There’s nothing in this world like the first time the Imperial Destroyer chasing the Tantive IV appears before your eyes in Star Wars. For example, I remember perfectly the first time I saw her in A New Hope. I was 4 years old so it’s possibly the first childhood memory I have and an older cousin who took care of the little ones (and who I’ll never thank her enough for) organized a film session in the living room. Star Wars became a cornerstone of my childhood and early teens and has stayed with me throughout my life.
Therefore, when Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga came into my hands, I wanted to enjoy it quietly and devote myself to remembering old sensations. At least that’s what I thought, because it’s such a vast, complete and sometimes challenging title that I need a second youngster to complete it 100%.
Because as the name suggests, Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga bundles the stories of the nine main episodes the most famous film series. From the Trade Federation’s blockade of Naboo to Palpatine’s ultimate defeat at the hands of Rey, this means the richest and most immersive story mode you could wish for. We can start the adventure with episodes I, IV or VII that open its trilogy and if we overcome the 5 levels that make up each one we can proceed to the following episodes. It’s important to start here because in order to access most of the collectibles, you must first unlock the zones and then use the appropriate character for each situation.
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Being a Lego game, you won’t have to spend a lot of time explaining, since the mechanics are the same as in previous games: platforms and actions They are the main base on which the entire gaming experience is built piece by piece, complemented by a brilliant sense of humor that knows how to keep the tone entertaining so that we never disconnect at any point. But for this very special occasion, at TT Games they have polished every block to make it look impressive. Both the sets and the cutscenes are now much more polished and well-lit, not to mention the level of detail in the particles (the Tatooine sand on the armor of the sand troops or the drops of water splashing on the Kamino platform when you duel with Jango Fett are a treat). Now I would like to see one lego movie of the saga (altogether there are already animated series).
Combat has been diversified to face any situation the way we prefer. Controlling a Jedi allows you to use the lightsaber not only for melee combat, but also to use the Force to shoot it at enemies and even most objects. When you control a character with a blaster, you shoot with the camera on your shoulder and you can use the covers in the purest Gears of War style and attack from a safe position. Even if you have a terminal handy, you can use a droid to activate turrets to blast through groups of enemies on the fly. The possibilities are as great as they are fun, and if you manage to chain enough attacks, the combometer will give you a nice bonus of extra checkers. Anything made of Lego bricks can be destroyed, releasing parts that we accumulate to unlock information about collectibles or even some characters and ships.
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And there are many characters. 380 well-known cylindrical faces from the Star Wars universe You’ll meet up with some guest stars here in the form of DLC (like Grogu and Mando). This massive group is split into 10 different classes that offer specific abilities to access any collectible or side quest in the game. For example, most beings speak their own language, so we need a protocol droid to translate the clues they give us. Heroes can use a grappling hook to access otherwise inaccessible elevated areas, and there are even little old ladies who will only trust their requests to a bounty hunter who appears in front of them. We’ll be able to configure a colorful group in the purest “ragtag” style and take turns controlling each of them with the push of a button.
And the action is not only on the surface of the planets, because once we get in in each of its almost 70 ships Space Combat has the quality of being released as a standalone game. The space battles reminded me of some of the best gaming experiences like Star Wars Battlefront or the newer Squadrons, with excellent and fluid fighter handling. This achievement with the new game engine also makes it possible that we can both on planets and in space Split screen co-op game. Also great for solving some of the more complex puzzles that may take longer to fine-tune the teammates’ AI.
Between each main mission we can explore the environment in search of secrets and side objectives, but above all in search of the Kyber Bricks. Floating across the galaxy, these bright blue squares allow us to evolve the skill trees of each of the existing character classes. Most of them are obtained after solving a simple puzzle or small secondary mission, but others must be obtained by completing specific challenges of each mission. In the free mode, there is content that you can search for dozens of hours the 1,166 kyber stones scattered across the galactic map. But that’s just the tip of a Hoth iceberg, as we won’t just be scavenging for bricks like Jawa in a junkyard. Many of the characters and ships must be found or built from parts mini kits scattered, and finding them all can be quite an achievement.
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There are very few mistakes that I can take away from Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. It shows that they have exploited to the last minute since they first postponed it to give us the most complete Star Wars experience in a video game. The level of care and attention to detail lore of the story will delight the most demanding fans, and its gameplay and sense of humor will make the hours fly by. Moments like the escape mission with Tatooine’s Millennium Falcon in Episode IV or the duel between Yoda and Darth Sidious in Episode III are already some of my favorite moments in a Star Wars game. Just an invisible wall had me wrinkling my nose to gain access to an elevated area that I could clearly see, but the game required advancing from another side or once the scripted scene in story mode wasn’t activated because I jumped like crazy and avoided an area along the way. There are also some level designs like Otoh Gunga’s underwater city that don’t look as nice as others and their design is a bit messy. However, given the size of the project, this is something completely insignificant, like the possibility of destroying a planet in the face of the power of the Force.
Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga brought back my inner child who is still fascinated by tales of Jedi Knights and rogue smugglers craving feisty princesses with impossible hairstyles. And I think you couldn’t ask for anything better.
May the force be with you now and always.
