Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga Galactic Edition brings more characters to the fun

Title: Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga Galactic Edition
Developer: Traveler’s Tales
Publisher: Warner Bros.
Platforms: Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Steam (anywhere but Mac)
Release Date: April 5, 2022 (Galactic Edition released November 1, 2022)

I’ll admit it: Lego games are some of my favorite games. They’re a guilty pleasure, though I’ve never felt guilty about it. One of the most memorable games I played on the Xbox 360 was Lego Star Wars 2, then Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga. The first game I ever got platinum on the PlayStation 4 was Lego Marvel Super Heroes. I was 18.

There are few games that have impacted my childhood as much. And while it may seem crazy to say: Lego Star Wars is the second most important Star Wars game I ever played, the first being Knights of the Old Republic (please note, KoTR is leagues above). So an opportunity to review the game when it comes full circle? The Force was calling to me.

And the Galactic Edition? Listen, I’m not one to tell you how to spend your money, but I can’t imagine a total Star Wars fan (and Lego fan at that) going for anything less than that. Here’s what comes in the package.

Character Collection 1

• Classic
• Trooper
• Mandalorian Season 1
• Mandalorian Season 2
• The Bad Batch
• Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
• Solo: A Star Wars Story

Character Collection 2

• Star Wars: The Clone Wars (November 1)
• LEGO Star Wars Summer Vacation (November 1)
• Obi-Wan Kenobi (November 15)
• Rebels (November 15)
• Andor (November 29)
• The Book of Boba Fett (November 29)

Now, of course, you don’t need all these character packs to 100% the game. But wouldn’t it be awesome to have the Mandalorian face off against Anakin Skywalker in Episode III? Maybe I’m reaching. The character packs aren’t for everybody, but I look at character packs the same way I actually buy my Lego sets. Yeah, I want to get that fancy set, but if it isn’t going to add a lot of new Lego characters to my collection, chances are, I’m probably going to purchase something else first.

Lego games have evolved over the years to the point where they offer far more than just hack-and-slash brick collecting. They now offer skill trees, side quests, and an open hub where you can tackle any mission you want with characters that will get you that ever-so-elusive minikit. They’ve had fully-fledged voice acting for more than a decade. They’re a complete experience, and more addictive than ever before. So no, this isn’t the Lego Star Wars I remember, in fact, it’s better.

Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga does this more than any Lego game previously. It is TT Games’ most ambitious project yet, in terms of both scale and graphical fidelity. The game comes with more than 300 playable characters, 100 vehicles, and of course, 9 films reimagined in all their Lego glory. Of course, that’s what we expect out of a Lego game, but Traveler’s Tales sought to provide more than just content.

At first glance

Control is tighter: The game isn’t going to compete with Fallen Jedi for best combat, but it’s made advances in its own right. You now have total control over your firearm when controlling a character carrying a blaster. That means I can finally shoot the chair I intended to blast instead of accidentally mowing down three innocent bystanders in order to get to it. I’ve murdered many a bartender at the cantina. Camera angles have also changed, which provides the player with a better view of not only the action but their movement as well, it reminds me a bit of games like Assassin’s Creed. Everything in The Skywalker Saga feels improved, and nothing seems to have been recycled from previous Lego Star Wars games. It is clearly an improvement on every single formula, and while some things may work, and others may benefit from tinkering in the future, you cannot claim that the developer got lazy.

Action more fluid: As I previously mentioned better control over the blaster, the combat in the game feels less automated, and puts the player in almost total control. From throwing the lightsaber in any direction you intend to throw it, from targeting specific enemies, and even being able to use cover as a character with a blaster, The Skywalker Saga truly makes the player feel as if they’re taking part in this space epic, and I’m here for every moment of it.

The world is just incredibly large: I began my journey like any sensible person would do, and started at Episode I: The Phantom Menace, prepared to force my way through to the final trilogy. But even at the beginning of the game, you begin to notice just how much TT has there for you to do. The minute you open up the menu, you see list after list of things to unlock, missions to complete, and powers to upgrade. For me, it’s a completionist’s dream, for others, it may appear to be a bloated nightmare.