The next LEGO game raises the bar in quality with the release of Star Wars The Skywalker Saga out now on PC and consoles. Covering all nine films of the decades old ongoing franchise the new entry redefines what not only a LEGO game is capable of but parody games as a whole.

LEGO Star Wars The Skywalker Saga is a 2022 LEGO game, it is developed by TT Games and published by WB Interactive Entertainment. It is currently available on PC, Playstation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch.

Editor’s Note: A Xbox review code for LEGO Star Wars The Skywalker Saga was provided by WB Interactive Entertainment in support of this review. Spoilers for the Star Wars franchise’s story and lore may be present within this review. 

May the force be Legos.

If there’s a popular IP then there’s very likely a LEGO adaptation both in brick & video game form (remember LEGO Dimensions? bring it back WB). Star Wars of course would not escape the process of being brickified. LEGO Star Wars games have been a thing since almost the very beginning of LEGO game adaptations and the latest title “The Skywalker Saga” kind of brings it all together in one package while bringing about some originality in it’s own right.

Even as a parody title LEGO Stars The Skywalker Saga covers a lot of ground for the extensive media franchise.

THE GOOD: LEGO Star Wars The Skywalker Saga is a continuation of the last LEGO game; LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Following the movies (all nine of them in fact) it retells the stories of Luke Skywalker, Anakin, Obi-Wan, Rey, and all your favorite Jedis, Siths, and Rebels just as LEGO figures. Admittedly, I’m not too familiar with the Star Wars LEGO titles so I don’t know if this game is a compilation of the other titles bundled up or like a retelling/remake of those games with the added original flare of Skywalker Saga. I honestly kind of feel like is a bit of both? The last title had voice acting and that carries over here with much of the cast from the franchise reprising their respective roles. At the start of the game you can chose the opening film from each trilogy Episode I, Episode IV, and Episode VII with the subsequent films being unlocked later as you complete each film’s story.

The main type of gameplay as far as the action is concerned are force-based powers and gunplay. Both have their own styles and usefulness to the surround world. Like for example you can use guns to take down shields through a fun little animation sequence and use the force to throw objects to give yourself a bit more of an edge in combat. In addition to guns and the force occasionally you’ll find yourself in dogfights as you traverse from planet to planet. The ships have their own unique mechanics such as boosts and aerial tricks to avoid heavy damage. You’ll run into giant meteors from time to time that’s basically farming material for the LEGO currency studs which is used to purchase character upgrades and such. Skywalker Saga also contains a bit of a skill tree which you can use to upgrade character abilities such as running faster and boosting attack. These skills are tied to classes like Jedi, Rebel, and Sith to name a few.

There’s a multitude of unlockables in the game from characters to ships. The former can be unlocked through completing the story and side quests as can the latter, however you can also unlock ships through parts found throughout exploration. You can learn how to unlock characters through rumors by paying 30,000 studs to make things a bit easier.

The LEGO adaptation of the Skywalker Saga is the ultimate love letter for fans.

Graphically for a LEGO game especially his is one of the most impressive looking titles I’ve seen this year. The glossy and shiny look TT Games was able to provide for the LEGO figures was a neat bit of detail for the art direction. The set pieces further impressed with near match to match representations of it’s real world counterparts. Some of these areas are available to explore in free play which is basically the noncommitment portion if the game if the player just wants to screw around with side quests and such. I’d highly recommend doing so at least a few times to really experience as well as appreciate the amount of time and effort it took to breathe life into these different levels and their respective designs. Also keep in mind that further exploration requires certain characters with unique abilities like droids for terminal hacking for example so experiment with multiple characters while doing so.

The tonal representation of Star Wars matched with the silliness you’d expect of something being parodied by LEGO is pretty spot on. Even as a bit of an admitted Star Wars fan of a middle tier level I found myself amused by the inside jokes and TT Games’ own humorous takes on the lore through the expression of LEGOs. Story wise it’s more or less a mirror image of what you’d expect and there’s even some moments that you wouldn’t really expect to be there. It just goes to show how dedicated the folks at TT Games were at getting everything just right where it really counts.

In addition to gun and lightsaber play Skywalker Saga also has an excellent skill tree.

THE BAD: There’s a lot of side quest content and I know I’ve praised an abundance of this in the past, but here it’s a bit odd. Like on the surface you’d think any excuse to continue playing the game is something to look forward to, but you can definitely tell which quests had more effort put into them than others. Ultimately, it’s kind of not worth it in the end unless you’re trying to unlock a character. Unfortunately this game had some crunch attached to it. I want to be clear that this didn’t go into my decision for the the final review score, but it just really sucks. I don’t think many people would be that pressed about this game taking as long as it took to be a great final product as well as providing it’s developers with a better work/life balance during it’s development cycle. Hopefully TT Games & WBIE can better assess situations like this in the future.

Skywalker Saga is full of collectibles, easter eggs, and exploration.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: LEGO games are already a bit weird in regards to what you’d expect for a quality product with way more good to great than bad to ok considering the quantity of the franchise. TT Games a re a dedicated bunch when it comes to these games and it’s not that that’s really a rarity for the parody genre. But the level of passion provided by TT Games is indeed a sight to behold compared to most. Star Wars being the legendary IP it is could be argued as the reason for it, but if you know the developer’s history that’s most certainly not the case.