Traveller’s Tales is truly going all-in with LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, as not only does the game boast a huge amount of content, but it is making both small and big changes to keep the typical LEGO games formula fresh. This includes aspects like Skywalker Saga’s unique hub worlds and random encounters to things like lightsaber and blaster combat improvements.
While improvements are certainly welcome, the biggest change in terms of gameplay is one of the most surprising. Most LEGO games, not just LEGO Star Wars, have utilized a pretty straightforward overview and fixed camera. LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga gameplay shown thus far, however, highlights how this gameplay is more akin to a third-person over-the-shoulder sooner. It is less fixed than that and much less fixed than other LEGO games, but the camera shift is a major change.
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga – A Shift in Perspective
Every style of the camera in gameplay impacts the experience in a multitude of ways; after all, a bad camera can make an otherwise fun game unplayable for many. Previous games’ fixed cameras allowed the focus to be more on the sandbox nature of LEGO games, and overall, it’s not a bad thing. It’s even likely future LEGO games continue this style of camera, which means this is a major and intentional choice in LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga.
First-person cameras are some of the most popular as it allows players to step into the shoes of their character and see through their eyes. Players become much more grounded in the game world, making it best for when characters see the game through the eyes of one character. Obviously, not all strong single-player games are first-person, because over-the-shoulder camera styles have one major benefit: a stronger sense of the player character.
For example, in God of War, players are not Kratos but they get to enjoy their time as Kratos. This is likely the best reason for LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga changing camera styles. Instead of being focused on its elements as a LEGO game, it’s more focused on its elements as a Star Wars game. It’s a small distinction, but it may better allow players to enjoy their time as Luke, Rey, and others throughout the game.
Overall, fans won’t get to experience the camera change for themselves until LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga’s release date rolls around. When it does, though, they’ll be playing the game through a new perspective, one which will clearly define the overall tone and “player presence” in the game. It’ll be interesting to see if it lands this change and how well it is eventually received.
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga releases in early 2022 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.