(Images Courtesy of Warner Bros and Telltale Games)
Every Star Wars fan’s dream toy box with enough steps in the right direction to make it the most complete Lego game to date
In a Galaxy far far away, Lego games have become a permanent fixture. Starting all the way back in 2005 with “Lego Star Wars: The Video Game” that covered the prequels. TT games continued to churn out every film in the saga (last two aside) as well as clone wars on their way to the Skywalker saga. So, its safe to say they have got their reps in and it clearly shows in one of the most complete Lego games ever.
While I have been out of the Lego-loop, so to speak, I can see the marked improvement TT has made to its Lego titles every year, coming on leaps and bounds since my last experiences with Indiana Jones and previous Star Wars instalments. Games like Batman, Marvel Heroes and DC villians have all scored well in reviews in recent years. Telltale have been steadily improving the Lego formula up until now.
The first thing that slaps you in the face is how the game looks. Stunning for a Lego game. Vast draw distances across the dunes of Tatooine, flying cars buzzing above your head in the skyline of Coruscant, exploring old Jedi ruins on Yavin 4. All opened up like we have never seen them before in many Star Wars games prior. It’s clear the team have combed over every bit of info available from the games and films with places like Kashyyyk and Bespin having a real familiar feel to the Battlefront games. The game ran great on 60 FPS more on series X so the plastic was always looking REAL shiny.
I feel like praising the music can be cheap in Lego Star Wars games. I mean in big moments it’s really just: “okay what did John Williams use ? Go with that”. It’s still great in the little moments. The Cantina tune always bumping out of every radio you pass, Vader trying to tune his space-radio in his TIE to the empire theme, it is always perfectly used, not least with the violin droids during the dual of fates.
Sticking with easy on the ears, a constant delight in Lego games, the voice acting. Since TT graduated from mumble humour the voice acting is always on the money. Barring a couple of exceptions, it’s the same story here. Sam Witwer reprising his role as Maul and the Emperor, Stephen Stanton back as Ben Kenobi, Matt Latner returning as Anakin. Basically anyone who voice acted in Clone wars, Rebels, Bad batch or any animation ever is back here. A special mention has to go to AJ Locascio who voiced Han Solo. Never heard him in anything prior and honestly I googled him instantly to make sure it wasn’t Harrison himself.
Great voice actors can’t work their magic without a good script and Telltale delivers again in this latest Lego instalment. Clever adjustments in big fights to avoid gore, perfectly reimagined one liners, nods to almost every meme in star wars history, it’s all there. Side Quests really add an RPG feel to the world once you are through with the main story (when it’s not walk and talk sections). This helps keep the world alive when you are reexploring, cultivating Kyber crystals. I felt the story did get a little weaker in the sequel series but that’s understandable. The source material is nowhere near as beloved, not to mention the first two trilogies have 20+ years and 3 prior games of trial and error as well as fan discourse that creates a lot of the laughs in these games. So it’s easy to see how the highlights shine brighter in the earlier films. There are still laughs to be had in the sequel trilogy but when it isn’t slapstick or blue milk related it can be hit or miss.
Speaking of hit or miss, gameplay is thankfully more of the prior. Improvements to shooting and a gears of war style cover system makes gunfights fun (bullet sponging aside). Space combat was surprisingly one of my favourite parts, nothing beats sending that proton torpedo down the thermal exhaust port. Flying into random space battles to help your rebel buddies is always satisfying. The ground vehicles, not so much. Melee also feels significantly better, pretty big deal when the game is mostly swinging sabres. Combos and chain attacks really add a layer to fights to stop them feeling like simply button spamming. The platforming is as good as ever, every planet I land on I feel obligated to 50% the collectibles before I do a mission. It just cracks open iconic scenes we remember so well and lets you explore much deeper than previous Lego and even Star Wars games in general. You can easily get lost just doing little smuggling missions across the galaxy.
It's not all perfect though. As I mentioned previously, set pieces like Endor and the Pod race aside, land vehicles are grim. Boss battles can feel stale, I mean EVERY Sith lord uses the same ground smash move, if I speak about the Phasma fight in The Last Jedi I am in BIG TROUBLE. Feels like it’s missing a few characters but with the early rollout of DLC character packs already, the reasoning is clear there. However, if this is the main complaints about a LEGO game, it’s slim pickings.
The game does have a few bugs: as stunning as the start screen is, it’s stuck there more than once. Issues with quick resume on Series X. Cutscenes playing audio with a black screen. Controller disconnect making me leave to the start menu before restarting the game as split screen. All relatively minor, mostly cosmetic issues that can be addressed.
That aside, I had a BLAST with Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. A lover of the films, getting to fully explore areas I know so well with a fine tooth comb was so satisfying. Jokes in and out of cinematics making you double over laughing as the love the Writers share for the lore shines through. A trip down memory lane for veterans and a great introduction for kids that may not know Star Wars yet. Lego’s best game to date and a great Star Wars game in it’s own right.
RM RECOMMENDS
+Open Galaxy to explore
+Great voice acting
+Much improved gameplay
+Hilarious
- Bugs
- Boss fights
- Land Vehicles
- Early MTs
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