Funko Fusion is clearly for the Fortnite generation of gamers

This story is part of our Summer Gaming Marathon series.

Some of my fondest gaming memories from growing up are of playing TT Games’ Lego video games with my brother. They were easy to pick up and play as a kid, featured some of my favorite franchises like Star Wars and DC Comics, and had a childish sense of humor I found endearing. I eventually grew out of Lego games, and their release cadence dried up due to the tumultuous development of Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. That’s the main reason that Funko Fusion caught my eye; it has the potential to serve the same purpose for this younger generation of players.

I was certainly intrigued by a hands-off preview I saw of Funko Fusion earlier in the year, especially because it highlighted films you wouldn’t associate with a game, like The Thing andSean of the Dead. Having gone hands-on with Funko Fusion’s opening and Jurassic World levels, I now know that this game definitely isn’t for me, but is tapping into an energy that a lot of younger gamers who mainly play games like Fortnite can appreciate. And if it can serve as a gateway to films like Nope and Hot Fuzz, is that such a bad thing?

Funko Fusion’s off-kilter, dark sense of humor hits almost immediately. One of the first things players do in the game is save a fox, only to see its skin get melted off shortly thereafter by Eddy, a corrupted version of Funko mascot Freddy. After fighting and killing a giant corrupted Foxxo, players must then set off on a journey to stop him and recover crowns based on popular IP that Funko has crossed over with that have spread across worlds. I appreciated that the dialogue was minimal, like in the classic Lego games.

More importantly, the opening also made me understand that this game is trying to appeal to kids who like edgy, scarier stuff likeFive Night at Freddy’s (which is part of the game) rather than being too kid-friendly an adventure. Funko Fusion should also feel familiar to kids who like third-person shooters like Fort