Funko Fusion isn't great – but it let me play through the events of my favourite action-comedy

If you're a fan of any one of the incredibly specific franchises Funko Fusion platforms, you're gonna have a good time.

Funko’s first big tie-in crossover title doesn’t live up to the promise of the LEGO games before it, yet there’s still something to love if you’re a fan of the included franchises.

Let’s get this out of the way right at the start: Funko Fusion, the recently released crossover actioner from new developer 10:10 Games, isn’t a great game. It's not even a good one; this is largely due to an overreliance on backtracking, convoluted puzzle design, and some seriously repetitive combat holding back what could have otherwise been an ultimate celebration of the many TV and cinematic franchises it smashes together.

I’ll be honest, I expected a lot better from a studio made up of former TT Games developers, who should have a penchant for crafting this type of experience judging by their work on the tie-in Lego games. However, while the gameplay itself might disappoint, something you can’t deny is Funko Fusion’s affection for the seven main IPs it thrusts into the spotlight – one of which just so happens to be one of my favourite movies ever.

Hot Fuzz is the type of mid-00s action-comedy you wouldn’t normally see get the video game adaptation treatment. Leaving aside that most publishers would dare touch a movie tie-in with a 10ft pole these days, Edgar Wright’s classic 2007 buddy cop story about a police sergeant being sent to dwindle his time away in a small, rural town, doesn’t exactly scream ‘first-person shooter’ or ‘puzzle adventure’. The team at 10:10 Games clearly recognised this, smartly choosing to translate (some of) the movie’s events through the prism of a Funko Pop crossover game. Hot Fuzz isn’t the only seemingly unusual franchise Funko Fusion has plucked for one of its seven main worlds either; John Carpenter’s The Thing, Battlestar Galactica, and The Umbrella Academy are also paid excellent tribute to in the cutesy toyetic form.

There’s a barebones ‘story’ of sorts tying all these brands together, of course, but for the most part, the basic narratives of these brands can be enjoyed in isolation – at least, to a point. The Hot Fuzz chapter fast forwards a lot of the movie’s events in favour of shining a light on the action-packed final third, where the town of Sandford’s true insidious intentions are finally made known, and Simon Pegg’s Nicholas Angel is forced to shoot up the entire village. Would it have been nice for Funko Fusion to pay equal attention to the core murder mystery and tense fallout that forms the main bulk of the plot before then? Certainly, but it’s precisely this slow burn that I believe has never made Hot Fuzz ripe for the video game treatment. So yes, even though events in Funko Fusion are undeniably a sped-up version, there are so many Hot Fuzz Easter Eggs here for fans to enjoy.

The Greater Good

These embedded Easter Eggs and not-so-subtle references are the main reasons why Funko Fusion’s various gameplay drawbacks didn’t phase me during the Hot Fuzz levels. George Merchant’s blown-up house, for instance, is in regular view for most of the five stages, while the very first one has you chasing through the village in the attempts of capturing the elusive swan that’s escaped. Yes, that one. I think the moment I knew 10:10 Games had a handle (and true affection) for all things Hot Fuzz was when I explored the church area, speaking to Tim Messenger, before witnessing his innately gruesome death the same way it played out in the movie. 10:10 Games didn’t need to include this, especially in a game so family-friendly, but it understands the dedicated level of fandom it intends to appeal to.

Simply exploring a shrunken-down version of Sandford from the movie, unbroken in almost its entirety, was also a thrill of the Hot Fuzz world in Funko Fusion. Filmed in the real-life village of Wells (just outside of Bristol) for the movie, it’s one that I’ve explored with friends and family in my own time on a couple of occasions. Knowing exactly what market and church 10:10 Games has recreated in game, both as a reference to the movie and the real-world village it is based on made exploring it in Funko Fusion a tad surreal – and a true testament to the team’s commitment to embedding such detail. Detail that is also of course regularly thrown out of the window as soon as the swan turns giant, Chucky’s factory is hidden away in the local supermarket, or the world of Shaun of the Dead temporarily bleeds through. It’s all good fun in a way only a crossover as wide-spanning as this could achieve.

10:10 Games doing such a good job at recreating the location, vibe, and characters (albeit in Funko pop form) of each featured IP makes it even more saddening that these highs are never matched by the gameplay, and the tasks actually asked of you to perform in these worlds. Because sure, while making Danny Butterman’s melee weapon an oversized Cornetto ice cream and having Tony Fisher’s gun shoot biscuits will provide a quick laugh for those in the know, these actions quickly become dulled once you realise your actions simply boil down to the same poor-feeling shooting and attacking. 10:10 Games already did the hard part in making me care about a Funko game by placing one of my favourite movies centre stage, but how good it looks sadly is never matched by how it plays.

Your mileage with Funko Fusion will indeed vary, then, depending on whether any of the seven main worlds featured appeal to you, and if you can stomach the game's overwhelmingly banal gameplay. This being the first game from 10:10 Games, I’ve no doubt that the inevitable follow-up will resolve many of the issues both I – and seemingly a lot of other video game critics – have. Funko Fusion’s heart is very much in the right place, no doubt, and boasting such an eclectic selection of brands sets a good standard for where this potential crossover franchise can go next. Until that time, however, I’m just happy that Hot Fuzz was shown the type of video game adaptation love I never knew I wanted, letting me chase down that darn swan, shoot up the entire village, before battling it out in the local Somerfield. Oh, and for those wondering, it turns out there is a place in a Funko Pop’s head where if you shoot it, it blows up. Thank me later.