'LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga'- Review Of The Brick
Image Source: IGN
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away… Okay, not so long ago and not so far away, Traveler’s Tales Games finally released the long-anticipated LEGO Star Wars Skywalker Saga on multiple gaming platforms. This behemoth of a game, first slated for release at the end of 2020, is a LEGO game adaptation of all nine Star Wars movies that comprise the events of what has been christened “The Skywalker Saga.” The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker were not included in the previous LEGO Star Wars game. Although the game suffered delays, due to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the desire to deliver the best possible gaming experience for Star Wars fans, I am very pleased to report that the wait is finally over, and it has definitely been well worth it.
Gameplay
Image Source: Latest Game Stories
If you have ever played any of the previous LEGO Star Wars games, particularly the last release in the series LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the gameplay does not differ much in terms of controlling characters and interacting with your environment. There is a Story Play mode that is based on specific scenes in each movie and a Free Play mode where you can freely explore each planet and movie scene and complete missions that unlock new characters, ships, and character abilities. As previous reports have indicated, all the levels from the movies have been rebuilt from the ground up. No levels are exact copies of any in the other previous LEGO Star Wars games.
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The scope of the locations in this game is just…massive. While every location has definable playable boundaries, the levels are so huge (check out Coruscant) that you feel like you are operating in a virtually unlimited physical environment, almost like in Minecraft. Each location, ranging from Naboo to Exegol, has a very strong “open-world” feel to it. After you finish the movies, you can travel between planets via your preferred ship, land, get out and explore the planet, and then return to your ship and travel elsewhere. You can also skip right between locations if you want, but where is the fun in that?
Also, unlike previous releases, you can visit the surrounding “space” of each planet and engage in dogfights with enemy ships and even destroy or capture capital ships like Star Destroyers, destroy Kyber comets for Kyber Bricks and studs (basically, the “currency” of the Lego games), and complete other challenges.
While you are limited to the characters relevant to each storyline in Story Play, in Free Play you can choose from all the characters, ships, and abilities that you have unlocked/purchased with studs and Kyber Bricks or completed missions. This gives you the opportunity to combine a unique combination of characters, ships, and abilities together to complete the extra missions. For instance, you can have Ki-Adi Mundi, the Jedi Master famously concerned with the droid attack on the Wookies in Revenge of the Sith, actually be on Kashykk to help defend them against the Separatist Droid Army.
There are also some special DLC character packs that you can purchase (at minimal cost) to further extend the playability of the game from other Star Wars movies and series, such as The Mandalorian, Rogue One, Solo, and The Bad Batch. You can even purchase a whole pack of original Star Wars character models featured in previous LEGO Star Wars games. I myself am currently working through various missions with Ahsoka (as featured in The Mandalorian) and a Droideka (my favorite droid) from the prequel trilogy.
The character menu will also give you at least one character from each essential category of characters (i.e. Jedi, Scoundrel, Scavenger) in Free Play mode so that you can use their unique abilities to complete the missions and/or find hidden objects on every planet.
The game is playable in single- or two-player cooperative modes, like previous LEGO Star Wars games.
Graphics
Image Source: StarWars.com
Speaking from my experience with the PS4 version, the graphics throughout the various levels are nothing short of stunning and well-detailed. The various planets have life-like environments, especially on planets such as Ach-To and Kef Bir where you can actually see the waves crashing against the shore when you are near water. There are also some other intricate details I have noticed. When attacking a Star Destroyer, I could actually see the shadow of my A-wing skimming over the surface of the Star Destroyer, demonstrating an unparalleled level of detail when compared with the original releases (which already had good graphics for their time too).
Story
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If you have already seen all the Star Wars Skywalker Saga movies, then you should, of course, already know the basic storyline. There is no new or expanded content presented here (unlike in LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which featured some expanded story content). The game does take some creative liberties to help lighten the mood on some otherwise darker scenes in the movies as only LEGO humor can.
Pros And Cons
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One of the biggest reasons for me to own this game is if you want to play through The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker, which were never released individually. However, since none of the levels from the original games were repeated, the entire game is really a whole new experience. Also, the sheer number of playable characters, including ones from the other Star Wars movies and series who are not a part of the Skywalker Saga, is a nice bonus. There is also a lot of good LEGO-inspired fun and humor in the game.
Learning the controls and navigating through menus might be a bit confusing at first, but once you get that down, the game is highly playable, especially if you are already familiar with the mechanics of previous LEGO Star Wars games. I was somewhat disappointed that there are not more dogfighting missions during the Story Play mode, such as the Battle of Endor from Return of the Jedi, the Battle of Crait from The Last Jedi, and the Battle of Exegol from The Rise of Skywalker. Being able to engage in dogfights in Free Play mode largely makes up for this.
The voice acting also could have been a little better with some characters. According to the roster, it looks like they used a lot of the voice talents from The Clone Wars animated series (aside from the intro screen, which has actual voice clips from the movies). For the most part, the voice talents work fine, particularly Dee Bradley Baker providing the voice for the clone troopers as he did in The Clone Wars. He also voices Jango Fett and Boba Fett, which, of course, naturally makes sense, since Jango was the genetic template for the clones and Boba Fett. The only voice I have noticed so far that seems questionable is the voice used for Ben Solo, which literally almost sounds like Butthead (of Beavis and Butthead). But again, this is a very small nitpick in the grand scheme of things.
Verdict
Image Source: Screen Rant
Highly recommended, if not essential, for any Star Wars fan wishing to relive the entire Skywalker Saga in LEGO form. As Emperor Palpatine would say, “DO IT!”
Rating: 10/10
Developer: Traveler’s Tales Games, Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, Players: 1-2, Released: 2022, ESRB: Everyone 10+, MSRP: $59.99
Review played on PlayStation 4
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