LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga review - Perhaps the best LEGO game of all time

LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is the culmination of five years of work, and Traveler’s Tales and Warner Bros. came out swinging with this one. I’m not a fan of collect-a-thons, but I still enjoy playing LEGO games for action and fun, comical moments.

If this is the style and direction LEGO games will take in the future, I may have to start keeping a closer eye on them. I am, however, a humongous Star Wars fan, so I was excited to see what the game had. It did not disappoint. There were minor let-downs, but it was ultimately a wonderful experience.

LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga changed the game in a great way

One of the things that immediately leaped out to me as a new, worthwhile feature was the camera. Instead of using the zoomed-out camera that I was used to, it used an up-close, over-the-shoulder third-person camera. It felt like an action game, and it should! It's Star Wars!

Fans can see how much attention to detail went into every one of these LEGO minifigs in LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. It made the action feel and look better. Other gameplay changes went alongside this that I appreciated.

For characters that wield a blaster, they can now hide behind cover, as one can in Gears of War. They can also jump over the cover and start laying down blaster fire. You can also rebuild these pretty quickly. That means you can destroy an enemy's cover, rebuild them, and use them to fight more enemies.

They are a little short for Stormtroopers (Image via Warner Bros.)

It didn’t feel necessary, though. Stormtroopers, like their film counterparts, can’t aim worth beans. The game also features a recharging health bar, so it’s not like a player is often in danger. The game’s pretty easy and offers a variety of options to make it easier still, so anyone can play the game.

The lack of difficulty did not feel like a detriment at all. This is a fun, comic game with millions of LEGOs. LEGOs are supposed to be fun, and LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is 100% pure fun.

I also appreciate that they stay true to the story of the nine Star Wars, but add that Spaceballs-Esque humor common in LEGO games. That’s my favorite part, honestly. From seeing Stormtroopers hanging out in a hot tub in the Tantive IV to Chewbacca beating up a Rebel soldier to steal his medal, there’s so much to love and laugh at.

LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga offers varied gameplay and striking visuals

Exploring the galaxy as a variety of heroes and villains was so satisfying (Image via Warner Bros.)

There's so much to see and do across 45 main story missions and a wealth of side missions in LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. From podracing, diving into the trenches in an X-Wing, lightsaber duels, and taking down AT-ATs in the Battle of Hoth.

This game combines gorgeous and breathtaking visuals with gameplay that never gets stale. That's my favorite thing about the game. The stages feel different, and even the stages where players hack and slash through tons of enemies still feel unique. However, one thing did frustrate me, and that's boss battles.

They are very cinematic, and if you manage to deplete a health bar too fast, you might be stuck fighting an enemy with no health until the appropriate cinematic moment or music comes up. This happened in particular to me against Darth Vader and Kylo Ren. It wasn't a major disappointment, but it is something to be aware of.

When it comes to boss fights, the co-op player, if you have one, is also basically reduced to an assistant. They don’t often add anything meaningful to the fight, which may disappoint the player.

Whether they like racing or tower defenses, the game has something for everyone. I was shocked at how great the flying stages were, too. I was expecting very little and howled in delight as my X-Wing shot down TIE Fighters.

The music is exactly what I expected, those familiar John Williams songs coming back to me. Each stage was beautiful, though Hoth may have stuck out as my favorite.

A whole galaxy to explore and skills to acquire

LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga world isn’t just stage after stage either. There are several wide-open explorable areas to connect the various stages. You can explore Coruscant, Tattoine, Hoth, and many other planets.

Players can swap to whatever characters they have already unlocked in many of these, which is excellent. I explored Episode IV’s Tattoine as Grand Admiral Thrawn and IG-88 for a long time, swapping briefly to The Mandalorian & Grogu.

The more parts of the game a player unlocks, the game also opens up more of the Galaxy Mode. Going to Galaxy Mode lets players explore the Star Wars galaxy in a fun way. Go to the planets and do what you want, with whoever you want!

Pew pew pew! The blaster shots sound so fantastic (Image via Warner Bros.)

It shows off just how much detail the developers put into LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, and it’s also how players do a great deal of the collecting. The Studs and Kyber bricks are essential for the Skill System.

Kyber bricks are glowing blue LEGO bricks often acquired after completing puzzles or challenges. There’s a “Core” set of skills that have valuable things like drawing in LEGO studs from farther distances that were must-haves. There were also character class skills, but I didn’t think they were necessary. It's a nice addition, but the game’s already pretty easy.

In Conclusion

I adored playing LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga and plan to continue playing it to unlock more characters and perhaps play it with my local friends. I wish it had an online co-op, but that does not appear to be the case.

It’s a gorgeous game in every way. I loved flying around the galaxy and fighting evil, occasionally as evil. I was constantly awestruck by how cool the game looked, and there was never a dull moment. Thanks to the writing and visual gags the game offers, I still enjoyed the films I didn’t care for.

This is, without a doubt, the best LEGO game I’ve ever played.