LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
Developer: TT Games
Publisher: WB Games
Platforms: Xbox Series X , Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, PC (Reviewed)
Release Date: 5 April 2022
Price: $49.99 USD – Available Here $89.95 AUD – Available Here
Overview
No matter what is your genre of choice or favorite video game franchise, we all have that one guilty pleasure. Maybe even two. You might be a racing sim type of guy or play nothing but fighting games all day, but a game or two might slip through the cracks. Something that goes against your very own gaming persona but at the end of the day, you accept that guilty pleasure. I have more than one, but for today we will talk about the LEGO games. Are they my guilty pleasure because I just like the LEGO stuff? Not really. Maybe because I find it cheaper to spend $50 on a LEGO-themed game instead of hundreds on actual LEGO sets? Good point but still not true. The answer is simple. All the games so far from the LEGO series (in the past 10 years or so) including Marvel and DC and Lord of the Rings releases – all have one thing in common. They are just that good. Incredibly addictive, visually pleasing, and surprisingly funny. LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga just came out last week and I am here now to tell you why you should give it a go.
Story
Hmm, should I rename this section to “Stories” instead of “Story” considering how you will play through all of the movies? Maybe. In any case, this game takes you through quite the journey. You have multiple episodes starting from the very first Star Wars game and ending with The Last Jedi. Basically, every episode is about one movie from the franchise. After you complete each one you unlock a free play mode for the said episode and then the real fun starts. You’ll play through many iconic SW moments (“Luke, I AM your father” etc) with added humor. Even when serious scenes are modified with silly LEGO antics, they never feel forced or out of place. You just accept that it is how those characters are in that universe and that’s it.
Gameplay
LEGO games are known for rarely changing the formula and I can see why. After all, why fix something that isn’t broken? With all that said, LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga gives us a few surprises. You can now combo your attacks with light and strong attacks and it is a useful skill, especially when certain enemies learn how to block so mixing up your attacks is a good way to break their block. You can now also upgrade your characters with more health, stronger attacks, and with some shared abilities as well (like attracting studs from far away and having collectibles shown on the map for all). Also, the game is huge. Like, you have no idea how huge. Even if you focus on the main story alone, after you complete all episodes you will be slightly over 20 hours of playtime. And side stuff? Oh dear, I have no idea where to even start with that. The game is filled with hidden special bricks, unlockable characters, and unlockable ships. Yeah, ships! LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga now comes with space battles. You can find a lot of things around the iconic SW planet; quests, new ships, characters, and so on. If anything, that’s one of the selling points of this game. As soon as you think you got it all figured out, the game is ready to surprise you with some new gimmick to completely blow your mind.
Visuals
I was really cautious when it came to this part since the previous LEGO game that I played (LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2) wasn’t really up to my expectations when it came to visuals. I can say that is now behind us, since LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is beyond amazing when we’re talking about the graphics. There is a lot of variety in locations and you’ll get to visit every famous one like Tatooine, Kashyyyk, and even Mos Eisley cantina. Everything is so good-looking that I think the game would benefit from a dedicated photo mode. But oh well, I guess you’ll have to be fast with taking screenshots while fighting with the LEGO Darth Vader. EVery big hub in the game feels incredibly lively due to a huge number of NPC characters going about their day. It is also incredibly fun to start shooting at one of them and watch the whole city population running away from you.
Audio
A lot of work went into the sounds and overall audio of the game and it is clearly shown in almost every detail. This game has hundreds and hundreds of characters, yet almost every one of those comes with specific sound effects (notably when running or getting hit) and idling animations. The same goes for sound effects for various ships and weapons. The music, in general, is also top-notch and after a while, you won’t be able to get that Mos Eisley cantina band theme song out of your head. Random & fun fact: a lot of characters in this game actually have it as a ringtone (don’t ask why Star Wars characters have cellphones, it’s just a silly LEGO thing).
Overall
I am now well over 22 hours of the game with only one episode left and I know that I will need at least 40 more hours to fully explore everything that LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga has to offer. In fact, one of the greatest things about this game is that it never feels repetitive or formulaic despite its above-average length. And as I said above, another selling point is the absolutely insane amount of side content. If you’re in the market for a game that will take away a month of your life and you’ll be perfectly fine with that – look no further.
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