Lego has used countless properties to create toys and video games, but Lego Star Wars is the magnificent mash-up that tops them all. The original Lego Star Wars game kicked off the modern Lego video game wave in 2005, and with Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga ($59.99) the circle is now complete. Not every brick cleanly fits together in this Nintendo Switch game, but TT Games’ comprehensive, kid-friendly recreation of the Star Wars galaxy is undeniably the biggest and best Lego game to date.
The Sacred Texts
Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga covers all nine, main Star Wars films. That’s a lot of material considering that each game "episode" runs about as long as each two-hour movie. Of course, the epic lightsaber battles and John Williams compositions are filtered through Lego’s charmingly comedic sensibilities. You can even turn on “Mumble Mode” to replace the spoken dialogue with grunts and noises from a slapstick silent film, like in the classic Lego games.
While nine movies is nothing to sneeze at, we've seen most of this in previous Lego Star Wars games. The Skywalker Saga is a wholly original game, not some kind of remake, but the only fresh Lego Star Wars reinventions here are The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker. Speaking of which, your individual affinity for specific movies may also influence how much fun you have. The Empire Strikes Back will always be more exciting than The Phantom Menace. Even stripped of its thematic depth in toy form, The Last Jedi remains a wonderful, soul-stirring experience. Fortunately, you don’t have to play the movies in order. You must start at the beginning of a trilogy (Episode I, IV, or VII), but can hop around from there.
With so many movies to draw from, the game gives you an absolutely massive roster with more than 300 characters and 100 vehicles to control. Make a squad featuring General Grievous and Kylo Ren as you fly across the galaxy in the freshly rebranded “Boba Fett’s Starship.” Quickly swap between available characters, so you’re always ready to become Emperor Sheev Palpatine. Cheat codes unlock even more choices, and DLC packs bring in characters from TV shows and side movies, such as The Mandalorian and Rogue One, respectively.
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This Is Where the Fun Begins
The Skywalker Saga polishes typical Lego gameplay to a glossy plastic sheen. Most impressive is the amount of gameplay variety; in many ways, the game is like baby’s first introduction to common AAA mechanics. You’ll still do the Lego thing of breaking apart objects to build a puzzle solution. However, you’ll also take part in agile, Tomb Raider-style puzzle-platforming, or stealth sequences where you must dress up like Stormtroopers with all the grace of Hitman’s Agent 47.
Whether playing solo or with a friend in local co-op action, you must take leverage your character’s abilities (typically determined by their class). Jedi use the Force to knock back enemy waves and lift items to new locations. As a protocol droid, C-3P0 translates unfamiliar languages. Rey creates new paths using her scavenger tools. Combat and puzzle sequences nicely flow into each other because you’re often using the same abilities in both contexts.
Speaking of combat, Skywalker Saga saga significantly revamps Lego’s famously simplistic combat options. Drawing influence from third-person shooters and character action games, you can now accurately blast Droid enemies or engage Sith warriors in thrilling duels. You can build cover while shooting, or swap your blaster for a stronger one. Melee fighters must vary their high-flying combo attacks or opponents will block the offensive flurry. Stylish camera angles during boss fights add gravitas to conflicts, despite the toy façade.
Show Me My Place In All This
The action takes place in an open world, a format that Lego games have experimented with for years (including in an upcoming metaverse collaboration with Epic Games). You can freely walk around planets, such as Exegol, Naboo, and Tatooine, or fly between them while engaging in outer space dog fights. These large levels look fantastic, with many structures being made of destructible Lego bricks. The game crashed once or twice, but overall performance was pretty stable even on Switch.
Despite some initial confusion, which I’ll discuss soon, the open world soon grew to be my favorite part of the experience. Side missions feel organic. Talking to the right, plucky droid soon became a titanic struggle against a First Order flagship, for example. I had to destroy the Tie Fighters outside, and board the ship to defeat the enemies inside, like a pirate in Assassin’s Creed IV. There’s even a dance party space station.
You’ll collect Kyber Brick currency to upgrade stats, such as Health and Power, as you explore the world and complete mission. In addition, you can funnel points into the dark side to make everyone afraid of you. You don’t need to engage with this progression system, since these games have to be easy enough for children to play, but it does keep you invested even after you’ve finished the main campaign.
In fact, the open world almost turns the main campaign into an afterthought. The linear action-adventure sequences, recreating movie moments like the Battle of Hoth or Death Star trench run, are great fun. However, they feel at odds with the freedom you expect from an open world. It turns planets into little more than glorified hubs where you run to the next marker to begin your next mission. Although there are some clever side missions, the campaign content makes up the bulk of the game, leaving the open world feeling underutilized.
Beyond that, you must play through a campaign before you can visit its planets in the open world. Therefore, I wanted to get through the campaign as fast as possible to have a complete galaxy to explore in the postgame that I found more enjoyable. Even thinking about a postgame in a Lego game feels strange. Still, even without an open world, this campaign would stand out among Lego games. The open world just gives extra hours of awesome playtime I truly did not expect to receive.
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The Force Will Be With You, Always
Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga’s construction is a bit wonky, perhaps due to the increased scope (and multiple delays). However, its pieces, from reliving nostalgic movie moments to creating your own adventures in the free universe, are some of the most fun you’ll have in a Lego game or a Star Wars game.
For more recommended Nintendo Switch titles, check out The Best Nintendo Switch Games and The Best Nintendo Switch Games for Kids. For in-depth video game talk, visit PCMag's Pop-Off YouTube channel.
Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga packs the nine, mainline films into a galaxy-spanning, kid-friendly, open-world toybox.
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