Touted as the most comprehensive addition to the LEGO video game franchise to date, LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga will look to overhaul previous iterations of the series, featuring new combat and levels. The game will also focus on being a comprehensive retelling of all nine Star Wars movies, beginning the story with The Phantom Menace and concluding with The Rise of Skywalker.
Thanks to a new report from the Official PlayStation Magazine, a little more about the game has now been revealed, including how many Star Wars icons will be playable in the game. According to the publication, there are 800 characters in LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga and a whopping 300 are playable.
Considering the game will span every Star Wars movie, that's sure to mean that everyone from Darth Vader to Jar Jar Binks will be controllable throughout the campaign. It also puts the number of characters in line with some of the series biggest entries, including LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 and the LEGO Harry Potter games. It seems players will be able to use these heroes and villains across a number of different environments too, with LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga's open worlds allegedly spanning across a whopping 23 planets with 28 unique locations to explore. Speaking on the open-world, lead hub designer Dawn McDiarmid claimed "If you have a favourite Star Wars location, it's pretty likely you can visit it in-game."
With Star Wars featuring such a large collection of planets throughout its various iterations, there's sure to be some incredible environments to explore, whether that's Naboo, Tatooine, Bespin, or Crait. Each location will apparently have quests to complete, characters to find, and items to uncover. Interestingly, the team also confirmed that - much akin to prior LEGO Star Wars titles - players will be able to tackle the order of the franchise however they like. That means those wanting to dive into The Rise of Skywalker, hop back to Revenge of the Sith, and then get stuck into The Empire Strikes Back will have free reign to do so.
On top of that, it seems the game will introduce tons of new features to the series, including an upgrade system and aim-down-sight shooting. All in all, it's shaping up to be a meaty Star Wars experience, filled to the brim with playable characters and boasting a giant universe to explore. The game is slated to drop later this year following a hefty delay into 2021 back in August last year.
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga releases in 2021 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: Official PlayStation Magazine (via: Games Radar, Pure Xbox)