IT’S time to LEGO of your hate and give in to the daft side of the Force…
Squeezing all nine Star Wars epics into a single LEGO game and making it a hit seemed as likely as popping a pair of proton torpedoes through a two-metre wide thermal exhaust port.
Yet LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga not only stays on target, it blows the other LEGO games away – like cocky Luke bullseye’ing a wamp rat in his T-16 back home.
It is by far, far and away the best LEGO game to date. There is a wonderful balance which effortlessly combines the daft side of the Force with the true spirit the films. It entertains and enthrals.
It oozes charm, like a Han Solo chat-up line and keeps you focussed like little Yoda lifting an X-Wing out of a swamp.
To start with, there’s a lot to get done in LSWTSS. And I mean A LOT! Within each of the nine adventures – from The Phantom Menace to The Rise of Skywalker – there are five story levels.
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These lovingly recreate the adventures of Luke and co, throwing you into your favourite scenes from the films while expanding the journey with brick-bashing brilliance.
There’s a new combat system too, an over-the-shoulder view which brings a compelling gameplay to the franchise.
You can aim a blaster, toss a lightsabre (boomerang style), Force smash things and even get involved with some fighting combos that are simple, yet rather satisfying.
Having full control over the camera is an awesome improvement, allowing you to see much more of the levels.
This change in pace with a tighter, 3rd person view really hones in on a better combat experience, compared to the slightly haphazard button-bashing days gone by.
And as with all LEGO games, you can destroy pretty much everything in your path in a desperate bid to sweep up every last LEGO stud going.
A new cover-based system helps LSWTSS feel like a more advanced game – with the lovely touch of being able to rebuild your cover should a stray Stormtrooper shot destroy it.
One of the highlights has to be the out-of-this-world dog fighting. Whether you’re zooming down trenches of the Death Star, dodging asteroids in the Millennium Falcon, or running rings round AT-AT walkers on Hoth, it’s hard not to love the air battles.
No matter which iconic ship you’re in, all offer up quick manoeuvrability (a roll left, a roll right or slamming on the brakes for a full flip) along with both primary and secondary firing options.
When you’re not smashing through the main missions, there’s plenty to keep you busy at one of the many open-world levels dotted around the game.
These are cleverly planted at decent intervals to give you a break from the main attraction.
You’ll stumble on a plethora of collectables and hidden puzzles, all of which offer up a nice distraction.
It’s these vast areas that allow you to unlock one of the 275-plus characters with different talents which, in turn, let you access previously-unreachable levels.
All of this helps build up your Kyber brick count, which are used as currency to upgrade core perks or enhance specific areas for different types of characters (Jedi, hero, droid etc).
The skills tree is a lovely addition to the LEGO gaming world though more of a quirk seeing as the difficulty of the game means you really don’t need to upgrade anything.
But that’s the joy of the LEGO universe. It doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s as chilled-out as Han Solo in carbonite.
And herein lies the utter genius of LSWTSS. Because while you can sit back and admire the gameplay and diligence TT Games has shown to the Star Wars franchise, it’s the sense of humour which makes the game as satisfying as a C3PO oil bath.
The balance TT Games has struck between the fun nature of LEGO and the intensity of the films is brilliant.
For example, there’s a lovely moment when you’re running through the Death Star with Han and Chewy when you round the corner to a horde of Stormtroopers – enjoying a spot of tai chi.
Yet moments later, Vader takes off Obi Wan’s head – cue the John Williams music and Luke’s desperate cry of “No!”.
Visually it’s yet another astonishing feat. The rendering of every LEGO brick is breathtakingly detailed – each zip, stitch and blob of Bantha drool is lovingly brought to life.
Even the scars on Boba Fett’s battered armour are included. And the icing on the cake is that these pristine characters soon lose their shine as you continue to batter them over a period of time. This rendering degradation is a class touch.
And the ability to hop in and out with friends and family is available too.
However the new-look combat system did result in a slightly dizzying experience in co-op mode due to the restrictions of vertical split screen.
But this is nothing compared to the arguments that ensued between this gamer and his young son as to who was gonna play as Boba Fett.
This game was always going to have to live up to a huge, erm, build-up.
But it has done so with as ease. Combining two giants like LEGO and Star Wars was never guaranteed to be a success – yet, like all good LEGO combos, these two have clicked.
- LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga on PS5 at Amazon for £49.99 – buy now
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