The Toy Force is Strong with Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

For a company that's known for its construction toys, Lego has had plenty of success with video games. Whether it's a video game that's directly connected to Lego toys or a video game that's based on an IP that the company has licensed, Lego has successfully combined its approach to play with video gaming, resulting in a series of game titles that are entertaining in their own right and complement Lego's sizable selection of construction kits. With that in mind, Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga marks a significant leap forward for what can be done with brick-based video gaming.

Of course, Lego has had a lucrative relationship with the Star Wars franchise for decades, and several great video games have been made under the Lego Star Wars title. In contrast to those previous games, The Skywalker Saga is by far the most ambitious: It is stuffed with characters to collect, missions to complete, worlds to explore, and vehicles to control. Even the Star Wars: Battlefront games aren't nearly as robust as The Skywalker Saga. Honestly, I haven't seen a Lego video game this ambitious since Lego City Undercover. To make sure I got everything this game has to offer, I purchased the "Galactic Edition" which includes all of the 16 extra character packs.

 

The Skywalker Saga includes many of the hallmark features from other Lego games. Players still collect studs, red bricks and other collectibles to access new features, destroy and construct brick objects, and unlock free play modes after completing level-based missions. Lego's trademark humor also permeates the game, with all sorts of affectionate jabs at the Star Wars franchise and a general mood of goofiness.

This game goes WAY above and beyond other Lego games in the amount of stuff to do, characters to meet, and places to go. Every time players complete a level based on one of the nine episodes of the Star Wars saga, the worlds that appeared in that episode become available in free play. By the time players finish completing each of the episode levels, players can visit an entire galaxy of planets to explore and complete additional missions. Some of the missions will even take you world-hopping, going to one or more planets to find individuals or items. 

All planets have orbital areas and locations on the planets' surfaces. The orbital areas feature the options of space battles, races, mission options, and capital ship attacks. Some planets have more explorable surface locations than others, depending upon how much they were featured in the movies. For example, the hidden Sith world of Exegol only has one location on the surface, while the city planet of Coruscant has multiple districts. This is a game that players can get lost in for hours.

The selection of playable characters has expanded to cover all of the nine films, and they are now divided into different classes with different abilities that can be leveled up using stud points. Of particular note are interactions with alien characters who speak in different languages; in those cases, you need a protocol droid like C-3P0 to translate what is being said. For as silly as this game is, it's this attention to detail and diversity of gameplay formats that reflect how much the makers of this game understand and love the Star Wars franchise.

While The Skywalker Saga presents an expansive experience with the Star Wars universe, there are some limitations. The expanded character packs feature almost all of the animated and live-action sequels and spinoffs, such as Rebels, Rogue One, and The Mandalorian. However, the worlds that are associated with these titles aren't part of these packs, so players won't be making trips to planets like Lothal, Mandalore, or Scarif. Of the extra packs, I noticed that nothing was included from two of the animated TV series, Star Wars: Resistance and Lego Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures. Both of these underrated shows could have added even more worthwhile content to The Skywalker Saga, so it's a shame they weren't included.

This title has been marketed around the idea of playing through all nine episodes of Star Wars, but the real strength of The Skywalker Saga is that it gives players a brickified version of the Star Wars universe to play with as they see fit--something even Kenner itself couldn't do. That alone makes this title one of the most entertaining Star Wars video games I've ever played, something I would even recommend to Star Wars fans who aren't interested in Lego.