Lego Star Wars reaches its peak in The Skywalker Saga

OPINION: This past weekend, my time has been engulfed by one thing and one thing only: Lego Star Wars The Skywalker Saga.

This behemoth of a game features content from all nine mainline films in the Star Wars series, and ahead of my full review I’m here to tell you that this could very well be the Lego game we’ve all been waiting for.

Back in 2005, my brother and I were absolutely addicted to playing the original Lego Star Wars. Both competitive in nature, we could rarely find a game that didn’t result in at least one of us throwing a controller across the room – but Lego Star Wars proved to be the perfect blend of constructive co-op and fairly relaxed gameplay that we simply couldn’t get enough of it.

The game was magical, but looking back now it’s easier to see how it was held back by technical limitations of the time. There’s no dialogue for instance, and the main hub is just a collection of relatively small rooms. For a universe as gigantic as Star Wars, it was always going to be difficult to live up to the scope of the films, but with The Skywalker Saga, developer Traveller’s Tales – the company behind every Lego Star Wars game to date – has finally done it.

It’s hard not to be impressed with the sheer scope of this game. With all nine mainline films included – two of which are now being adapted into Lego form for the first time – there’s a ridiculous number of story missions to plough through, but these are just one half of the game.

Doing the Star Wars universe justice, The Skywalker Saga lets you travel to an abundance of planets from the series such as Tatooine, Takodana and Canto Bight, just to name a few. While these planets serve as gateways to more missions, they are also expansive levels in and of themselves, just waiting to be explored.

I can’t tell you how much time I’ve spent traversing these planets just to see what secrets and Easter eggs I could find. There’s definitely a callback to classic platforming titles like Super Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie here, and I’m sure that younger gamers will appreciate the fact that the game lets you return to these worlds at any time you fancy a break from the main story.

That isn’t to say that adults won’t enjoy the experience here, as the game does such a great job in paying comedic homage to the films that my wife and I found ourselves laughing our heads off during several cutscenes. The combat is also more complex than what older Lego Star Wars fans might remember, with melee combos and cover shooting brought into the mix. There are no dud characters either as droids are now given plenty of firepower to hold their own in a fight.

I’ve got a bit more to get through before I can deliver a full verdict on Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, but from what I’ve played so far – there’s plenty for fans to get excited about. As the ideal game for kids and parents to play together, this could be one of the go-to titles of the summer.