Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga Review – A Galaxy of Fun

Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga Review 

I have loved Star Wars since my dad showed me Empire Strikes Back for the first time when I was a child. After that, I was consumed with the story, the characters, and the universe of Star Wars. And in turn, I consumed everything I could about it with fervour. I always wanted more interactions with the planets and characters, I wanted to experience more of the universe in depth. Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga (LSW: TSS) takes what each of the Star Wars trilogies gives fans and builds upon it. The galaxy of each trilogy has been seriously opened wide, with some of the most iconic planets given wide areas to explore. Additionally, there is a lot to do on the planets. While the main story of Star Wars is always enthralling, and in this case humorous, it was great to have so much to explore. 

The story provides you with the locations, you explore them. Of course, in classic Lego Star Wars fashion, free mode makes its return. Yet, it’s not only the planet’s surface you can explore. Space is at your fingertips too with dozens of iconic ships. Every hero you could ever want in a funny, exciting, adventure. Obviously, there is some fun combat too with blasters, lightsabers, the force and more. The games of course take a lighthearted approach to the series, and if you’re looking for any hardcore gaming experience this isn’t really it. In fact, it’s relaxing to sink into the Star Wars galaxy and laugh at some Lego antics. To see your favourite characters come to life in an exaggerated form that still somehow nails the character. It all ties into the exploration that the game pushes on the player. 

An Open Galaxy Game 

As you play your ability to explore grows. LSW: TSS gives you the galaxy of the Skywalker Saga but in no way does it stop at the plot of the films. In fact, each planet has multiple locations you can visit and explore more in-depth than the films take you. It was surprising to me to see how beautiful and diverse each planet was. Especially looking over Lake Paonga on Naboo, seeing how beautifully everything was working together to set the scene, I had to remind myself this was indeed a Lego game. Additionally, the planets have populations. And the people give you even more to do. Fun side quests to get more studs or kyber bricks for upgrades, smuggling missions, and more. 

I found myself getting lost in side quests just as much as the main plot. Whether you’re flying through space to your next planet of interest or solving a trying puzzle there always seems to be something to do. To that effect, the reintroduction of free play works seamlessly with the number of missions to do. By having certain quests that require other character types that you don’t have at that point in the story, there is even more incentive to return to the planet as another character. You have a massive range of characters to explore the planets with and it makes the galaxy feel way less empty. It’s a real big galaxy out there with a lot to do. 

This is Where the Fun Begins 

Combat in Lego Star Wars is fun enough. Though it can feel a bit repetitive, the combat different characters deliver gives you chances to explore, solve puzzles, and fight enemies in different ways. The hero class can pull things with their grapple gun while Jedi can use the force to move objects, and astromech’s can hack terminals. There is a lot of variety in how character weapons and skills can be used. However the combat, for the most part, consists of mashing a few buttons or pulling the trigger. 

Where this simple combat differs slightly is in the boss battles. By no means the hardest things in the galaxy, the boss fights of LSW: TSS are funny, engaging, and throw in some new tricks to mix up combat. For instance, bosses will use special attacks from force abilities to area of effect attacks that players will have to dodge or figure out. Yet possibly the best aspect of combat is seeing how every character’s unique style shines in their movement. It was especially noticeable in characters like Darth Maul and Obi-Wan. Darth Maul’s attacks are acrobatic and following them are his signature growls. Obi-Wan of course utilizes the raised lightsaber, a defensive style fans know and love. It was small details like these that break up the simplicity and repetition of combat. 

Fun, Fresh, and Exciting 

Overall Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is simply fun. It isn’t a super complex, deep, and difficult gaming experience. And that is perfectly great. It nails exactly what it is trying to do. Bring some life to a beloved galaxy and fill it with things to do while also being funny and charming. Players get to see, and play as, their favourite characters from across all three trilogies and relive that magic in a stress-free adventure. Furthermore, they get to explore iconic planets and feel close to these places they have always wanted to explore. The game provides a nice take on Star Wars that is refreshing to the Lego series of games. It’s a big galaxy with a lot more to do, even if you find more enjoyment in puzzle solving than blaster shooting. 

***An Xbox code was provided by the publisher***