This isn’t the first time Lego and Star Wars have been digitally combined, but it’s easily the best
The wonderful LEGO Star Wars games in the past have done exactly that, and to great success. Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, the newest game in the series, continues this tradition of having fun with all-space wizards and talking puppets, but now does so on a previously unseen scale. End result: One of the best Star Wars games ever.
Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, a game that's somehow bigger than its own clunky title, was created by the folks at TT Games. Before I get into this any more, I want to mention that I would have been happy to wait six months or more for this game, even after all the delays, if it Could have saved the gods from crunching.
As reported by Polygon earlier this year, this latest Lego game was created by a team that reportedly had to put up with unhealthy, stress-generating workloads and whose concerns were often overlooked by management. used to go. It's easy to look at this cute and silly game and assume it was made in a happy, music-filled candy factory, with all the workers laughing as they crack the series' trademark jokes with each other. But that's just not reality, and while I don't think people should be punished for enjoying the game, I also appreciate and respect those who decide not to play it. This is an embarrassing situation and TT Games needs to avoid it in future for the sake of their own devs.
If you decide to play Skywalker Saga, you will find that it is a huge game. This includes all nine movies from The Phantom Menace to Rise of Skywalker. Each episode includes five levels and a bunch of open-world-like action between each large setpiece, with most episodes taking about two to three hours to complete, assuming you're distracted by all the collectibles and hidden puzzles. are not.
As you complete levels and progress through the story, you unlock more places to travel in the game's galaxy-spanning free mode. Here, you can bring an assortment of Star Wars characters with you and use the characters unlocked during story missions to unlock previously inaccessible areas. With over 275 characters and 20+ planets to discover, I could easily find myself spending a few dozen hours sifting through each gorgeous, expansive environment, solving every puzzle, and collecting all the hidden, character-upgrading Kyber bricks. I can see
Unlike previous Lego Star Wars games, Skywalker Saga uses the angle of the rear camera along with better, more modern-feeling combat and movement controls. Shooting feels like it was ripped right out of Fortnite, using an over-the-shoulder targeting setup. Melee combat is also improved by using a simple yet fun combo system, which features a variety of attacks and the ability to block and counter. That said, you can still button-mash through encounters, which is nice considering how many young kids will probably do this instead of learning all the different combinations.
Skywalker Saga is easily the best looking Lego game ever. You now have full control of the camera, so you can really admire the incredible amount of graphical detail on display. The worlds you visit seamlessly blend photorealistic rocks and deserts with digital Lego bricks, almost as if you're a kid playing with Lego in your backyard or sandbox. As you explore the desert or swamp, your Lego characters will start to get really dirty and scratched. Look close enough and you can see the Lego logo stamped on their bodies and other brick-built ships and props.
At one point I actually grabbed a Lego Star Wars ship from my (embarrassingly) large collection to compare it to its digital counterpart. I was surprised how accurate it was. Even bits that didn't matter in-game, such as a small Technic piece conveniently used to pop a droid out of its seat, were included in the digital ship.
But as I mentioned, the real star of Lego Star Wars is how cleverly the game is woven into the humor. For example, during the Episode II campaign, you are captured and dragged into a large area full of evil monsters. One of them looks like a cat, so the aliens who are holding you captive use a laser pointer to get his attention and attack you. I laughed a lot, and not just at that joke.
This type of humor is found everywhere, and even if you don't care about the franchise, I doubt the jokes and gags will keep you entertained. And if, like me, you love Star Wars, the in-joke references to the movies and past Lego games are a lot of fun too.
I can't think of another Star Wars game that includes the franchise in such a great and well-made package, and it's all boring, or bogged down in canon details and retcon. Star Wars is silly. Star Wars is epic. Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga knows this and embraces both aspects, while being both very funny and a lot of fun. It's one of my favorite games of 2022, and while some hardcore Star Wars fans may be loath to admit it, yes, it's probably the best Star Wars game ever.