Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
MSRP $59.99
“Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga has lots of ambition but lacks focus.”
Pros
Beautiful visuals
Deeper gameplay
Improved fight
Free Play mode shines
Cons
Rushed retellings
Unfocused construction
Tonally inconsistant
While previous Lego video games have been satisfying, entry-level puzzle platformers, they have been additionally easy video games that many gamers, myself included, grew out of. Developer TT Games seems to have acknowledged that as a result of Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is essentially the most formidable Lego sport in years.
It retells the tales of 9 iconic movies, options plenty of hubs worlds that gamers can discover and acquire objects in, and deepens fight with its new class programs. This makes it a superbly satisfying Lego title for gamers who could have fallen out of affection with the collection and an thrilling teaser of the place this franchise can nonetheless go.
Unfortunately, it’s additionally an expertise that doesn’t totally coalesce. Throughout my journey, Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga at all times felt torn between being a trustworthy recreation of each mainline Star Wars movie and changing into the liberating galactic sandbox it clearly desires to be.
From Padawan to Knight
When I first booted up The Skywalker Saga, I might choose the primary movie of any of the trilogies. I selected to play the sport in launch order, from A New Hope to The Rise of Skywalker. The introductory stage of A New Hope does an incredible job at highlighting how a lot has improved in comparison with previous Lego video games.
The visuals are attractive, particularly when ranges are totally manufactured from Lego blocks. As I discussed in my preview, the sport additionally has enjoyable adapting and satirizing the plots of every Star Wars movie whereas deepening the gameplay. The Skywalker Saga’s cover-based capturing makes fights extra intense, even when it’s no more tough than earlier Lego titles.
That’s simply the tip of the iceberg on the subject of the brand new options right here. Melee fight obtained a much-needed rework, as gamers have to string assault combos collectively whereas often countering assaults. Each movie’s story is principally tailored in linear ranges, however each planet has no less than one huge open stage that gamers can discover. These open-ended hubs are all giant and stuffed with thrilling challenges, Easter eggs, and even full-blown side-quests to find, and are by far the perfect a part of the sport.
The Skywalker Saga continuously throws out new concepts and riffs on preexisting ones.
Kyber Bricks are the first motivator behind doing something in The Skywalker Saga. Collecting studs and finishing challenges within the linear ranges grants Kyber Bricks. They are sometimes the primary reward for the challenges discovered throughout every planet, and so they’re wanted to improve every class’s skills.
The Skywalker Saga’s 300+ characters are a part of particular person character lessons, every of which has distinctive skills in and outdoors of fight. For instance, Jedi can use pressure powers, droids can hack sure terminals, and heroes can disguise themselves as enemies after defeating them.
The Skywalker Saga continuously throws out new concepts and riffs on preexisting ones, which retains the expertise recent. This method does imply that some concepts aren’t totally fleshed out and that some character skills, like a Protocol Droids’ capability to hack turrets, really feel ineffective. I can forgive that in such a big sport, however this design mindset additionally offers The Skywalker Saga a construction that some could contemplate unnatural.
Identity Crisis
Going into The Skywalker Saga, I couldn’t wait to see how TT Games seamlessly built-in the tales of 9 Star Wars movies into one open-world sandbox. I used to be upset to search out that the sport actually doesn’t do this.
The Skywalker Saga options many planets and locales which might be actually enjoyable to discover. Players may even fly in house above every planet. Despite that, all 9 movies are telling linear tales, and the sport is continually making an attempt to shuffle the participant to the subsequent huge factor. I couldn’t go to a planet till I visited it throughout one of many movies, which implies The Skywalker Saga’s sandbox felt incomplete all through my complete journey.
The story missions clearly don’t provide the identical stage of freedom because the open worlds and favor some character lessons and talents over others. I at all times felt obligated to proceed the story and never cease and scent the roses in every hub as I made my manner by every movie, so I used to be usually not participating with the perfect a part of the sport.
The Skywalker Saga’s sandbox felt incomplete all through my complete journey.
This was additionally unfulfilling as The Skywalker Saga has to hurry by every story to incorporate all 9 movies. Some key moments, like Lando blowing up the Death Star, aren’t playable, however some story ranges are totally unique, like Empire Strikes Back‘s opening stage the place gamers discover Hoth as Han. The builders appeared extra involved in making huge 3D collect-a-thon ranges somewhat than retelling these Star Wars tales for a second or third time, however the expertise suffers when these open-ended ranges generally instantly intervene with the story being instructed.
Tonal whiplash
This dissonance between the linear film variations and open-ended galaxy sandbox got here to a head in Revenge of the Sith. I watched the cutscene the place the Jedi are annihilated by Order 66, solely to be spawned in Corosaunt’s Jedi Temple Library subsequent to a Youngling, who eagerly instructed me a few puzzle that may grant me a Kyber Brick.
I suppose Anakin didn’t get to him.
The tonal whiplash of that second was unintentionally hilarious, but it surely additionally cemented that the open-ended galaxy and movie retellings don’t mesh very nicely collectively. There are so many characters, ships, facet missions, and set items from radically completely different Star Wars eras that the expertise doesn’t at all times really feel coherent, even with the improved gameplay.
The open-ended galaxy and movie retellings don’t mesh very nicely collectively.
Completing every movie felt like a long-winded prerequisite for the Free Play mode, the place the sport doesn’t must care about Star Wars canon or sure side-quests not making sense in a movie’s context. As a end result, the journey feels unfocused. This high-level dissonance most likely received’t trouble the children who will seemingly spend numerous hours beating the sport after which exploring the galaxy in Free Play mode, but it surely definitely was irritating for me.
TT Games is making an attempt to alter the notion of what a Lego sport could be. The Skywalker Saga demonstrates that the video games can nonetheless appeal to older audiences with deeper gameplay and that these video games are at their finest when the emphasis is on giving gamers a large sandbox to discover and work together with.
Exploring all of those concepts in The Skywalker Saga in the end makes the sport a messy expertise. Still, I’m excited to see how the developer might increase on these concepts in an journey that additionally doesn’t have to fret about faithfully recreating 9 motion pictures.
Our Take
Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is essentially the most participating Lego sport in years, due to its deeper gameplay and the entire faithfully recreated Star Wars locales that gamers can discover. But just like the protagonists of every Star Wars trilogy, The Skywalker Saga has an identification disaster. It at all times feels divided between being an correct retelling of the Star Wars collection and an formidable galactic sandbox the place gamers can go anyplace as anybody.
Is there a greater different?
Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga nonetheless holds up. It’s a way more linear, level-based expertise however can also be a extra centered sport consequently. Still, not a lot on the market can match the dimensions of what TT Games included in The Skywalker Saga.
How lengthy will it final?
This is the most important Lego sport but. Making your manner by each Star Wars movie will take over a dozen hours, and also you’ll nonetheless most likely have so much to unlock and discover in each stage.
Should you purchase it?
Yes. Despite my complaints concerning the identification disaster The Skywalker Saga faces, it’s value choosing up if you happen to love Star Wars or need to introduce your baby to the franchise. It’s plenty of enjoyable to play, particularly when you unlock every thing in Free Play.
Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga was reviewed on Xbox Series X.
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