Funko Fusion is an action-adventure game featuring the big headed Funko POP! figures. Developed and published by 10:10 Games, Funko Fusion brings the vinyl collectibles to life, taking advantage of Funko’s ever-expanding pool of IP licenses and blending them into a light-hearted collectathon, with the focus on having fun and exploring toy-town versions of your favourite films.
Funko Fusion is available on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S for £54.99 ($49.99) and Steam for £41.99 ($49.99). The PS4 version launches November 15th, whereas Nintendo Switch players will have to wait until some time in December.
Story – Good VS Evil
When combining worlds into one multi-verse, Funko Fusion follows a similar path to Kingdom Hearts, without the emphasis on friendship. Finally giving much needed attention to company mascot Freddy Funko, the player aids Freddy and the good team as they face off against his evil counterpart, Eddy Funko. Eddy’s dastardly ways cannot be contained, and his evil spreads to the different franchise based worlds. The story isn’t linear, and you are able to choose the order in which to play.
Objectives are structured around the plot of the movie the world is set in, the retelling of sometimes gruesome stories in a goofy slapstick style striking a balance with the basic storyline. The inclusion of many horror movies and more mature references gives the impression that younger children aren’t the primary target audience for Funko Fusion, but rather movie buffs and big kids looking for a simple collectathon outside of the LEGO games.
Each world’s narrative loosely follows the plot of the movie it is based on.
Gameplay – Vinyl Collectathon
The Funko Factory acts as the central hub, with each floor designated to one of the 7 main game franchises, although a certain number of crowns will be needed before you can unlock the next world. You play through the movies as one of the plastic protagonists, some of which have unique abilities which will aid you in finding hidden items.
All playable characters come equipped with a melee weapon and a firearm, and the simple combat is ideal for switching your brain off as you alternate between spamming square and firing off projectiles with R2. Aim assist did little to assist, albeit it is quite difficult to miss a headshot. Smashing and shooting through enemies and the environment collects more vinyl pieces, the little chunks of plastic allowing you to purchase health drinks and other essential items.
A bigger inventory would have been ideal, as it would have allowed me to make use of a wider variety of weapons. It would also be handy for storing the upgrade tokens, which are deposited at the large 3D printer like machines. Needing both hands to manually transport objects wouldn’t be a problem, except it leaves you defenceless to frequently spawning enemies. This pattern of stopping and starting every so often makes it tempting to forget about new weapons/upgrades and just proceed with the level instead.
Discovering secrets and cameos in-game builds your digital Funko POP! collection.
While I did enjoy my time playing Funko Fusion, the lack of map and inconsistency with onscreen waypoints appearing made navigating the movie themed sandboxes slightly laborious in places. This wasn’t helped by needing to restart levels due to bugs or unclear mission objectives. In spite of this, I still look forward to returning to Funko Fusion after some updates to find the remaining cameos and collectibles, and of course, to complete my virtual Funko POP! collection.
Audio and Graphics – Poppin’ Visuals
Unfortunately, the most prominent feature of sound design was that audio would often cut out, treating you to a muffled soundtrack or leaving you in complete silence. However, possibly the strongest element of Funko Fusion are the visuals, fully embracing its Funko POP! roots with a bright and colourful aesthetic. The backdrop of more realistically designed skylines and buildings adds to the novelty of the toys springing to life, contrasting with their animated style and creating the feeling of playing with an interactive toybox. An aspect which made my inner nerd very happy is the character selection menu – especially once you have added a few new figures to your shelves, the Funko boxes replicated right down to their plastic sheen.
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- Key items are transported through manual labour, leaving you defenceless against enemies.
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- Specialist items can be unlocked and purchased at specific 3D printing machines.
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- You join Freddy Funko against his evil counterpart, Eddy Funko and his minions.
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- Characters have unique abilities, which may be needed to unlock hidden crowns.
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- Funko Factory acts as the central hub of the game, where you can access portals to other franchises.
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- Despite being bright and bubbly on the surface, Funko Fusion has its fair share of grotesque horror.
Funko Fusion was reviewed on PS5 with a key provided by 10:10 Games.
