Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is better when it’s creative

Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is a nostalgic adventure that takes place not only on the films that inspired it, but on the Lego Star Wars series itself. The game oscillates between cinematic precision – with levels pulled out of the movies – and the fun between Star Wars miniseries. But the game is ultimately at its best as it doesn’t worry too much about emulating the movies perfectly and instead focuses on showing fans something new.

In Skywalker Saga, Each numbered Star Wars episode is only five linear levels long, and each level is only a small part of the overall story of the movie. The remainder of each episode consists of an open-world adventure where the player flies through space or roams the planets to solve puzzles, ride cars, visit iconic locations and learn the broader lore of the area.

In many cases, this can lead to some pretty fun Lego vignettes. A stroll through Luke, Owen and Beru’s home on Tatooine – complete with the iconic droid maintenance room – really hits that nostalgic touch. Strolling outside their home and unlocking bonus upgrades by chasing Womp Mouse feels like a fun and natural extension of that meaningful space.

But these large levels are too often used to shuffle the story forward like it happens in the movies. I’ll fly down to Ahch-To just to follow Luke from The Last Jedi around for a bit, and then leave. Instead of rolling out exciting levels, some mission objectives will just continue the story, showing a scene reconstructed with Lego bricks. Much of the game’s dialogue is even taken verbatim from the movies – even with some funny Lego-based goofs.

Image: TT Game / WB Game / Disney Game / Lucasfilm

While I watch movies to engage in lore and aesthetic sci-fi, the game gives me the opportunity to actually play around this world. And this is where the scope of Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga Real work. I love that TT Games has built every meaningful Star Wars planet that appears in the movie, and I can certainly explore all of them. But do I need another Death Star track run? To be this really racing? I know Gungans’ side in the battle against the droid army is important, but is it fun to play? The answer to all of these questions is no, and Lego star wars is best when it is significantly different from the cinematic source material.

I have the most fun with Skywalker Saga as it finds interest in the film’s dubious scenarios and gives me the opportunity to explore areas where the numbered story hasn’t. I love protecting the Millennium Falcon in A new hope, where I jumbled the trash together amid waves of Stormtroopers. I had a blast playing a much more expansive battle of Endor with Wicket and Chewie, as the movie mostly focuses on the Shield Generator sequence. Even Rise of Skywalkerworst movie of the series by parsing, hits a great level in the Rey and Kylo hybrid puzzle/fighting throughout Death Star being destroyed on Kef Bir.

Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker SagaLevel selection of feels inconsistent. TT Games often ventures out of the way to introduce a new angle to the Star Wars events we all know, but it also fell apart under pressure to perfect some of the most iconic moments in the series. film history. The game works well enough as a Star Wars simulator, but it works even better when it comes to discovering the unseen. When I think back Skywalker SagaMy great journey, I know I’ll miss the eerie puzzle-filled adventure through the Geonosis droid factory more than the iconic battle against Count Dooku himself.