LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga Review

LEGO games are best described as mumble-filled, abridged retellings of our favorite film properties. LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is no different in that regard - it's the latest installment in the LEGO "genre" of games but with a careful goal to reinvent the wheel - and it succeeds. It's the largest LEGO game in scale and scope, it's a blast to play through, and each moment is an earnest and humorous iteration of the Star Wars films.

The Skywalker Saga is a combination of all nine Star Wars movies. Traveller's Tales Games has made games for each episode of Star Wars (omitting episodes VIII and IX), but The Skywalker Saga is completely new. As far as I could tell, there was next to nothing reused from the original games, meaning the various planets of Star Wars visited in The Skywalker Saga visited are built from the ground up.

The Stories of LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

Story missions in The Skywalker Saga are more linear than expected, but in the sense of it being a retelling of the original stories, it works. I thoroughly enjoyed nearly every episode, and apart from the harsh linearity that came with The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones, there wasn't a moment where I felt like the pacing was subpar. At times, the story can move quicker than the films, and it can create jarring situations where an otherwise emotional moment is left more or less as a checkbox that needed to be ticked, but considering the lighthearted nature of LEGO games, it's passable. That's mostly because those moments have hilarious LEGO gags littered throughout.

It's surprising to me that in all of Star Wars' years, the best celebration of the series exists as a LEGO game...

When you're not dueling Anakin atop the volcanic Mustafar, saving Han Solo from Jabba's Palace, or delivering BB-8 to the Resistance, the rest of the game is experienced in fully explorable hub areas. These regions are bountiful and are full of puzzles to solve, side quests to finish, and collectibles to snag. There's also something incredibly giddy about exploring the capital city in Naboo or the frigid halls of the Rebel base on Hoth. It's surprising to me that in all of Star Wars' years, the best celebration of the series exists as a LEGO game, but considering the superb history TT Games has with the property, it does make sense. You can tell that there is a lot of love for Star Wars in this game and that passion makes the experience incrementally more enjoyable.

Collectibles in LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

In a sense, The Skywalker Saga can feel like a collectathon (there are approximately 1,166 Kyber Bricks that can be collected) but it doesn't dampen the experience. In one instance, I found myself enjoyably perplexed as I challenged a hieroglyph puzzle atop the great temple on Yavin 4. In another, I was dashing across the stars in an X-Wing to intervene in an ongoing space battle. Encounters like these make The Skywalker Saga stand out with its semi-open world, and the game is better for it. While these puzzles, quests, and encounters can unlock characters or other collectibles, you'll mostly come across Kyber Bricks.

Kyber Bricks are awarded at many moments in the game: they can be found in the hub areas, given for acquiring True Jedi in a mission, as a reward for side quests, and probably more. These Kyber Bricks act as a currency of sorts, allowing you to buy upgrades for different classes. Yes, The Skywalker Saga has classes - something I thought I'd never see in a LEGO game. Each character has a class attached to them that represents their affiliation or their role as a character. For example, characters like Luke Skywalker fall into the Jedi class, while characters like R2-D2 fall into the Astromech Droid class. These classes don't differ much beyond how they fight and what objects they can interact with in the world, but the upgrades you can get are worthwhile, as they improve your stats or weapons. There are also core upgrades that benefit every character. These improve health, damage, and things like the range in which studs will collect (a worthy investment).

A True Testament to Star Wars

When you're not collecting Kyber Bricks, you'll be collecting characters, ships, or Minikits. There are a TON of these in the game, as one might expect from a game spanning three eras of Star Wars. It's worth reiterating: if you're a Star Wars fan, big or small, there is something here for you. Fighting in the various battles that exist across the Star Wars universe gets me thrilled, especially with John Williams' spellbinding music gracing the atmosphere. Atop that, the combat is just plain fun.

In most LEGO games I've played, combat is as simple as mashing the attack button to take down enemies, but The Skywalker Saga is a step up from that. With the introduction of enemy health bars, a combo system, and over-the-shoulder gunplay, The Skywalker Saga's combat is surprisingly complex for a children's game. It isn't by any means more exhilarating than something like, say, Star Wars Battlefront II, but there still is a lot of fun to be had ripping apart your enemies, piece by piece. Boss battles are a joy too, especially when you're dueling with two lightsaber characters, as these moments are as cinematic in-game as they are in the films.

Cinematic is a perfect way to describe The Skywalker Saga as the game is visual eye candy. Each LEGO piece is extremely detailed, down to print markings of the LEGO trademark, and the way the Star Wars worlds are crafted pays close attention to detail with what the movies present. Combo in the voice acting talent that does a solid job at imitating the original cast of the Star Wars films, especially in tone and delivery, and you've got a genuine Star Wars experience on your hands.

Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga Review | Final Verdict

What makes LEGO games so special is the way they can take source material that is, for the most part, heavy, dark, and full of mature themes but spin them in a way that makes those things lighthearted, bright, and full of naivety. Those themes are all present in LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. It's genuinely funny and, while it won't have you struggling to catch a breath, it's the perfect level of humor for what is effectively a children's game. It succeeds in every regard as a LEGO game and it innovates enough to warrant a near-perfect score. No matter what corner of the galaxy you're in, anyone who loves Star Wars can find enjoyment in The Skywalker Saga.

TechRaptor reviewed Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga on Xbox Series X using a copy provided by the publisher. The game is also available on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.