LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga was announced at the Microsoft Xbox E3 Briefing over the summer, and we are beyond excited to see the franchise return to console.
For the first time ever players can start the game at any point in the Star Wars timeline (since the game spans all nine films), so fans can jump in anywhere from A New Hope to The Rise of Skywalker.
If you’re here for the facts, then look no further. This piece is devoted to everything Star Wars and will be updated weekly with new information.
The Skywalker Saga: A new hope for video games
The Skywalker Saga is bridging the gap between photo-realism and Lego, making this game so much more than a family-friendly adventure. The upcoming game includes stories from all nine Star Wars films, including action from the upcoming film Episode IX.
Playing LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens back in 2016, I found that it was an oddly incomplete experience. The whole film was there, compressed into Lego form, and there were even extra missions and clips included to pad it out, yet it still felt a little too brief for a Lego game considering how the experiences typically cover a whole movie trilogy.
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LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga feels like a direct response to that – and the appropriate next step for a video game series that has evolved so much since the very first edition, released nearly 15 years back.
The Skywalker Saga demo shown at E3 2019 confirmed that large open worlds will be making a return here, so you’ll need to reference the Galaxy Map in order to navigate between them.
The map has grown far larger, and you are able to choose from multiple destinations on a single planet, such as Tatooine, Mos Eisley, Mos Espa or Anchorhead.
The multitude of map locations and story progressions put the reigns of the game in the hands of the player, and we’re absolutely living for it.
Release Date
The Skywalker Saga is planned to launch sometime in 2020, though neither TT Games nor Warner Bros. has specified when exactly this will be.
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It is pretty hard to pin down a pattern in the release dates of previous Lego video games without any teasers, so we’re playing it by ear for now.
What we do know, however, is that the game will release for the Xbox One, PS4, Nintendo Switch and PC.
Characters
TT Games promise to feature “every Star Wars character you can think of” in its playable roster, so expect to be able to choose from a list of hundreds of playable characters.
The characters also behave with that tongue-in-cheek humour that we have grown to love from TT Games – like when C-3PO gets split in half and runs around longingly searching for his upper half.
All of this will come together to build an authentic Star Wars adventure that’s going to be pretty unforgettable.
Visuals
The camera has been brought in closer to the characters, heightening the sense of scale and giving you a better view of the stunning vistas.
You can also completely control the camera for the first time, meaning you can check out the detailing on the characters’ clunky yet crisp aesthetic.
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The environments you interact with also have unique impacts on the characters; sand can cause wear and tear on the characters and get their clothes full of dirt and dust.
It’s a level of detail that we’ve not seen in a LEGO game before, but it goes to show just how much the gameplay and graphics have evolved since the last game.
It’s not all style and no substance either – combat combinations, for example, are now a huge focus for the game (and you’re even given the option of making your own).
Enemies will now have health bars, as shooting different parts of their bodies will have different damage scored attached to them, so you’ll need to be a little more precise with your weapons.
Play with friends
Just like in previous lego games, the Skywalker Saga will be supporting local co-op play, but we haven’t received word on whether online multiplayer will be available.
