Lego has an outstanding history of taking famous franchises and literally moulding them in their image.
Developers Traveller's Tales have done a fantastic job at creating a whole new Lego universe filled with cleverly crafted counterparts that stand on their own.
Their latest title is the long-awaited Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga which covers all the main entry films in one game.
This isn’t the first Lego Star Wars game but it is the first time all nine films have been bundled together in one huge game.
Each episode within the game is a dedicated retelling of major plot points within the film featuring all the iconic scenes.
Developers Traveller's Tales are known for their creative writing when it comes to adapting these franchises and their handy work is thankfully, in great form here.
Players should once again expect faithful but witty comedic adaptations of all the Star War films.
Visually Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is a triumph for the Lego games, as the developers have done a tremendous job at capturing the likeness of each world and all the characters right down to the finer details.
It is great to see that the Lego counterparts have captured the characteristics of each character, who are beaming with life during cutscenes.
But what is more impressive is the attention to detail in how a character wields their lightsaber or shoots their gun; it all makes for an enjoyable experience.
Level designs are also faithful recreations allowing players to fully immerse themselves in the Star Wars experience.
I reviewed the game on the Playstation 5 and it runs so smooth at 60fps and looks stunning during the busier sections of the game.
A massive change for me is the menu's UI, with everything being much more accessible and easier to understand than before.
The soundtrack features all the classic tunes and sound effects from the movies, which just elevates the gameplay allowing for a much more faithful experience.
The voice acting is also admirable with famous cast members such as Billy Dee Williams and Anthony Daniels, to name but a few, reprising their roles.
Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga features films that have been already adapted in previous titles, but this new game is built from the ground up and has really offers a completely new experience.
At the beginning of the game, players will be able to start from one of the first films in each trilogy, as opposed to unlocking them all in chronological order.
This is a great feature as it allows players to focus on the trilogy they are most fond of from the beginning. Each film will have five story missions, making a total of 45 levels, contrasting from six levels per episode in previous games.
Rather than having one hub world and picking the next objective, each playable planet will have an open hub world to explore.
Players will be able to unlock a magnitude of planets as they appear within the films. These planet hubs are filled with so much extra content such as side quests, unlockables, familiar NPCs and more.
There is also a new feature that will give players hints to where secrets are in exchange for the in-game currency.
What's even greater is that these hub areas extend to space where players can explore the galaxy and even get into aerial fights with the Republic or the New Order.
Level designs are also much more challenging as they offer players multiple options to complete a particular puzzle.
There’s so much freedom with this game, players can create their own adventure and return to previous levels at any time to find alternate pathways for more secrets.
Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga has the largest roster out of all the Lego games, with over three hundred playable characters.
For the first time, each character will fall into a particular class with Jedi, Hero, and Dark Side to name a few.
Each class comes with specific abilities that can be used to access particular areas to find secrets.
They also come with a skill tree that can be upgraded by collecting Kyber Bricks that are scattered throughout the game.
This new system is amazing as it adds RPG elements that allow players to grow their characters how they see fit.
Combat has always been at the forefront of most Lego games and Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga has completely changed the mechanics.
Each character now has a combo meter that can be used to bamboozle enemies and gain a big stud bonus.
This combo system punishes players who use the same inputs as the enemies can adapt and will block your attacks. This is a great system to keep players thinking of creative ways to attack, getting the most out of each character.
The combat system also features counters which have been tailored for specific characters. But the biggest addition is the third person shooting which even allows players to hide behind walls for a massive shootout.
It's great to see the level of depth gone into creating a whole new experience never seen before in a Lego game.
Multiplayer returns but it's sadly just local co-op, this is a missed opportunity as with the huge community around the game, there is massive scope for so many online options that could’ve been explored.
Verdict
Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is a fine return form for the Lego game series, the massive changes to gameplay are fully welcomed. The level of depth in the overall design and recreation of Star Wars lore is phenomenal.
There’s so much content within this game, that the completionist will be busy for a while, let’s just hope there is additional DLC on top of what is coming, that will explore the upcoming series.
Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is out on 5 April for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5 and PC
