LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga will finally release on April 5, 2022, but there's a chance that this highly anticipated LEGO title may not live up to the original LEGO Star Wars games from the 2000s. TT Games' Skywalker Saga includes 300 playable Star Wars characters, all three movie trilogies, and features a number of sizeable gameplay changes, departing from the classic LEGO game formula in several respects. With how phenomenal the original two LEGO Star Wars games were, however, it may not be possible for it to live up to expectations.
LEGO Star Wars and LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy were released in 2005 and 2006 respectively. Utilizing the aesthetic of the popular children’s toys, the games allowed players to fill the shoes of their favorite Star Wars characters, including weirder ones like gonk droids and more obscure characters too. The two titles immediately became a success, spawning decades of LEGO games centered on other franchises as well, such as LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures and the LEGO The Hobbit games. TT Games even returned to Star Wars again in 2011 with LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars, based on the 3D animated series of the same name.
Star Wars’ return to LEGO video games following the premiere of The Force Awakens in 2015 wasn’t quite as fast as one would have expected, however. In 2016, LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens came out on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, but no other entries based on the remaining sequel trilogy films were released. The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker (as well as Rogue One and Solo) came and went, but there weren’t any announcements regarding a LEGO Star Wars version of the sequel trilogy. This will finally change in April (at least as long as there isn’t another delay), but tapping into the success of the first two games might be unachievable.
Will LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga Live Up To The Originals?
A lot has changed in the LEGO video games since LEGO Star Wars launched in the mid-2000s, and those differences can clearly be seen when comparing LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens with the originals. Hub worlds, voice acting, and level design are all noticeably different than they were in 2005. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but not all Star Wars fans keep up with the LEGO franchise, and The Skywalker Saga could end up being a disappointment to those expecting the nostalgic feel of the original LEGO games they remember.
Based on the latest trailer, it seems that LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is implementing a level select system so players can pick and choose which movie they’d like to play. In the original games, however, there was a small hub world - Dexter’s Diner and the Mos Eisley cantina - that had fun secrets, areas to show off collections, and, of course, bar fights. The recent gameplay overview didn’t show what happens once you select a movie, and there are multiple hub worlds confirmed to be in the game, but it may be a completely different feel than people might expect. Skywalker Saga changes the LEGO game formula, and it's possible these new, more detailed hub worlds will lack the charm of Dex’s Diner and the Mos Eisley cantina.
Both LEGO versions of The Clone Wars and The Force Awakens had hub worlds that were much, much larger than those present in the first two games, perhaps to a fault. It could become difficult to find the playable levels, and there were so many areas to explore that it could prove disorienting for players. Instead of wandering outside of Dex’s Diner to look at collected ship parts in the original LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game, players had to wander around LEGO versions of Star Wars planets down long hallways, take elevators, and hope they eventually found what they were looking for. It took away from the approachable feeling of the games, and if LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga utilizes these large hub worlds again, it could lose part of the charm associated with the originals.
Similarly, level design in LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens wasn’t short and sweet. The first few games were phenomenal because of their extra content in addition to the general fun of the levels, which were often pretty loyal to the films. It’s not that The Force Awakens wasn’t loyal to the events of its source material, per se, but that the levels felt bloated and too long, taking two or three times as long, if not more, than it would have taken the characters in LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga. The length didn’t feel like it was beneficial, either. It didn’t add any inherent value to the gameplay or story in The Force Awakens - it just dragged things out. Hopefully, that won’t be the case in The Skywalker Saga, but it’s something to be wary of, especially since fans haven’t seen a full playthrough of any levels yet.
LEGO Voice Acting Is Still A Negative (Even With Mumble Mode)
One of the biggest changes, not just to LEGO Star Wars but to all LEGO games, has been the inclusion of voice acting. The original LEGO games relied on physical gags and sound effects to get their points across. Anakin Skywalker wouldn’t say his lines from Phantom Menace in the LEGO Star Wars game. He’d give Qui-Gon a look after doing something silly, and Qui-Gon would shake his head, and that’s how the LEGO games told their stories. It was a fun, fresh, goofy take on the Star Wars movies that was enjoyable for both kids and adults.
In more recent LEGO entries, however, TT Games has included voice lines, some of which are ripped straight from the films the games are based on. Not only does it take away from the lighthearted vibes of the LEGO games, but it makes the story feel more like an old school video game adaptation instead of an original, creative experience. The beauty of the LEGO Star Wars games, in addition to their gameplay and aesthetic, was their quirkiness and their reliance on visual humor, which is diminished if it becomes a cartoon version of a movie. LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga's gameplay trailer revealed that the game will at least feature a mumble mode for players to use, but the game hasn't been developed with that kind of voiceless humor in mind.
So far, The Skywalker Saga looks like it’s trying to meet in the middle between the originals and The Force Awakens, which is a good sign. It’ll be difficult to know how well it’s worked, and how big the scope of the game is, until it comes out in April. One thing’s certain, however: LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga has big shoes to fill.