Toy Box Takeover Review

One of the biggest criticisms people had of past Infinity games, 2.0 in particular, was the lack of structured content that all characters could be used together in. Playsets and the early Toy Box Games were mostly locked into specific franchises, which meant crossover content was restricted to the Toy Box mode. In 1.0 you could play a few minigames with your characters, but in 2.0 you had to rely on what you and other players could create. 3.0 has made big improvements in this area, with its Toy Box Hub and its new pair of Toy Box Games, Takeover and Speedway. In Toy Box Takeover you can take any of your characters from any series (except Cars) on a dungeon-crawling adventure through various Disney, Marvel, and Star Wars worlds in a quest to stop Syndrome. It’s similar to the Escape from the Kyln and Brave Forest Siege Toy Box Games, but makes some huge improvements. It’s one of my absolute favourite things in the entire series, and is something I always rush into when I get new characters.

Takeover features five structured levels based on Pirates of the Caribbean, Marvel comics, the Old West (Lone Ranger, effectively), Star Wars, and The Incredibles. Each level can be played on all four of the game’s difficulty levels, with rewards for completing them all on higher difficulties. In each level you’ll have to fight your way through the world while overcoming other obstacles like spike pits and climbing walls. Levels also feature some exciting set pieces as well, like a pirate ship attack in the Pirates level, and the iconic trash compactor in the Star Wars level. Levels end with a big challenge (usually a boss) that must be overcome in order to unlock the exit. Most of the bosses in Takeover are playable characters with AI attached, and it makes combat a bit awkward. Not all of them respond properly to counters and counterattacks, which can make melee combat against them very dangerous on higher difficulties. They can be beaten, you just have to approach them differently to standard enemies. Bosses that are taken from the playsets act just as they do there, which makes them much more enjoyable bosses. Duelling Darth Vader on the Death Star in the main story is brilliant, especially when you can do it with Tinkerbell or the Hulkbuster.

Hulkbustin’ makes me feel good

The levels are a huge improvement over those of the dungeon crawlers in 2.0. Each feels different from the last, and a lot of work has been put into providing a good variety of activities in each level. There’s things to fight, things to climb, and things to search for and collect. They especially shine in multiplayer, because of the ways you can support each other. There’s often times where there’ll be multiple objectives in different locations, so you can split up and save yourselves some time. There’s also be times where enemies are attacking from different locations, so you can assist each other by taking on the enemies giving your team strife. For example, there’s a section in the Pirates level where you’re fighting in a village, with enemy pirates attacking you on the ground. At the same time, there’s enemies standing on top of the buildings hitting you with ranged attacks. If you’re playing on multiplayer, one player can be in charge of clearing the rooftops, while the others fight off the hordes below.

Hidden in the levels are a number of collectibles. If you get all three Collectible Coins in a level, you’ll unlock one of the big set pieces in that level to use in the Toy Box mode. These toys are a lot of fun, and you can unlock plenty more great toys just by playing through Takeover, like a Western fort and pieces of Syndrome’s island lair. There’s also a few Sidekicks to be found as well. Sidekicks are a new feature introduced in the base game of 3.0 – they’re little miniature versions of characters who can be upgraded and equipped with different items. They get a lot of use in Toy Box Takeover, as they can help even the odds against large groups of enemies if you’re not playing with anyone else. It’s hilarious seeing Cinderella running around in a Centurion helmet blowing up Stormtroopers with a rocket launcher. There’s treasure chests hidden in each level that will either contain new equipment for your Sidekicks, or food that can raise their stats. This helps alleviate the grind of unlocking Sidekick Equipment because it’s really grindy unlocking them in the base game.

Me on my way to steal your treasure

Takeover is something I love playing through over and over again. The levels don’t get old quickly, and make for an enjoyable way to hunt for Sidekick Equipment. Being able to use all your old characters as well as your new ones adds a lot of value too – all the characters that don’t belong to playsets can now get a lot of use, and will gain experience the whole time unlike in some Toy Boxes. Then once you’ve played through it all you can use the new toys you’ve unlocked to make your own worlds in the Toy Box and play around in them. For the price it goes for it’s an absolute steal and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it.

This review was written based off a game or game content provided by the publisher. Review scores are designed to be directly compared with other expansions in the same series, not other series. We use the full 10 point scale 🙂