At one point, the LEGO games from developer TT Games were running through popular IP at a rapid clip. Featuring a core concept that would be familiar to fans but mechanics that varied based on the property, TT’s LEGO games were at their best when they delivered family-friendly fun. But whether it was brand fatigue or gamer fatigue, the release cadence has since slowed down dramatically.
For 2022, TT Games is going back to the IP that arguably set everything in motion: Star Wars. With its first foray into the galaxy far, far away, TT Games was able to set the blueprint for almost every game to follow. Now, LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is ushering LEGO games into a new era, complete with a graphical and mechanical overhaul.
Last week, Game ZXC attended a virtual gameplay demonstration that highlighted many of the changes that LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is bringing to the table. Gameplay still has a lot of the same DNA as those earlier TT Games releases, but the camera has shifted to a third-person perspective for both melee and ranged combat. TT has also expanded the glue that holds each Star Wars movie (all 9 are represented in The Skywalker Saga) to be more like an open-world “universe.”
LEGO Star Wars Gameplay Breakdown
The best way to describe gameplay in LEGO Star Wars is to say that it has matured with its audience. Where the more distant camera helped give the earlier LEGO games a mass appeal, LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga thrusts players into the action more than ever before. Whether it was fleeing down the hallways of the rebel ship as Princess Leia or battling Count Dooku as Anakin Skywalker, there is a heightened action on display that honors the sci-fi roots of Star Wars, even in LEGO form.
Traveller’s Tales has expanded melee combat to be more combo-focused instead of simple button-mashing, complete with a counter button prompt à la Batman Arkham. The longer that players can string together attacks will also influence their multiplier, which increases the LEGO coins they earn. Ranged combat gives more agency with an aiming reticule and even supports moving between cover. There are still plenty of recognizable bits and pieces, but TT has expanded everything to appeal to a modern audience.
LEGO Star Wars' New Open World
After completing a sequence from one of the 9 films, LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga puts players out into an open world area themed after that particular moment in the story. The demo featured Tatooine and a number of different side activities that the player could complete before pushing the story of Episode 4 forward.
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga features the biggest cast ever seen in a LEGO game. TT Games has drawn from the vast Star Wars universe to incorporate so many characters (and variations of the same character, like Qui Gon Jinn with a cape) that fans should be overwhelmed with choice. Because of the way that the Star Wars license has bounced around developers and how those studios have chosen to use the property, fans have rarely been able to explore their favorite planets like this. Yes, it’s in LEGO form and TT Games has even tried to make the levels look more “LEGO” than in past games, but there is still a dedication to the films on display.
Speaking of those films, fans can jump into any episode at will while playing LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. It does still seem like progress within those episodes is linear, but there is no restriction on where fans start. For the prequel and original trilogy sections, TT Games highlighted combat with opening sequences from Episode 3 (Count Dooku boss battle) and Episode 4 (Leia getting the plans to R2-D2 and then C3PO and him escaping). However, the Episode 8 section offered something a bit different in the form of the space battle from the film’s opening. Past LEGO Star Wars games have included spaceship combat before, but this offers a lot more freedom. As Poe Dameron, players can circle the First Order Dreadnought taking out enemy ships and collecting coins. It’s obviously not Rogue Squadron, but for a LEGO game, the space combat had a surprising amount of depth.
That extends to the open world as well, with LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga offering players the opportunity to pilot any of a number of iconic SW ships and complete side missions. In the demo, the dev took control of Boba Fett’s ship and went off to a smuggle some cargo to Hoth.
Same LEGO Charm
Although LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is arguably a reboot, it doesn’t abandon the qualities that made the original LEGO games so addictive. The puzzle elements, the humor (complete with a choice between voice acting or grunting), co-op play, the score system, and the hidden unlockables are all there and have seemingly been expanded on to be more varied and engaging. There’s even an upgrade path for the various character archetypes to give some of that RPG feel to the game.
TT Games has made sure that whether it’s a LEGO game fan or a Star Wars fan, there is seemingly something for each to latch onto and push them forward. And for those who happen to fall into both camps, this is going to be one of the biggest video game releases of the year.
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga releases April 5, 2022 for PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Google Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.