WhenLEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Sagafirst got announced, it was already clear that it would be aLEGO Star Warsgame unlike any other.LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Sagaset out to compile all nine of the mainStar Warsmovies, marking one of the first times that all threeStar Warstrilogies would be unified under one roof. Travellers' Tales is no stranger to adapting large numbers ofStar Warsmovies at once, butThe Skywalker Sagastill seemed like a pretty ambitious project. Still, Travellers' Tales is undeterred, and it seems like fans will finally be able to play through all of theseStar Warsstories in 2022.
It’s not just the amount of adapted content that definesThe Skywalker Saga,though. It’s famously making a ton of changes tothe traditionalLEGOgame formula. Everything from the game’s combat to its exploration seems like a major departure from traditional licensedLEGOgames, resulting inThe Skywalker Sagalooking more like aStar Warsgame than aLEGOgame. In the long run, this seems like a good thing for the franchise. By delving into the aesthetics and playstyle of otherStar Warsgames,LEGO Star Warsand itsLEGOsiblings could get a lot of valuable inspiration for future games.
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Star Wars Inspires New LEGO Combat
Perhaps one ofThe Skywalker Saga’s biggest selling points is its improved combat. Traditionally,LEGOgames have very simple combat; each character either fires their ranged weapon or swings their melee weapon repeatedly when players hit the attack button. Beyond a few means of grappling with enemies or using character-specific abilities, combat was simple. InThe Skywalker Saga,however, melee characters have light and heavy attacks that they can string into unique combos, while ranged characters use a third-person camera to shoot at enemies. The result is thatThe Skywalker Sagaseems to have a much more dynamic and detailed combat system.
These approaches to combat feel a lot more like a traditionalStar Warsgame. Anyone who playedStar Wars: The Force Unleashedcan attest to the intricacies of the game’s combat, for instance. Players are encouraged to weave Starkiller’s lightsaber attacks together with his various Force powers to tear through the galaxy. Fortunately,The Skywalker Saga’s trailers suggest that Jedi will play a lot more like Starkiller than earlyLEGOcharacters. It seems like players can use the Force to manipulate their environment in much more detail inThe Skywalker Saga,potentially using objects as projectiles between lightsaber swings.
The third-person camera forLEGO Star Warscharacters with blasters should feel familiar toStar Warsfans, too. For example,theStar Wars: Battlefrontshooter gamesfrequently allow players to use a third-person camera, looking over the shoulder of their Clone, Rebel, or Stormtrooper as they charge into battle. The camera should be a major boon toThe Skywalker Saga.Third-person cameras allow for more accurate shooting and immersion than theLEGOfranchise’s traditional fixed perspective. An additional result, however, is that the game feels less and less like what fans traditionally picture when they imagine aLEGO Star Warsgame.
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Exploration Lends Skywalker Saga More Star Wars Vibes
The Skywalker Saga’s approach to aLEGO Star Warsoverworld also makes it seem more like aStar Warsgame than aLEGOgame. In mostLEGO Star Warstitles, players have a hub based on a familiar location from the movies that the game adapts. Some examples of hubs include the Mos Eisley Cantina and Dexter Jettster’s diner. From there, players choose a level to go out into the actual game world and start playing.The Skywalker Sagainstead bills itself on a huge overworld composed of a couple dozenplanets and moons from theStar Warsuniverse. Players can run around many of these worlds freely, completing various bonus objectives and seeking out the next level. It’s a much more liberated and relatively open-world approach to aLEGO Star Warshub that could give players a lot more to do than usual.
A lot ofStar Warsgames encourage players to explore the galaxy freely in a similar way. For example, inStar Wars Jedi: Fallen Order,players are encouraged to revisit planets they’ve already been to once protagonist Cal Kestis learns certain abilities. With the right abilities, Cal can unlock secrets that were inaccessible to him before.Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republicserves as a good example too, featuring several planets that players can fly between in the Ebon Hawk, with a chance of special encounters happening in outer space. Between all the planets players can explore and the spaceships one can enter,The Skywalker Saga’s overworld sounds closer to its peers inKnights of the Old RepublicandJedi: Fallen Orderthan ever.
The Skywalker Saga Uses Star Wars Well
All of these similarities to traditionalStar Warsgames don’t meanThe Skywalker Sagahas completely abandoned theLEGO Star Warsidentity, though. There’s lots of details and design choices that make it aLEGOgame through and through. For instance, the lighthearted tone and persistent comedy thatLEGOgames use inretellingStar Warsmoviesstill shines through inThe Skywalker Saga.There’s also still a lot of basicLEGOgameplay elements that keepLEGO Star Warsintact, like breaking down LEGO objects and building them back up into something new. Even if it’s a very different game from its predecessors, there’s no mistakingThe Skywalker Saga’s identity.
Still,The Skywalker Sagais increasingly similar tomore seriousStar Warsgames. That’s a good thing forSkywalker Saga,and it could be valuable for theLEGOgames as a whole. MostLEGOgames are pretty simple, which makes them easy to get into, but their gameplay can be shallow because of that.The Skywalker Saga’s decision to implement and simplify design hallmarks of other majorStar Warsgames could serve futureLEGOgames well. They could similarly use simpler versions of other action-adventure games mechanics, adding more depth toLEGOgameplay without becoming complicated or intimidating. It’s great to see Travellers' Tales test the limits of theLEGO Star Warsseries; hopefullyThe Skywalker Saga’s experiments pay off.
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Sagareleases in early 2022 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
