The LEGO video game series of movie adaptations has been going for a long time, since 2005 with the first LEGO Star Wars game that told the trilogy of Episodes 1 through 3, and while it was something to be amazed about back then; things have changed… Or more to the point, things have not changed. After playing more recent LEGO entries like LEGO Marvel’s Avengers, LEGO Jurassic World, and LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens (The most recent LEGO Star Wars title), it feels like the LEGO video game formula is starting to get stale and boring but LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga does its best to feel fresh while being way too familiar at the same time.
Name: LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
Platform(s): PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Developer: Traveller’s Tales
Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Game Type: Action-adventure
Mode(s): Single-player, multiplayer
Release Date: April 5th, 2022
In a Galaxy Many Remakes Ago… (Story)
Do I really need to tell you what Star Wars is about? It’s one of the most well-known and revered movies, TV, and video game franchises in history. Hell, there are newborns who know about Star Wars and they are only new to this world. All you need to know about LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is that this is the second retelling of the Star Wars saga that spans 9 movies following Anakin Skywalker, Luke Skywalker, and Rey “Skywalker” (Her real name is Rey Palpatine, but she chooses Skywalker because a Disney executive wanted to piss off Star Wars fans).
With LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga you can play at any starting point in the Star Wars saga (Episode 1 for the Prequel Trilogy, Episode 4 for the OG Trilogy, and Episode 7 for the Sequel Trilogy) and make your way through the story as it was told in the movies… With a few modifications here and there due to additional scenes spliced in from other films like Rogue One (During the opening level of Episode 4: A New Hope) and joke moments that have become Traveller’s Tales trademark.
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga isn’t exactly 100% faithful to Star Wars and the movies it uses as the base for the games. While LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga does keep all the key moments from the movies, it also expands levels with things that you didn’t see in the movies, making the levels longer and more involved than what you saw in the cinema or on TV at home. This does LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga some good because it gives Traveller’s Tales more room to add some interesting moments as well as funny ones that make you wonder if this is what could have happened behind the scenes during other moments in the movies.
Shiny Bricks (Graphics)
If there is one thing that has improved from LEGO Star Wars to LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is that graphics have improved so much that the line between real LEGO bricks and CGI recreations of LEGO bricks has become so blurred that it’s hard to tell the difference. LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga looks like someone went into a LEGO photoshoot and just magically imported everything into LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. The landscapes in LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga are some of the best that I have seen, looking like they were taken out of the films and recreated to perfection, all while changing all the real-life actors with their LEGO counterparts.
If you’re playing the new-generation versions (PC, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5) at 4K, you are going to notice the most difference in the shine and plastic look of the LEGO Star Wars characters as you move them around, with shadows moving with them like there was a real lighting box or the sun shining over the top of each world. Going to Tattooine is going to be the best place to experience this since you’ll notice the way the sand moves with the Mini-Figs walking or sliding over them, with footprints left in the sand for a long time. Even when you have a character who hits the ground, you’ll notice that sand gets onto the Mini-Figs like they would if you dropped one into a sandpit in real life. It really is amazing how much detail has gone into the small things here.
If it isn’t Broken, Don’t Add any More Bricks (Gameplay)
Here comes the moment that I don’t want to write about: LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is just another LEGO video game. Traveller’s Tales has made a long living out of the same LEGO video game formula, which consists of:
- Play through the story
- Move around an Open World area
- Collect LEGO Studs, Mini Set pieces, and gain Gold/Red/Blue bricks for completing challenges
- Repeat with Free Mode to get any remaining collectibles
Honestly, this is simple and fun, but it has become so normal that it has become stale and boring. What was once a fun experience has become a run-of-the-mill, almost job-like experience. Instead of going through each level and enjoying it for what it was, I was more obsessed with finding anything to punch, shoot, slice to get more LEGO Studs. I’d also be on the eye out for some other part of the level where I could find a Mini Set piece to add to a collection I know I could not finish unless I came back in Free mode and did everything all over again for one or two pieces. The thought of coming back to a level once I completed it without anything more than a completionist idea had me feeling sick because once I finished a level, I didn’t see much reason to go back.
It’s the same with the open-world sections of the game, where I once wanted to explore every section of an area, I now feel like I’m just grinding for the sake of grinding. You realize very quickly that a lot of the areas and interactions are locked off for specific character types, leaving you to ignore those areas and interactions till much later in your gaming session, which makes you wonder why you have to grind and unlock so much just for something that gives a few LEGO Studs or a Mini-Set piece. LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga could have been the game to mix things up, but instead just comes off like the more recent releases of the movies on Bluray… Just more of the same.
So Many Remasters… (Replayability)
Once you have finished LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, you’re pretty much done. You play 9 movies (with a lot of levels) and that’s it. Sure, you can go back and play in Free Mode to unlock more LEGO Studs or Mini-Set pieces… But why? Honestly, unless you are a 100% completionist, you don’t have any reason to play LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga ever again.
This is a shame because I think there was a chance to do more with Star Wars in general here than just a collection of the mainline saga. There are no additional movies or TV series that unlock after you complete the mainline levels to expand on the stories (Shame, I’d love to play that hallway scene as Darth Vader from Rogue One) and make a complete telling of the whole Star Wars saga as it stands today.
I Don’t Have a Good Feeling About This… (Closing)
I really feel bad about bashing LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga as much as I have in this review. The overall gameplay is still as good as it was 17 years ago when I first put LEGO Star Wars into my PlayStation 2. However, I’m beginning to grow bored with the same old LEGO formula of a good story mixed with open worlds that you run around while collecting LEGO Studs, Mini Set pieces, and gold/red/blue style completion bricks.
I was hoping that LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga would do more to extend and flesh out the Star Wars story, making adjustments with Traveller’s Tale’s trademark humor… But since I’ve seen and played these games/stories before, I walked away disappointed that we have been given nothing more than the Star Wars: Limited Edition Remasters of LEGO games than something that could have added so much more… Like Solo, Rogue One, The Mandalorian, or The LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special… But nope, instead, we get character packs… Yay?
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Summary
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is a good remastering of the LEGO Star Wars games of the past, giving a more extended version of each game in addition to updating the graphics for each story. However, this is showing that the LEGO formula itself is becoming dated when all it can do is add a fresh coat of paint to a series of games that we have seen done to death by this point, including the beginning of the Rey Trilogy. Let’s hope that LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga doesn’t give Traveller’s Tales any ideas about remaking any other past LEGO titles for a quick buck.
Pros
- Looks closer to real LEGO bricks than ever before
- The jokes still land perfectly
- I’m still OCD about collecting LEGO studs
Cons
- Doesn’t feel like it adds enough if you’ve played the previous versions of the LEGO Star Wars games
- The overall LEGO gameplay formula is becoming stale and dated
- I had to play the Rey Star Wars sequel trilogy
