Reviewed on PlayStation 5. Review copy provided by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.
By rethinking lightsaber gameplay with zeal, creating stunning level designs, and providing new content. Such as dogfights between spaceships, thrilling side missions, and riddles to solve. The Skywalker Saga rekindles the fire that masterpieces like LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga sparked back in 2007. Although all nine episodes of the Star Wars universe are included in the Skywalker Saga, only three are available at the start of a new session. There are considerable graphics upgrades and reworked tales as compared to The Complete Saga. This might give returning gamers a nostalgic sensation without feeling like a reskin.
Revitalizing the Saga
One of the most satisfying aspects of The Skywalker Saga is the destructible landscapes. It’s a lot of fun to use the Force to crush LEGO blocks together. It also gives you a sense of actual collision and impact. It’s never boring to use a lightsaber to dismantle tall structures and collect the studs. It’s a lot of fun to pick up and fling stuff at foes. Especially when a strong Force Push shatters your opponents into a swarm of LEGO bricks.
We all know the planet is composed of LEGO, but it’s never been brought to life quite like this. The characters are definitely constructed of plastic (as seen by the Rancor’s gloss), with tiny features like the stitching on their capes remaining authentic to their real-life counterparts. Even effects like liquids made out of little circular LEGO pieces are sure to make fans of the world’s most famous building blocks smile from ear to ear.
Players can disassemble, disarm, and decapitate opponents using a lightsaber. The head of a defeated Stormtrooper then rolled across the field, symbolising yet another great victory. The Skywalker Saga has a combination system that rises in value when it comes to battling. As the player engages in a variety of assaults, the game encourages you to mix and match different actions and powers. The fighting system in the Skywalker Saga is highly fluid. And, thanks to reimagined assault animations, it allows the player to truly feel at one with the Force.
Modern Retelling
Thanks to John Williams’ wizardry and each film’s original music, LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga also sounds terrific. However, the most significant change is that voice acting is now fully included in the game. Not only that, but some of the original actors appear in the game, adding yet another depth of realism. This contributes to the blockbuster vibe of the game and demonstrates how hard TT Games worked to make this the biggest and best LEGO game to date.
Palpatine’s attempts to hide his status as a double agent, in which he physically eats popcorn as his plan unfolds, are an example of the comic genius at work here. Other standout scenes include breakdancing AT-STs and stormtroopers lounging in a hot tub, among a flurry of puns and remarks that tickle the funny bones at every turn.
Mumbling Away
Mumble mode is a throwback to a time when Star Wars characters didn’t have voice boxes. And communicated with grunts, grumbles, and the occasional facial emotion may appeal to LEGO fans. Character communication is replaced with nonsensical noises during games and cutscenes, allowing gamers to relive the actual LEGO experience, as The Skywalker Saga proposes. Grumbles and mumbles, on the other hand, don’t appear to go well with cutscenes that are plainly created for dialogue.
Characters in previous LEGO games would use props and body language to add to the context of their discussions. The Skywalker Saga, on the other hand, does not do so, leaving cutscenes and gameplay mechanics untouched. Minor modifications to character animations may justify the use of mumble mode more efficiently. But after 10 minutes of my own mumble mode experience, I believe the original dialogue is the best option. It’s frustrating that such a nostalgic feature is best left alone for the time being. But it’s good that the designers thought of something to rekindle my inner child’s passion for earlier games in general and this feature in particular.
A Galaxy Filled with Adventure
The exploring aspect of LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is primarily realised in hub places that you will uncover as you travel through the game. These are laid out in an open-world style; however, there are some portions that select characters with specific powers can only reach. Although getting trinkets is usually rather straightforward, there are a plethora of unique and amusing puzzles or sequences waiting to be discovered.
With its own set of side quests and encounters, The Skywalker Saga lets players to explore space outside of the planets that make up the game’s setting. Because they control a variety of spaceships, players can get involved in dogfights between two sides and help one side gain an advantage over the other for some extra studs. Kyber Meteors float across space and can be destroyed, granting the player a large amount of Kyber Bricks, which can be utilised to improve abilities.
You can also explore space, specifically the various planetary systems featured in the flicks. You can come into conflicts, come across bounty hunters, or come across allies that need your help. There’s a lot to do in LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, and it’s easy to become sidetracked from the main story. In a positive way.
Now There’s More Than Two of Them
More than 300 playable characters from the Star Wars world are portrayed, each with their own unique features and personalities. Not only that but LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga includes over 100 vehicles to pilot. All of the unlockables are organised so that you can find what you’re looking for quickly; for example, your characters will be classified as “Jedi,” “Bounty Hunter,” “Villain,” and so on. You can then choose from a variety of upgrades based on your character’s class, or you can make more general enhancements that benefit all players.
When combating enemies, gamers can easily traverse through space by utilising both thumbsticks to execute tighter spins. Hearing the traditional laser sound when destroying aerial adversaries before they collide into bursting dust gives me a tremendous sense of achievement. Aside from the dark void of space, the planets that populate it are magnificent, and the creators have done an incredible job creating such intricate appearances in a game based on the LEGO basis.
Unfortunately, no internet co-op is available; nonetheless, local multiplayer is a breeze. A second player can join or leave the game at any time to help, and because you’ll have multiple people in your party anyway when playing solo, the gameplay will flow smoothly. Some doors, for example, will demand you to pull two switches at once, which is simple in co-op but requires you to position both characters in single-player mode.
TL;DR
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is a terrific game that is a must-play if you’re a fan of Star Wars or of LEGO games. The game itself is really enjoyable to play and expands on the original LEGO games formula. And the narrative and voice acting is superb and will immediately hook you in.
