TT Games and their brand of LEGO games burst onto the scene in 2005 with LEGO Star Wars: The Videogame. A hilarious retelling of the stories of Star Wars Episodes I-III, accessible gameplay, and a level of charm helped launch the game and developer into a whirlwind of success. Seventeen years later, the studio has worked to perfect its style with various improvements such as voice acting and open-world design. They’ve also handled some of the world’s biggest franchises, including The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Marvel and DC. Still, over the years, the regular formula has gotten stale with a much-needed reinvention of the LEGO series needed. Thankfully, TT Games agrees, and the studio is going back to the franchise that put them on the map to create the biggest LEGO game yet.
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is a dream come true for Star Wars fans on paper. The game encompasses the events of Episodes I-IX, provides over 300 characters out of the box, and doesn’t recycle any content from the previous LEGO Star Wars titles. The vast leap in technology and new gameplay mechanics for a LEGO fan is tantalizing after so little change over the years. The big question is if TT Games can pull off something so ambitious? We were able to see three levels from the upcoming game, and all signs are pointing to yes.
A significant emphasis in LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is choice and fun. This is built into nearly every aspect of the game, including level design, character upgrades and story progression. Upon first booting up the game, players will be taken to the Episode Select Screen and given free rein to choose where to start the adventure. Prequel, Original or Sequel trilogy, the choice is all yours. For the demo, we were taken first to A New Hope. Specifically, the opening Tantive IV mission to witness blaster combat.
First off, TT Games' ability to translate the film’s events into LEGO form has always been impressive, and that’s no different here. The studio accurately recreates the opening scenes while blending together humorous and all-new events. For example, since Rogue One isn’t a part of this game, TT Games took the opportunity to incorporate Darth Vader’s hallway rampage into the events on Tantive IV. You’ll witness Vader wiping the floor with Rebel scum throughout the level as you attempt to escape with the plans. Later on, you’ll notice Stormtroopers start to get cozy on the hijacked ship and set up a hot tub. It’s all inventive fun and a good way to include elements that aren’t part of the core nine films.
Tantive IV is split into two parts; at the start, you play as Hero characters Princess Leia and Captain Antilles. Later, you take control of Protocol Droid C-3PO and Astromech Droid R2-D2. In LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, characters are split into unique classes that define their capabilities. Jedi and Dark Side characters utilize lightsabers and Force powers. Hero (i.e., Rebel Alliance) and Villains (i.e., Stormtroopers) use blasters and grapples to pull objects. Scavengers are crafty and agile. Meanwhile, Scoundrels seek out hidden opportunities. Bounty Hunters like Jango and Boba Fett employ a wide arrange of gadgets. Finally, Astromech droids can interface with different tech, while Protocol droids can understand foreign languages and program other machinery.
Characters that use blasters get a much-needed gameplay upgrade over past titles. Using them now resembles that of a traditional third-person shooter. A new camera perspective brings players closer to the action as they aim, take cover and fire at enemies. Of course, there’s still melee combat for when the action gets too close, but for once in a LEGO Star Wars game, firing blasters looks like it might actually be fun.
Following the Tantive IV mission, we hopped over to Revenge of the Sith to join Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi as they assaulted General Grevious' dreadnaught, the Invisible Hand, to rescue Chancellor Palpatine. While Tantive IV showcased blaster combat and how those characters solve puzzles, the Invisible Hand showcased how lightsaber and Force characters operate. Like previous LEGO Star Wars games, Force users can use the force to move and manipulate objects to solve puzzles and defeat enemies. In a massive change, however, melee combat has gotten a vast revamp with a focus on combos, countering and building up a combo meter. Lightsaber characters can also block and throw their lightsaber to their heart’s content. TT Games also showcased the series' beloved drop-in local co-op. Unfortunately, we don’t have a definitive answer if the game offers online co-op.
Probably the most significant improvement to lightsaber combat comes from boss battles. The Invisible Hand level ended with a boss fight against Count Dooku. The camera sets up a cinematic angle upon entering the fight, and the controls slightly adjust for a more-focused fight. You’ll attack, block, dodge attacks and utilize QTEs as you slice apart Dooku’s life bar. As each wave progressed, Dooku got smarter, whipping out attacks that required dodging over-blocking. LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is still aimed at a younger audience, so the fight never appeared too difficult, but the boss fight was far more epic, cinematic and involved compared to any previous LEGO boss fight.
Finally, TT Games took us to The Last Jedi to experience some space combat as Poe Dameron and the Resistance assault the First Order’s dreadnaught. For LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, space combat has been remade to feel authentic and give players complete control of their starships. You’ll be able to perform barrel rolls and other evasive maneuvers, gain speed boosts, fire photon torpedoes and more as you exchange fire with enemy ships. Occasionally, there’ll be sections where you’ll get a first-person view inside the cockpit, such as when guiding a group of bombers toward the dreadnaught. It looked fun and a worthwhile improvement from the past games.
Finally, TT Games provided a short taste of what to expect outside the scripted story missions. Players have a vast galaxy to explore on foot and in space that slowly unlocks as you complete the story. We got to see portions of Tatooine, Coruscant and Ajan Kloss for the demo, which are all beautifully and faithfully recreated in LEGO fashion. When exploring, players can interact with the world to find Kyber Bricks (i.e., upgrade materials), additional LEGO Studs to purchase characters, accept side quests and even take in random banter from NPCs. There are even special Data Cards that add fun cosmetic changes to objects in the world. Star Rave, anyone? It all seems like good fun capable of adding tons of hours of playtime onto an already content-rich game.
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker always looked like an ambitious game from the outset, but whether TT Games could pull it off remained in question. After getting to see so many facets of the game in action for the first time, it does appear that the studio will. While we still have a few weeks before the game releases, LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is hitting all the right notes so far. This is a Galaxy Far Far Away we can’t wait to sink our teeth into.
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga launches April 5 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, PS4, Xbox One and Switch.
