LEGO has been on top of the entertainment industry for many years now. LEGO has done everything from games and toys to films and music videos. But their latest game release, LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, might be one of the best things that the studio has ever done.

Now, every fan accepts that the Star Wars franchise is filled with silly moments. It is not the most severe film series ever made no matter where you look at it. For one, it is a Shakespearean space opera with magical powers and colorful swords. When you put it like that, it does not sound like something to be taken seriously. And yet, somehow, we, the fans, feel deeply invested in the story. The fans cry and laugh with the characters, anticipate additions to the lore, buy t-shirts that have dumb lines from the films on them, and celebrate May the fourth almost as a national holiday. This means that its silliness does not take away anything from what the fans feel about the franchise. And this silliness is precisely what LEGO embraces in the games.

Let’s get into the biggest question: What’s new? Well, a lot of things. First, it is worth mentioning that this game does not only cover the last trilogy. It is a big game, one that includes all nine films. It truly is about the Skywalker Saga. Thus, it is not surprising that the fans expected this game to be much more significant in scale than all the previous games. And LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is much, much bigger than the fans anticipated it to be. The open-world is much more than just what was shown in the films.

The world is alive and beautiful- There are over 20 planets to discover, and in a true LEGO style, many areas can only be reached through certain characters that the players can unlock in the story missions. This means that there are not only a lot of worlds but there are a lot of characters as well. There are over 270 characters, and this is an incredible number for a game that no one expected to turn out like this.

But not all is well. I did run into some game-breaking bugs in my own playthrough, but I played it at launch, and the developers crunched- So I do not blame anyone (but the studio) for this. The fans worldwide mention that no one would mind it if the game came out a bit later than it was supposed to. Developers crunching is never good, and it rarely results in a perfect game. The bugs are annoying, but it is truly incredible achievement for the game to come out like this despite the crunch.

Let’s go back to talking about the mechanics. The combat is worth mentioning, as it seems that it’s improved a lot since the latest games. There is a combo system now, which is always satisfying, and the controls feel a lot fresher and more manageable this time. The combo system is nothing confusing like the Devil May Cry games; it is just borderline button smashing. And yet it is fun and fitting for the childish tone of the game and its aim for a broad audience. There’s also a lightsaber throw now, and it is always fun.

Although the camera has been improved, sometimes the character’s head gets in the way of aiming, and the players cannot tell where they’re shooting. Since LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga hardly punishes for shooting in the wrong direction, it is not that big of a deal, yet it is absolutely something that one might get frustrated about.

As mentioned above, the world is big and alive. This means that everywhere there are side quests, puzzles, and collectibles. The collectibles are not hidden in plain sight; they expect the player to make some effort at finding them. This makes the players feel like they are playing a game rather than just following an arrow pointing towards it. The game needs to know when to stop holding the player’s hand, and LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga knows how to do it. However, the side quests are not always fun- sometimes, they are too short. There is one side quest where the mission only requires the player to shoot at some spaceships, and it is over. We all know that longer side quests are not always preferable among gamers, yet finding the balance between long and short quests should not be that hard.

Humor in a video game is not something that every video game can do, but LEGO nails it almost. It is only natural for the jokes not always to deserve a belly laugh, and yet all the jokes in LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga deserve at least one silent smile. However, nothing can top the scene where Vader explains to Luke that he is his son in the original LEGO Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. There is something about the characters not being able to talk that makes them funnier. LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga does the players a favor and offers a mumble mode, where the characters do not speak like those older games. They only grunt and mumble- So if anyone prefers the old way, they can also have it their way.

The graphics are incredible despite the characters being made from LEGOs. Only by comparing and contrasting can one tell the drastic difference between the quality. Once you do, you start to appreciate the more minor details that the designers decided to sprinkle here and there. The small LEGO stamp in Darth Vader’s arm, for instance, is an incredible detail that makes the players feel like they are playing with LEGOs in real-time. Almost like a make-believe game that we used to play as children. Combined with the remembrance of the older LEGO titles, one feels the nostalgia kick in.

In short, LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is one of the best LEGO and Star Wars games ever made. Only the long-awaited Knights of the Old Republic remakes might be able to top it. Despite being one of the best, it is also essential to emphasize its setbacks: Some side quests could have been better, and game-breaking bugs are incredibly annoying. Game studios need to understand that forcing the developers to crunch to finish the game in a concise amount of time never results in a perfect game and this game is an excellent example of that.

LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is an experience that is sure to please almost every Star Wars fan out there despite the setbacks, and this is exactly what everyone needed after the notorious trilogy.

Yagmur Sevinc (@yagmursevvinc)
Editor, NoobFeed