Highlights
- LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga reinvented the LEGO formula with a massive open world, new storytelling, and revamped gameplay mechanics.
- While it was a unique and fun game, it didn't feel like a traditional LEGO game and lost some of the series' charm.
- The future of LEGO games should focus on smaller-scale adventures that capture the essence of the IPs, like the classic LEGO Star Wars games.
Traveller's Tales LEGO games have evolved immensely since they first began, with the biggest leap forward likely being LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. While the series has dabbled in open-world gameplay since LEGO Batman 2: DC Superheroes, The Skywalker Saga took it to an entirely new level. Not only did it fully recreate the Star Wars galaxy in LEGO form, but it also let players experience all three trilogies in one package. This made it a fantastic treat for fans; however, it should not be the future.
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga was a great game that players should definitely not skip out on. That said, it also completely reinvented the LEGO formula that players had grown accustomed to. Because of this, it seemed to have lost some of the charm of past LEGO games along the way. While it may have delivered on the massive scale players were expecting, it was not really what LEGO fans had come to expect, which ultimately held it back from being as good as it could have been.
LEGO Games Excel When They Are Smaller Scale
For the past couple of years now, Traveller's Tales has been experimenting a lot with its LEGO titles. LEGO Batman 2 took the franchise open-world, LEGO Dimensions brought it to the toys-to-life genre, LEGO Worlds put a Minecraft spin on the concept, and LEGO DC Super-Villains told a story centered on a player-created character. All of these experiences added new things to the IP while also breathing new life into the series, but all of their additions paled in comparison to what LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga did.
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga completely reinvented how LEGO games work. Traveller's Tales crafted a massive open world filled with planets to explore, the entire story was told in a vastly different way, the collectibles were reworked, Skywalker Saga had no character customization, and the combat was completely overhauled. On top of that, the levels were far from what LEGO fans had come to expect over the years, and some of the most important lore bits were not replayable. While this made for an extremely unique and fun game, it did not really feel like a LEGO game. Instead, it felt like an open-world Star Wars game with a LEGO skin attached.
There may be nothing wrong with an open-world Star Wars game, however, that should not represent the future of the LEGO series. These games are at their best when they are smaller-scale adventures that let players explore their favorite IPs. The original LEGO Star Wars games did not become classics because of their gigantic scale, they became classics because of their presentation and fun levels. It feels like Traveller's Tales lost sight of that in its quest to make The Skywalker Saga as big as possible. However, its next title could bring the series back to the basics.
Not much is known about the next LEGO game, but there are rumors everywhere that it will be DC or Wizarding World-themed. If that is true, then hopefully the game feels more like the classic LEGO games rather than The Skywalker Saga. While it can still be built with an open world in mind, that world should follow in the footsteps of titles like LEGO Marvel Superheroes instead. Even if the game is more like The Skywalker Saga, it will likely be a strong game, but it would be great if it felt like a LEGO game too.
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
