LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga takes the DNA of past LEGO games from developer TT Games, but puts a modern spin on it. Gone is the pulled back, almost isometric camera from the likes of LEGO Harry Potter and LEGO Marvel, traded for a third-person view befit a next-gen action game. And LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is every bit an action game, putting players right in the middle of the high points from all 9 Star Wars films.
Players can jump into either Episode 1, Episode 4, or Episode 7 to kick off their adventure and progress through that respective saga. They can still jump around between the three trilogies, but the starting point is fixed. From there, they will experience a briskly paced run-through of the film’s events, some of which are represented as full levels and others that take place in small open world sections. Podracing in Episode 1, for example, gets the full race treatment, but all the other major scenes take place while exploring open-world Tatooine.
Where the past LEGO games tried to expand almost every scene into a full level, LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is able to focus on the highlights. But make no mistake, TT Games has not skimped when it comes to gameplay experiences. From lightsaber melee combat to spaceship battles, if there was an opportunity to deliver a fun gameplay experience, the devs took it.
Anyone that has played a LEGO game before should feel right at home here. The LEGO stud collecting, breakable environments, light puzzle solving, and character-unlocking are all present in the game, but blown out to dizzying levels. There is a scope to LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga that should satisfy the collectible-obssessed in a way few games do. From upgrade paths for the various character archetypes (Jedi, bounty hunter, smuggler, etc.) to Kyber Bricks galore, there is no shortage of things for players to do when they are not advancing an Episode’s story.
Focusing on moving from beat to beat is the core of LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga and it is a joy to experience. Jumping from controlling Qui Gon Jinn and Obi Wan battling through the Trade Federation Blockade ships at the very beginning of Episode 1 to Luke’s Cloud City showdown with Darth Vader to an epic to Finn and Rey’s galaxy-saving effort on Exegol is exactly what Star Wars fans will be looking for and TT Games delivers.
As noted in our LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga preview, the melee, ranged, and ship combat have been improved but not completely overhauled. Small changes like a combo meter for melee or a cover system for ranged are enough to keep older gamers engaged, but they aren’t so advanced that casual gamers will be left in the dust. It’s still totally possible to get through LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga as one would a prior LEGO game, it just looks and plays much better.
Co-op has been a major selling point for the LEGO games but is a mixed bag for The Skywalker Saga. Playing with a friend or family member is great but the new camera angle can oftentimes lead to awkward perspectives with the limited screen real estate. In prior games, TT Games introduced systems to help each co-op partner get their bearings, but for this game, it's possible for one player to explore a completely different part of the open-world or space areas. The freedom is great but some players may find themselves getting lost more than usual.
Not only is LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga fun to play, but it looks incredible as well. On next-gen consoles, the visual fidelity is striking and the attention to detail is stunning. The environments reflect their cinematic counterparts, but TT Games did its best to ensure as many parts look like they are made completely out of LEGO. For example, the Podracing track seems to be a faithful recreation that incorporates a ton of LEGO and standard 3D models. It’s such a small portion of such a big game, and yet TT took the time to make it feel right. Some might even forget that they are playing a LEGO game at times because of how everything works together.
Storytelling has been a mixed bag for TT Games in its numerous LEGO games, but LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga has locked in on using soundalike voice actors (including some recognizable voices from the animated series) and the physical comedy that usually elicits a laugh or two. Because there is still a narrative to stick to, the writing and the comedy don’t veer too far from an expected tone and presentation, but the game is entertaining in its cutscenes nonetheless.
In trying to juggle so many disparate elements and string together 9 films, LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga does feel awkwardly paced. It breezes through some elements that players might think would make interesting levels, oftentimes turning them into cutscenes or open-world exploration areas. There were a lot of key scenes to hit and the game ticks all the expected boxes; it's just surprising to see other sequences aren't as fleshed out. Perhaps that is a response to the criticisms that past LEGO games got too bloated or maybe it was a limitation of development resources, but whatever the case, the game does feel a bit rushed.
Criticisms will vary in regard to the gameplay, which is admittedly simplistic. The introduction of combos and giving ranged combat a third-person shooter feel are appreciated modern touches, but the LEGO games still need to appeal to a broad audience. TT Games does enough to boost everything above a basic level, though, and that should satisfy a lot of gamers.
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is easily the best compilation that TT Games has put together. Visually stunning, mechanically evolved, and endlessly entertaining, the game puts its foot on the gas and never lets off. Pacing issues and simplicity aside, the fact that the devs could revisit games they literally already made and make this package feel fresh is an accomplishment all its own. No matter how players might feel about the stories of the three trilogies, it’s hard to argue this is the best video game representation of them that just so happens to be LEGO.
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga releases April 5, 2022 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. Game Rant was provided an Xbox Series X code for this review.