles to stand out in a market saturated with games inspired by pop culture.
A visual universe faithful to the Funko spirit
From a personal point of view, I’m not a big fan of the Pop figures. And I always wonder what makes them successful. However, I like to see the licenses of classic pop culture collide in choral games, like Lego. With such strong licenses from Battle Star Galactica, Back to the Future or Umbrella Academy, Funko Fusion managed to interest me. But I had to overcome a lot of frustration.
The starting point of the story remains simple: Freddy, the manager of Funko, sees his headquarters attacked by a mysterious Eddie. Following this confrontation, Freddy loses his crowns scattered in seven distinct worlds from pop culture, ranging from Umbrella Academy has Scott Pilgrim. Your mission is to travel these universes to collect these crowns before Eddie gets his hands on them. The narrative framework of Funko Fusion remains a pretext, more than a real story that will carry us.
The story does not stand out for its originality, nor for the depth of its characters. The cutscenes punctuating the adventure bring a touch of appreciable humor, without however making an impression. We feel the influence of the Lego games, both in the light tone and the humorous approach to the scenarios, but without the same mastery. We then focus instead on the pleasure of traveling through the different worlds recreated with fidelity.
One of the main attractions of Funko Fusion resides in its rich and varied visual universe. Each environment taken from popular culture is carefully recreated: settings inspired by Battlestar Galacticad’Umbrella Academy to those of Masters of the Universe. The design of the Funko Pop characters, as cute and cartoonish as ever, manages to capture the essence of the franchises they represent, while adding a touch of humor.
However, even if the settings are recognizable and will definitely make your little heart sing, it lacks that little extra that would make these worlds more alive and immersive. The general atmosphere is intended to be respectful of each license, but we feel that the artistic style could have been pushed a little further to create a real visual identity, and give them a little more life.
In terms of gameplay, Funko Fusion takes a classic third-person shooter approach, with a melee combat component reminiscent of aspects of Ratchet & Clank. The controls are generally smooth and each character has unique abilities that add a touch of diversity.
However, the combat system suffers from a few flaws, the least of which being a camera not too close to the action and the lack of target lock. This makes some encounters confusing, even frustrating. This clumsiness in combat management tarnishes the experience, especially when bugs get involved. Added to this is a sometimes poorly balanced difficulty which is not due to the complexity of the enemies, but rather to the technical weaknesses of the game.
One of the strengths of Funko Fusion lies in the amount of content it offers. With numerous characters to unlock and progression spread over approximately 14 hours of gameplay, the title strives to offer a generous experience. However, this abundance of content is also its Achilles heel. The missions, although varied at first, quickly fall into a repetitive routine. We often find ourselves accomplishing the same types of goals in each world, without real innovation.
The level design also suffers from a lack of clarity. Too often, we get lost in environments looking for our way without precise directions. This flaw becomes even more frustrating when the objectives are repetitive and lack originality. We sometimes have the impression of being in a multiplayer arena wandering from one end to the other without any real goal.
Technically, Funko Fusion does not particularly shine. Although the graphics are decent and the textures pleasant, the experience is tarnished by numerous display bugs, scripting problems and sound issues. These bugs, which affect both the display and the fluidity of the animations, sometimes require you to restart the game, which can become quite frustrating in the long run. A first patch corrected a few problems, but there is still some fine-tuning to be done.
Funko Fusion shows the potential of the young studio 1010 Games, but struggles to reach the level of its influences. If the title attracts you for its universe and its characters, it may be worth the detour, but expect an adventure that is still quite far in terms of the quality of a Lego game… for the moment.
