Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga isn't just for kids

Prior to Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, I fell in love with TT Games and WB Games Lego titles. The Lego Star Wars, Batman, and Indiana Jones series fueled my passion for video games as a child as I spent endlessly fun (and sometimes frustrating) hours playing them with my brother.

However, over time I aged away from the series and became more and more frustrated with the basic open world formula the series settled on after great games like Lego City Undercover. I am no longer enamored with one of the series that helped solidify my love of video games. That’s why Skywalker Saga’s The bold new direction excites me.

It not only revisits the movies behind some of my favorite Lego games, but builds on them with a more expansive central world, more quests, and deeper gameplay than the games. previous Lego action. When Skywalker Saga’s a lot of delays and development problems As far as I’m concerned, practicing the game’s initial build has me hooked just as the original Lego Star Wars did 17 years ago.

A new hope for the series

My demo got me through the first 90 minutes of A new hopeone of nine Star Wars films represented in Skywalker Saga. Like every previous Lego game, this segment of the game follows the events of the movie it’s based on. It has full voiceover (from soundalikes, not from the movie cast), though I appreciate the inclusion of a “mumble mode” that makes the characters groan and pantomime like they did in the games. play Lego first.

TT Games also experimented with the iconic opening of A new hope. Many jokes are there to keep the kids entertained, but it also intertwines at the end of the Rogue One. The first character I played was actually Princess Leia, who had the Death Star’s plan and was trying to escape from Darth Vader when he boarded the Tantive IV. Somehow, this Lego game makes this adapted and parody plot rhythm new.

This quest also serves as a guide and a demonstration of how Skywalker Saga different from previous Lego games. Yes, there’s still combat, exploration and puzzles, but they’re deeper than before. A cover-based system has been implemented to make matches more engaging. Meanwhile, players can now chain together melee combos with different moves and counter enemy attacks, making melee battles even more exciting than before. Character classes and abilities also ensure this game’s wars are more than just button-mixing jobs.

Quests often give the player multiple options for completing objectives, whether it’s due to a specific Lego construction the player can create or the abilities of their playable character. . It’s not Devil May Cry, but these deeper game systems made sure my eyes weren’t bored within the first hour, which I can’t say for the last few Lego games I’ve played. play.

Skywalker Saga made a strong first impression on me and got me excited to see the rest of the series A new hope will open. I could play Luke Skywalker on Tatooine, meet Obi-Wan Kenobi, recruit Han and Chewbacca, and discover the Death Star before my show ended. While this is the second time TT Games has adapted the material, it feels completely new because of its improved approach to storytelling, level design, and gameplay design.

All grown up

In my demo, I was just giving a glimpse of what the game has to offer. Skywalker Saga seems to be the most densely packed Lego game, as all nine major Star Wars movies have been reimagined here. Not only are there linear levels based on the main plot points and set pieces of each movie, but there are also massive centers on planets and regions in space that the player can explore and Complete the side quests inside.

As players complete the story of more movies and gain access to more characters, ships, and planets, the number of options the player has at their disposal will only continue to grow. Skywalker Saga there’s also a progression system to back up that flow of content, as quests reward players with Kyber Bricks that players use to unlock and raise abilities on the skill tree.

Yes, this game has a skill tree to complement the aforementioned classes – including Jedi, Smugglers and Protocol Droid – and their abilities, which are useful in and out of battle. Systems like this give TT Games’ The Lego line is more on par with the action games of its kind and feels like the franchise has finally grown. Equal Skywalker Saga will be the first Lego game in years to appeal to those with nostalgia for the first game in the series, it’s a relief to see that it won’t disappoint.

Of course, Skywalker Saga will still be accessible enough for kids thanks to the visuals, humor, and accessible gameplay basics, but ultimately it doesn’t seem like that comes at the expense of engaging gameplay for older players. While I think I’ve fallen out of love with Lego games, this demo by Skywalker Saga revealed that I can still love these games – they have to catch up with me first.

Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga will be released for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Nintendo Switch on April 5, 2022.