Our Verdict
Sith, Jedi, Wookies, and Ewoks, I present to you the definitive Lego Star Wars experience, never before has journeying to a blocky galaxy far, far away been so satisfying. The Skywalker Saga covers all nine mainline movies, and it captures all of the key points in a charming way - it’s the quintessential Lego experience, and mesa recommend you play it
In a galaxy far, far away, a war rages on between the light and dark side of the force, with the rebellion and resistance standing on one side, while the empire and the first order stand on the other. It’s a conflict that’s existed for hundreds of years, with many heroes and villains rising and falling like the sun and the moon. I think you all know which universe mesa talking about.
To say I’ve eagerly awaited the release of Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga would be an understatement. Ever since TT Games announced it at E3 2019, I’ve kept a keen eye on the latest title. I can’t deny the disappointment I felt each time it was pushed back, but it’s clear that The Skywalker Saga benefited from the extra cooking time, and the developer’s decision is clearly the right one.
If you’re a Star Wars fan, you should know which movies are blockified in the new game – A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, Return of the Sith, The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and The Rise of Skywalker. That’s all nine of the mainline movies, all of which have a focus on the titular Skywalker family, and the raging war between the light and the dark side.
Each time a new movie is out, I watch it, a new game is a must-buy on day one, and I happen to be a fan of Lego too, so you can imagine my joy at experiencing all three trilogies through a game, and in Lego form. When you fire up The Skywalker Saga, you have a choice to make, and there’s no right or wrong decision. You get access to A New Hope, The Phantom Menace, and The Force Awakens, meaning you get to choose which trilogy you want to start with. Each time you complete an episode, you unlock its sequel, so you do have to play each trilogy in its correct order.
Again, there’s no right or wrong way to do this. Let’s face it, the entire movie series is backwards, with episodes four to six being made first, followed by one to three, then seven to nine coming on to the scene after those – it’s a machete order if ever I’ve seen one. However, I did decide to approach the game in chronological order, meaning I started with the underappreciated, The Phantom Menace – yes, it’s a good movie, there I said it.
From the second the game got underway, I knew I was in for a treat. Within minutes, not only did I dive into one of my favourite worlds, but the famous Lego charm was present, too. Honestly, my grin was so wide that I must have looked like a Cheshire cat. I will say now, that regardless of which episode you start with, a tutorial pops up, with reminders recurring throughout the game. You can turn these off, or visit the tutorial portion of the main menu anytime you need to relearn something.
Also, before I go any further, I need to mention the accessibility options. Should you need to adjust the game at all, you can do so from the pause menu. Furthermore, the first time you load Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, it immediately asks you if you want to see the accessibility options, and it’s worth noting that there are a range of settings available that can enhance your experience, including the ability to adjust text size, quick taps, camera sensitivity, aim sensitivity, and more.
Okay, back to what I was saying. As soon as I got into the action, I knew the game had me in its grasp. I really enjoy the story of The Phantom Menace, though, admittedly, this is due to my deep love for Darth Maul, which brings me along nicely to boss fights. Naturally, the game is full of them, with each individual episode featuring multiple tough battles. Personally, I find the duel with Darth Maul to be fantastic. It maintains the essence of the movie, yet, TT Games flawlessly embed the hilarious charm the Lego games are known for.
Another example of a terrific boss fight occurs at the end of Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Everything about it is sublime. It’s funny, yet hangs onto the harrowing feelings the movie ignites. Thanks to the great graphics, the environment in which the battle takes place looks beautiful, in a nature is stunning yet deadly kind of way.
Besides the famous fights you get to participate in, some other recognisable Star Wars scenes are present, each one offering a humorous outlook, despite the gravity of certain situations. However, I’d be remiss if I didn’t give a specific shoutout to the scene everyone has heard off. Even if you’ve never watched Return of the Jedi, you know all about Mr Jabba man and Leia’s gold bikini. The entire chapter surrounding these events is a joy. The Lego twist is spot on, and helps to make it a stand out.
Plus, let’s face it, as great as the fights are, it’s also great to explore the various locations in this galaxy. You get to visit places such as the wondrous cities of Naboo, the wasteland deserts of Tatooine and Jakku, and then there are the luscious forests of Endor – which is full of Ewoks, and we all need more Ewok in our lives.
When it comes to the amount of content available per episode, you have five primary missions to complete, each of which is a decent length, and some have several steps before their conclusion. My favourite thing about this is the diversity in gameplay, as it’s not just about wandering various lands, swinging a lightsaber, and throwing people about with the force – though I won’t deny how much fun that is – as you also get to take part in space battles, speed through the luscious plains of Endor on a speeder, take part in a race on Tatooine, and more. There’s such variety that the game doesn’t feel repetitive – an impressive feat given the formula for each movie is the same. Oh, and get this, you can drink blue milk… what a time to be alive.
To top it off, there’s also an impressive level of replayability, which, in all fairness, I expect from a Lego game. However, the amount of content on offer in each episode is substantial, with not only the main tasks on offer, but a plentiful amount of side missions and additional exploration that’s sure to keep you occupied for hours. Furthermore, these are necessary if you want to 100% the game, as they allow you to obtain collectables such as datacards, Minikits, kyber bricks, and characters.
As you might expect, the character you play as changes a lot. However, depending on the trilogy you play, you can probably guess who you take control of throughout. Overall, there are nearly 400 characters available for you to collect, including Rey Skywalker, Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, Darth Vader, Anakin Skywalker, Emperor Palpatine, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Finn, BB-8, Yoda, and more. Oh, and some characters have multiple variations, with the majority of them falling under a different classification. For example, in The Force Awakens, that version of Rey is a scavenger, whereas come Rise of the Skywalker, she’s a Jedi.
The class system is new to Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, and it’s a fantastic addition that freshens the series up a little bit. There’s a range of classes available, with each character falling under one, such as villain, Sith, Jedi, scavenger, hero, and more. Not only does it help to differentiate the characters, but it also means you need to switch things up every now and then, as, for example, only a scavenger can shoot nets, which are necessary for traversing various areas.
Furthermore, every single class has different skills and attributes, as well as a generic section that applies to each character, all of which are upgradeable. To upgrade your abilities, and increase your proficiency, you need to spend studs, and have the correct amount of kyber bricks available. Fortunately, everywhere you look, there are breakable objects full of studs, and with 1,166 kyber bricks in the galaxy, you’re never short of resources.
Of course, I can’t play a Star Wars game, and not to mention the soundtrack, some of the music from this franchise is known by everyone. Even if you’ve never watched a Star Wars movie, you instantly recognise the main theme, and Darth Vader’s music – nerdy kids like me, might have had Vader’s song as their ringtone for their parents. However, the best thing isn’t just the music itself, but when it’s used.
As soon as Duel of Fates hit while I facing Darth Maul, I got goosebumps. It has that much of an impact. I have no problem admitting it’s one of my favourite pieces of music, and it adds a little something to what is already a fun fight. I also can’t help but start humming along every time the main theme hits – even my dog keeps giving me weird looks each time I do it.
I’ve no doubt you want to know more about how the game looks on Switch, and I can confirm that on the OLED, Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga looks fantastic, its vibrancy in handheld mode is quite impressive, too. However, I have to point out that the frame rates drop occasionally, but this isn’t a common occurrence. Furthermore, once or twice the screen froze, yet I could hear the continuance of the scene. Given that this all happened minimally, it doesn’t cause much of an issue, and the problems are easily solved with a patch.
When all is said and done, I consider this to be the definitive Lego Star Wars experience, with it being the best entry in the series to date. In fact, it might even be the best Lego videogame thus far. If you’re a Lego or Star Wars fan, this is a must-own – good it is, play it you must, young padawans.