A giant LEGO set from Mos Eisley Cantina has been sitting unopened in my garage for over a year, gathering dust. I’ll look into it one day, but in the meantime I’ll be more than happy playing with my favorite LEGO Star Wars minifigures in the ridiculously epic LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga when it launches April 5 for Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.
I have loved LEGO video games for years and play many of the great ones such as LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy, LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures, and LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean. They were all great family-friendly games packed with collectibles, humor, and surprisingly deep platforming. The Skywalker Saga is mixing up this formula in many unique and exciting ways when it launches in a few weeks. Here are some of the features I’m most looking forward to.
New camera angle
The Skywalker Saga will not only let us revisit each of the main Star Wars films, but also turn the way LEGO video games are played on its head. Gone are the semi-isometric views of most LEGO video games where you had an overview of the world you guide your minifigures through. Now the camera has come down right over your shoulder, turning the LEGO play experience into a third-person action-platformer, as if you could aim your blaster’s sights and unleash some awesome melee combo attacks. Not only does this show off the superb character modeling and highly detailed levels, but it also makes this feel like a whole new LEGO Star Wars experience, even if you’ve already beaten the other games.
Side quests and collectibles
Collectibles have been a core experience for LEGO video games for some time. Replaying levels with unlocked characters, finding hidden passages and collecting all the minikits were some of my most memorable moments in this series. That will be the case here again Skywalker saga, but now with a massive open world to explore, packed with side quests, secrets, and more. I got a taste of this during my recent hands-on time with the game, guiding a terrified Gonk droid through a desert canyon, battling Tusken Raiders along the way to bring him to his master Weequay, and this minifigure as unlocked have a playable character. With nine Star Wars films full of mysteries and collectibles, I wonder if I’ll find everything this time…
Play through the movies again
This time there is much more of a cinematic experience in playing the game as many of the scenes, levels and dialogue are designed to accurately reflect the movies. All of the voice actors in the game do a great job channeling Luke, Leia, Kenobi, and Han into minifigure form. Admittedly, I only played through an early part of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, like battling Stormtroopers on the Tantive IV, guiding 3PO and R2 through Tatooine, and starting a bar fight at the Mos Eisley Cantina. When that level of quality carries over to the rest of the recreated movies, we’re in for a treat the size of a galaxy.
Split screen co-op
Since my oldest is starting to get interested in games, I’m always looking for the next great couch co-op game to play with her. It could be. With split-screen couch co-op, we can play through all of these movies together and play with some of their favorite (and mine) characters in LEGO form. I didn’t get to try this mode – it wasn’t available in this hands-on session – but it’s a feature I’m really looking forward to trying out when the game comes out.
Laugh out loud
One of the best things, carried over from previous LEGO games, is the humor, which ranges somewhere between dad jokes, gags and Easter eggs that always seem to hit the spot. That was on display here in full, from what I played, from Ben Kenobi looking nervous when Luke asks about his father, to the escape pod that doubles as a washing machine, to Luke with his blue milky mustache and see how Han and Greedo miss each other up close in the cantina – the jokes were all well received. If this continues and I see no reason to think differently, The Skywalker Saga
Can’t wait to unlock more of this world when LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga lands April 5 on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S. You can pre-order LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga on the Xbox Store today so you’re ready to embark on your galaxy-sized adventure on day one. For the latest and greatest news about your favorite games, stay tuned to Xbox Wire here.
LEGO® Star Wars™: The Skywalker Saga
Warner Bros. Games
$59.99
Pre-order the game and get access to the Trooper Pack on day one. The digital edition also includes an exclusive classic playable character, Obi-Wan Kenobi. Play all nine films in the Star Wars saga in a brand new LEGO video game like no other. Experience fun adventures, quirky humor and the freedom to fully immerse yourself in the LEGO Star Wars galaxy. Do you want to play as a Jedi? a Sith? Rebel, bounty hunter or droid? LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga features hundreds of playable characters from across the galaxy. Whether on land or in space, a variety of vehicles are at your disposal. Leap to light speed in the Millennium Falcon, fly the T-47 Airspeeder and battle TIE fighters in Resistance X-Wings… this is the ULTIMATE LEGO Star Wars experience.
LEGO® Star Wars™: The Skywalker Saga
Warner Bros. Games
$59.99
Pre-order the game and get access to the Trooper Pack on day one. The digital edition also includes an exclusive playable character from the classic Obi-Wan Kenobi. Play all nine films in the Star Wars saga in a brand new LEGO video game like no other. Experience fun adventures, quirky humor and the freedom to fully immerse yourself in the LEGO Star Wars galaxy. Do you want to play as a Jedi? a Sith? Rebel, bounty hunter or droid? LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga features hundreds of playable characters from across the galaxy. Whether on land or in space, a variety of vehicles are at your disposal. Leap to light speed in the Millennium Falcon, fly the T-47 Airspeeder and battle TIE fighters in Resistance X-Wings… this is the ULTIMATE LEGO Star Wars experience.