Almost three years after its announcement, LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is finally here and will go down as one of the best LEGO (or Star Wars) games around.
The huge adaptation of the nine movie saga takes the charm of LEGO and the immersion of Star Wars into a breathtaking game. Despite them being basic re-tellings of films I’ve seen countless times, the cut scenes are always a lot of fun to watch; using LEGO’s classic slapstick to bring in some genuinely hilarious bits.
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
Developed By: TT Games, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Platforms: PlayStation 4|5, Xbox Consoles, Nintendo Switch, PC
Release Date: April 5, 2022
Unlike previous LEGO games, the story is told through both fixed levels and open world sections. The actual levels themselves seem shorter than in previous LEGO games, but the bridged sections between them, which take place in the open-world, makes up for it big time. Seriously, in Episode I you can play for an hour or so before even getting to the first technical “level.”
This change in the game’s story structure took some getting used to, but overall, each level is brilliantly put together. With simple—but fun—puzzle solving, intense boss fights, fast-paced flight sequences, and tons of collectibles there’s a lot for players to love in each section.
What strikes you immediately while playing, is the sheer effort gone into crafting the environments. Every level and hub work is finely detailed and instantly recognizable as the iconic locations seen in the films. I found myself genuinely stunned and awe-struck at moments.
The combination of music, lighting, and setting had me utterly immersed in the Star Wars universe. Any Star Wars fan playing this game will have a similar reaction I’m sure, the game offers such a large amount of content that you’d be hard-pressed to not find something you love in the Star Wars galaxy here.
The game boasts over 20 planets to explore, many of which sport with multiple open-world hubs on them. Visiting these can only be compared to an RPG; where each environment is bustling with activity and quests to be completed. I can only imagine the hours it’ll take to complete them all.
Once I’d unlocked the ability to see collectibles around an area (which highlights the various items in blue halos), it became clear how vast each of these worlds were as. The sheer amount of locations are hard to keep track of, and they offer more to do beyond the obvious missions.
It wasn’t until I played through the first four episodes that I gleefully remembered I could explore Yavin 4. It’s quite possibly my favorite map, for no other reason than the unexpected ability to traverse the entire pyramid.
The game’s new mechanics are obviously a big deal, perhaps one of the most discussed aspects of the game as TT abandon the basic mechanics they have held since some of their earliest LEGO games. A fixed third-person point of view makes the game feel more in line with modern titles and didn’t take much time to adjust to, rather it felt like a long-awaited upgrade.
Combat is vastly improved also, a combo system makes beating generic goons more interesting and, if used correctly, rewarding. Aiming down sights also makes gun-play a lot more fun, with headshots doing significantly more damage than other attacks and enemies actually reacting to where they are shot (you can learn a bit more about these changes from Jordan’s hands-on preview).
However, the game isn’t without its faults. Minor though they may be, there are some bugs/glitches to be mindful of. Specifically there are two vehicle-based levels in particular from Episodes II and VI, “Wrestle with Wessell” and “Endor the Line” are bugged and broken in some cases. The Episode II level’s targeting has no lead on the reticle and Zam Wessell constantly flies through buildings, making defeating her a drawn-out and mind-numbing process that might triple the length the level should take.
The Episode VI level functions fairly well until the entire map stops rendering and you die infinitely till you restart the level. This bug does seem inconsistently present for players and disappeared when I played in co-op.
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga can only be described as the absolute ultimate gaming experience for LEGO or Star Wars fan alike. It takes everything great about LEGO games and builds on it brick by brick to craft the best version of the series with stunning visuals, fun gameplay and brilliant sound design. Paired with the immersive world of a galaxy far far away, we have what is possibly the best Star Wars game yet and an absolute must-buy for fans across both properties.
