My problem is that Lego seems to be saying (from what I have seen), "This is how girls should play" instead of "Here is another awesome Lego option!"

It's the "This is how girls should play" (sub)text that is tripping me up here, and that's what most of the critiques of it I've seen have also been saying. (Granted, I am not reading critiques outside of fandom for the most part!)