The designers at Lego are always willing to look at new ways to mix technology and brick-built fun. This year they used augmented reality to take Lego fans for a walk on the Hidden Side.
Lego has actually experimenting with AR for several years now. Back in 2011, the Lego Digital Box starter popping up in Lego Stores around the globe. In 2014 they released Lego Fusion, which let you scan 2-dimensional builds into a 3D game. Three years later came Lego AR Studio. In 2018 Lego Playgrounds arrived in the App Store.
With Hidden Side Lego has delivered an entire series of Lego sets that were designed with augmented reality at their core. I’ve been curious to see how their latest take on AR played out, and their PR team was good enough to send along Graveyard Mystery for me to check out.
Let’s start with the set itself. It’s a modest, 335-piece build that’s fairly straightforward to assemble. There a plenty of fun touches, like the hinged grave that opens and the faceless stone angel. 
The angel doesn’t just mark a grave, by the way. It’s connected to a rotating block that plays an important role in the Hidden Side game. At different points during play you’re asked to give the angel a twist to reveal a specific colored panel. Once the correct color is detected the next wave of action begins.
The highlight of the set, however, has to be the spooky, possessed tree that looms above the groundskeeper’s shed. Technic elements allow you to thrash its arms at minifig heroes Jack and Parker. The trees ‘eyebrows’ move menacingly in sync with its arms.
When the set’s complete and the app is installed, it’s time to turn the AR ghosts loose.
As soon as I launched the app it became clear that I had underestimated Hidden Side. I think I was expecting to see cute-ish Lego ghosts and ghouls floating around and maybe anticipated a mild jump scare or two.
Instead, Hidden Side throws you right into the midst of some serious ghost-busting action. You don’t just have to locate the spooks hiding in the set. You’ve got to defend yourself from their attacks, too.
It’s not a mind-blowing AR experience — at least not from a grown-up’s perspective, but this one’s not for grown-ups anyway. The kids in my house saw it very differently. They were seriously fired up about seeing this set come alive right in the middle of living room. The game itself is fairly challenge for younger players and the excitement of seeing a Lego set they built with their own hands come to life on the screen doesn’t wear off quickly.
There’s plenty of replay value in both the Hidden Side sets themselves and the AR app for the ages Lego recommends.
One thing worth noting: each set corresponds to an area on the game map. To clear the whole thing, you’ll have to purchase all 8 sets to the tune of about $400. That’s serious coin, but at least it’s spent on actual Lego sets — not TTL figures that only fun to play with in-game or IAP like skins and emotes.
Get Lego Hidden Side Graveyard Mystery Building Kit at Amazon
More on Geek.com
- The New Lego UCS Imperial Star Destroyer Is Nearly Four Feet Long
- Lego Unveils ‘Friends’ Central Perk Set for Show’s 25th Anniversary
- This Tree House Is Lego’s Most Sustainable Set Yet
