Debuting at the Microsoft E3 2019 press conference, the LEGO Star Wars Skywalker Saga is looking to breathe new life in to the brick-built sci-fi series. While at first it may have come off as a cash grab remake, this is a brand new Star Wars LEGO game. Along with promises of the most interesting open-world yet, an overhauled combat system, and a complete look at the world’s most famous sci-fi saga, 2020 can’t come fast enough. While EA’s new Jedi game seems to have garnered all the attention over the last week or so, don’t count the new LEGO game out just yet. More details below.
What is LEGO Star Wars Skywalker Saga?
The LEGO Star Wars Skywalker Saga combines all of the core Star Wars films in to one open-world experience. That includes the soon-to-be-released Rise of Skywalker. While many of the earlier films have already been adapted into LEGO video games, the new Skywalker Saga is certainly not a bunch of remakes with a new chapter tagged on. In fact, the entire game is new and built from the ground up.
Nine Films Across One Open-Word:
Players will be able to bounce between stories, playing missions and side quests tied to various movies in the series at will. The entirety of the expense is spread across nine regions, each with a few explorable planets each. You start off by selecting one of the nine movies which will intern unlock the various environments/planets attached to it. However, once you start, say a second movie, all of those areas will be freely explorable. In other words, you can start some missions pertaining to Return of the Jedi and immediately bounce over to stories and experiences from another movie, once they have been initially selected from the menu screen. Players will experience familiar scenes from the films as well as other Star Wars related tasks and apparently over 500 side quests.
LEGO Star Wars Skywalker Saga Combat:
Both the basic game mechanics and combat have changed as well. While some of the past LEGO titles also used a brick built environment to house its stories and characters in, the LEGO Star Wars Skywalker Saga is not. However, hands-on reports of the game suggest it is a much more blocky environment than past LEGO Star Wars titles. According to the game’s producer, all of the spaceship interiors are rendered in virtual LEGO bricks, including the Death Star and other iconic locations.
Co-op and Camera Angles:
Like the past LEGO Star Wars games, the Skywalker Saga will once again support couch co-op. However, the camera angle is changing quite significantly. In acknowledgment that its core fan base is getting older, the team has opted for a more modern and mature over-the-shoulder angle. Early impressions seem to be reacting positive to the new viewing angle and the way it supports an enhanced combat system. Speaking of which, players will have Jedi Force abilities as well as light and heavy attacks, all of which can be used to create combos. Outside of the LEGO Ninjago Movie video game, there aren’t very many LEGO titles that have implemented this kind of depth in the combat system.
Set for release sometime in 2020, pre-orders are now live on all platforms at $59.99 shipped.
9to5Toy’s Take:
While to some degree it would have been nice to see it take on a brand new franchise instead of redoing Star Wars again, the changes here are impressive. The developers are looking to make the most interesting and jam-packed open-world in the series yet and the new combat mechanics might take this from a casual time killer to a fulfilling experience for parents too.
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