Since the mid-90s, British game developer Traveller's Tales Games has been one of the longest-running examples of how to do video games based on licensed properties right. However, for the last 17 years, they became best known for their partnership with LEGO. This has resulted in action/adventure games based on various LEGO-ized properties such as Marvel and DC Comics, Indiana Jones, The Incredibles, and Pirates of the Caribbean. But, without a doubt, the developer's most famous LEGO games are based off of Star Wars.
Now TT Games has returned to that beloved galaxy far, far away with LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. First announced at E3 2019, the game has had a long journey to launch due to the COVID pandemic, ultimately to a lot of praise. One question remains: is the game worth the surprising amount of hype and love it has earned even when compared to TT Games' previous work?
The story doesn't really need much elaboration as the game covers all 9 main Star Wars films, with characters from the side-movies and TV shows available as DLC. So, really, if you've seen all the Star Wars movies to date, there's really no introduction needed. The more interesting factor is how TT Games covers each story, and that's with plenty of the casually goofy humor that the developer is known for (certain gruesome scenes like Anakin's massacre of the Tusken Raiders in Attack of the Clones and Luke losing his hand in The Empire Strikes Back are portrayed in a more slapstic-esque light, but the context is still there). Each movie is split into their own separate areas, with the first part of each trilogy unlocked from the start (The Phantom Menace, A New Hope, and The Force Awakens). The other 2 films in each trilogy are unlocked by playing through each preceeding story and completing them first, so if you want to play in chronological order or release order then that's entirely up to you!
In addition, while most of the characters are played by sound-alikes, certain roles like the Prequel Trilogy-characters are voiced by those involved with the animated Clone Wars series. Hearing actors like James Arnold Taylor and Matt Lanner voice Obi-Wan and Anakin's lines from Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith really makes memetic lines like "It's over Anakin! I have the high ground!" sound even better than their film counterparts! Even Sam Witwer gets to ham it up as Palpatine in not only the prequel chapters, but also the Rise of Skywalker storyline! Sadly, this game probably marks the final voice appearance of Tom Kane, who plays Yoda and other characters in various Star Wars works, due to complications from a stroke last year. Also, for old-school LEGO game fans who don't want voice acting in their playthrough, a "Mumble Mode" option is available to toggle from the start, turning all the dialogue into Sims-esque gibberish and grunts.
However, by far the biggest positive here is the evolved gameplay and freeplay options. In past LEGO games, you'd have either a freely-explorable hub area or a wide-open sandbox to travel around and find collectables and unlockable side characters. This time around, the developers have stepped up their game and went the extra mile in terms of freedom and exploration by having entire planets to visit! Each planet is separated into several wide-open areas based on locals from the movies, and you can utilize starships to explore the region of space above each planet's surface for extra minigames and collectables. You can also fast travel to different planets using a massive galactic map that unlocks more worlds to visit in freeplay after completing each story mode with plenty of collectables and extras that provide weeks of gameplay. In addition, each character is sorted neatly into specific categories (Jedi, Sith, Hero, Villain, Bounty Hunter, Scoundrel, two different Droid types, etc.) and each story mission's requirements reward players with a new collectable called Kyber Bricks. These Bricks, which can also be found in freeplay and doing other tasks, upgrade each character class with stronger buffs and perks that'll make replay and combat easier. Speaking of combat, this has also been completely retooled. Blaster-wielders can now freely aim like a third-person shooter while lightsaber users can use the Force to throw them from a distance.
Overall, LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga can easily be called the next stage of evolution in LEGO games! It truly feels like TT Games has spent three long years carefully making sure this is the best experience possible, and I truly hope they put this level of effort into future projects.
Score: 9/10