After two years of delays, LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is finally here. Its excitement is matched only by its ambition. With this latest entry in their long-running LEGO series, Traveller's Tales aims to not only update their previous work with Star Wars, but also top any LEGO game thus far.
The Skywalker Saga accomplishes that goal in many respects. It revamps the formula and gives players a vast galaxy to roam around in the process. Using new gameplay quirks, fans can build and smash their way through the most iconic moments in the franchise. Granted, the game has its share of issues due to absent features or quality of life problems. These shortcomings are not enough to dampen the enjoyment, though, as The Skywalker Saga proves worthy of a Jedi time and time again.
8 Loved: All 9 Movies
The title doesn't lie. The Skywalker Saga covers all nine movies in the mainline series, from The Phantom Menace to The Rise of Skywalker. It pokes fun at all of them in cartoonish slapstick fashion through cutscenes bursting with life. It feels like a celebration of the series in that sense.
Such a celebration caters to all the fans. Whether they're original trilogy diehards, prequel stans, or sequel trilogy defenders, every fan should find something to like. They start from the beginning of those trilogies and play through them sequentially. Each one comes with hours of content in both the story missions and extras to find. It's a dream come true for anyone looking to relive their favorite moments in a galaxy far, far away.
7 Didn't Love: Anything Else Is DLC
The game may include the nine mainline movies, but the franchise has expanded far beyond that. In recent years alone, Star Wars has seen several TV shows--animated and live action--and even a couple spin-off flicks. Many of the characters within have become beloved staples of the series. Sadly, those staples cost extra.
Anything outside the nine episodic films is DLC. Fans looking to play as Ahsoka Tano or the Mandalorian are out of luck. This is a common practice in the modern gaming industry, but it's still frustrating, especially given the paltry offerings. The DLC packs are just a bunch of characters; no new levels are included.
Past LEGO games would have not only had these extra stages, but made them unlockable. Even a recent entry like LEGO Batman 3 had DLC packs and levels based on various DC movies, yet it also had a free stage based on the 1960s Batman show. A similar sample in LEGO Star Wars would have gone a long way, possibly encouraging frugal players to purchase the rest.
6 Loved: Open-Ended Exploration
This is easily the biggest LEGO game to date. It includes a whole host of planets, each with huge areas filled to the brim with secrets. The story guides players through these locales, but you can explore them at your leisure. For instance, Luke could go to Dagobah to train with Yoda...or he could go to Coruscant and rack up some property damage. That freedom often echoes open-world RPGs.
The developers also use that mantra in racking up rewards. Countless collectibles are standard in any LEGO game, and many some from solving puzzles. Others, though, are payment for side quests, some of which involve traversing multiple worlds. Sure, it's not the deepest sandbox out there, but it's more immersive than any LEGO entry thus far.
5 Didn't Love: No Custom Characters
The developers previously said The Skywalker Saga would include customized characters, but they're not here. That's disappointing since this feature is a tried-and-true part of the LEGO series at this point. Players like making their own wacky hybrids and palling around with their favorite blocky icons.
That enjoyment dates back to the second LEGO Star Wars game. Fans mixed and matched various pieces into a goofy whole, and that feature stuck around for every game since. LEGO DC Super-Villains even made the player's custom character a vital part of the story. Omitting this ability entirely is jarring. Moreover, it goes against the spirit of creativity that permeates the LEGO brand.
4 Loved: Retooled Gameplay
Combat has never been a priority in LEGO games. Players hit a single button to smack enemies into submission up close or blast them into oblivion from afar. It was a functional yet mindless part of the experience.
The Skywalker Saga adds some welcome complexity. Blaster-based characters now fight from an over-the-shoulder perspective. Players must actually aim the reticle and shoot, often with a dedicated cover system. One would think that lightsabers negate this, but that's not the case.
Jedi and Sith no longer deflect every bolt automatically. Instead, they have a block button, which comes into play during firefights and especially duels. They must pick their moments to push foes, fling objects, and throw their lightsabers. If this fails, they have a series of combos to break their enemy's block. It's still basic as far as combat mechanics go. That said, it requires more timing and skill than past attempts, making it more involved by default.
3 Didn't Love: Too Many Steps To Unlock Stuff
Like in any LEGO game, the main currency here is studs. They come from smashing objects and building contraptions. Players can use them to buy the hundreds of characters on offer, but they also come in when upgrading those characters' various classes. That's not all, though.
To purchase skills and upgrades for character types, players need both studs and kyber bricks. They attain these glowing gems by completing objectives or finding them throughout the worlds. That's still not the end, however.
Cheats and bonuses also require studs, but each one additionally calls for a datacard. These are extremely rare items hidden in the open hub worlds. Only 19 exist in the whole galaxy. They're essentially the red bricks of this game, but at least those were simply hidden in the main levels.
Gathering this many collectibles just to unlock certain items seems like two steps too many, especially when most of them are stashed in the open worlds. When players have collectible detectors on, the HUD becomes an absolute mess.
2 Loved: Mumble Mode
Mumble Mode does exactly what it says: replace all in-game dialogue with mumbles and gibberish. It's a small shift, but longtime fans will appreciate it as a callback to the series' roots.
In the original LEGO Star Wars games and several titles afterwards, characters communicated everything through pantomimes. Including it here not only brings back some of the same amusement, but it's a quirky nod to times past. Some scenes actually work better with Mumble Mode due to how visually expressive and exaggerated they are. However players decide to experience the story, it's a wonderful reminder of how far Traveller's Tales has come.
1 Didn't Love: Performance
This isn't really an issue on next-gen consoles, but current-gen hardware seems ill-equipped to deal with the game at times. For instance, the PS4 version sees occasional frame rate drops, particularly in cutscenes and more crowded areas. To be fair, that's hardly exclusive to this game.
Most titles in that awkward generational transition period run better on newer consoles. Sadly, that problem is amplified here. Most people still can't afford a PS5 or Xbox Series X due to the supply issue (pathetic but true). Unless players fork over and arm and a leg, they're stuck with the rougher versions of a fun game.