We headed back to a distant, distant galaxy, once again made up of Lego bricks. Check out our impressions after 90 minutes of hanging out with LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga.
The last two games from the Star Wars franchise definitely provided us new hope. The future should bring us more Star Wars games from several different studios, including a remake of KOTOR, a sequel to the Jedi Fallen Order, and even one strategy game. But before that future, it is time to repeat the material of the films through which the entire Lucas universe came to life. And the dice have been arranged so that LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga offers us that opportunity.
The game comes out in just two weeks so I got a chance to play it to see if the Force is strong enough in it. I played the PC version via streaming, a total of 90 minutes which was quite enough time to get an initial impression of the game. I was limited to playing one episode – the fourth, from which it all began.
Of course this is not the first time Star Wars has been retold in LEGO style. However, The Skywalker Saga does not recycle old dice but presents everything in a different way than previous games. For example, the introduction to Episode IV has now been expanded with events from the end of Rogue One. But it is still a famous Star Wars story, now even closer to the original presentation because conversations from the films themselves are used.
The introduction to Episode IV has now been expanded with events from the end of Rogue One.
The extension of the story was also used to include some new humorous parts for which LEGO games are known. The humor is nice again, and if you loved it in the first LEGO SW adaptation, you will be glad that some of the old jokes are used again, such as Stormtroopers in the jacuzzi.
Gameplay itself benefits from expanding the story. In this issue, more attention is paid to specific characters. Droids C-3PO and R2-D2 are no longer just “door keys”. Enemies don’t attack them, so it gives them a chance to surprise them, like hacking cannons and shooting down enemies from another room. Another novelty is that in some parts of the level you can choose between two ways in which the situation can be resolved.
In this issue, more attention is paid to specific characters and their abilities.
The action gameplay in Skywalker Saga has also been expanded. The camera is now behind the characters all the time and shifts behind the shoulders when shooting from the shelter. I didn’t notice that the game forced me to hide in the shelter because I could beat my opponents without major consequences by running into them.
In shaking, a system has been devised that has counterattacks as well as breaking the enemy bloc. Counterattacks work by pressing the Y key or triangle at the right time when that sign appears above the enemy’s head – you already know how it works. Breaking a block is simple: just change the key you hit, e.g. jump and perform another attack. A point multiplier has been inserted into this whole system, so the more different attacks you combine into a combo, the more points you get.
The more different attacks you combine into a combo, the more points you get.
The Skywalker Saga follows stories from the movies through a mission format. But between the missions there is an unexpectedly spacious world, almost an open type of map. That part of the game was the most interesting to me – I spent about twenty minutes researching Tatooine and solving side tasks while Obi-Wan waited his turn. These tasks are shorter in duration, and some are designed as puzzles. For example, I came across a cave that at first glance had nothing worth noting, but when I went back to the entrance and took the torch I noticed a new route that took me to the Kyber Cube.
Kyber cubes are the main prizes in this game because you use them to upgrade the skills of your characters. There are Core skills that apply to all characters (e.g. faster running, faster assembly, longer dice attraction range, etc.), and then you have nine specific classes (Jedi, bounty hunter, droids, etc.) each with four of its own. upgrades. In addition, there is a special category of characters, including beasts like Rancor. If you feel like it, in LEGO Star Wars you can direct Rancor’s attack on Coruscant and sow fear among the local population.
If you feel like it, in LEGO Star Wars you can direct Rancor’s attack on Coruscant.
All in all, the game really has a lot of upgrades. It’s not just the skills that are at stake, because you also spend the points you earn on buying vehicles and aircraft. You are free to drive the vehicles on the map, and in space you have full control over the spacecraft, which includes accelerating and performing barrel rolls. In orbit you also have side quests so you can play smuggler from planet to planet. I saw space gameplay in the presentation because I didn’t get to it during the 90-minute gameplay, but it seemed to me to offer the freedom of movement of a No Man’s Sky. Admittedly, there will be no direct landing on the planets – that part will be separated by loading.
I’m not yet sure to what level the game will allow travel between planets. For example, I don’t know if all the planets will be available to visit from the very beginning of the game. All I know is that the player now has the freedom to continue the story in GTA style when it suits him, and between missions he is free to explore the world and do side quests.
Of course, all this can be experienced cooperatively. Multiplayer works as in the old LEGO SW games – it is possible to enter as a second player at any time. This time everything is performed on a vertically split screen and each player all the time from their view of the action.
In multiplayer this time, each player has their own view of the action all the time.
I have to admit that the amount of content in LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga caught me off guard. In addition to the already mentioned character upgrades, main and secondary missions, buying vehicles, space adventures and the possibility of fooling around, I haven’t mentioned to you that each main mission has three specific challenges. There’s even a collector’s item as part of which you collect Data Cards, items that are actually additional options for the game. For example, the Galaxy Rave card adds a disco club atmosphere to the entire galaxy, so the characters dance everywhere with electro remix songs by John Williams and famous quotes by Darth Vader.
And speaking of quotes, the only thing that disappointed me was that the game doesn’t use the voices of real actors from the movies. I know it’s a legal issue and the publisher here is Warner Bros., not Disney, but when dialogues from movies are already used it sounds like I’m listening to some cheap version of voice acting. Somewhere they imitate the voices of the actors by imitation, and somewhere they don’t even seem to bother.
For other segments of the game, I can’t say that they lack effort. The TT Games team says that this is their most ambitious game so far, and judging by what they saw – they are not wrong. It’s not even far from the most ambitious single-player Star Wars project, if we quantitatively look at all the force of the content in the game.
But I can already say that you will appreciate this content only if you find LEGO games fun. However, you should be aware that this is a LEGO title, which means that it does not offer a great challenge for the player, and if the relatively simple mechanics of fighting and solving puzzles do not suit you – the richness of the content will not help. Anyway, I think most players are still not aware of how big this game is going to be. So reconsider your feelings, the moment of truth comes on April 5th, when the LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga goes on sale on all platforms.
source: hcl