Test – Lego Star Wars: the Skywalker saga – The best episode of the license | Xbox One

The video game history of the Lego brand began in 2005 with the release of Lego Star Wars: the video game. Original and refreshing, this first opus has built the foundations of a license that has never ceased to offer new experiences during these 17 years, drawing from great cinema sagas such as Harry Potter, the Lord of the Rings, Marvel, DC Comics or Jurassic Park. Obviously, the license has evolved to offer new features to players. The most important was the addition of open worlds or hubs to explore large environments filled with secondary missions and other puzzles to find coins and golden bricks. A new change was expected, and this Lego Star Wars: the Skywalker saga has everything the perfect candidate to achieve it.

A saga full of bricks

If most of the films in the Star Wars saga have already benefited from a Lego brick version, the last two feature films had so far escaped it. Here no jealousy, the prelogy (episodes I, II and III), the original trilogy (episodes IV, V and VI) and the postlogy (episodes VII, VIII and IX) are all present.

The developers at TT Games have not skimped on the content offered to us. The scenario of each episode is respected and we take real pleasure in finding our favorite characters in order to dive again into the universe created by Georges Lucas. Note that it is possible to start a game with the trilogy of your choice. If episode I, the Phantom Menace, seems to be the most logical choice, some purists may prefer to follow the order of release of the films.

In the past, Lego Star Wars games used to offer us a central hub from where it was possible to launch six levels per episode. Now the progression is much more scripted. We move from planet to planet, each having the shape of a more or less large area that we can freely explore at any time. There, a quest marker tells us where to go or who to talk to in order to trigger a cutscene or launch a mission.

On the other hand, if in the old episodes, each level was quite long, the observation is a little different here. Already, some of the events are simply processed through the exploration area and are therefore not part of any level. The number of levels per episode is also reduced, going from six to five, and the latter are also much shorter. However, they remain of good quality and we will not sulk our pleasure in completing them. On the other hand, the treatment and the construction of the levels seemed less neat to us for the prelogy than for the rest of the saga.

In a straight line, count about an hour per episode, or about ten hours to complete the story mode. The duration of the latter seems correct to us, we remain within the standards of Lego games, to which we can then add the large secondary part. Indeed, Lego Star Wars: the Skywalker saga is no exception to the rule and offers us a slew of additional content. We find the minikits or quotas of parts to recover by level, but this time challenges come with them. Their objectives are hidden and it’s up to us to find out what to do or spend some coins to get clues. Added to this, the planets are full of side missions or puzzles to collect kyber bricks, character or vehicle tokens and bonuses to use afterwards (X2 coins, Invincibility, etc.).

Clearly, there is plenty to do and we have a huge cast with just under 400 characters and just over a hundred vehicles.

Revamped gameplay

Intended for the general public, including the youngest, Lego games have always been keen to offer very accessible gameplay, while adding a few puzzles to progress. The scheme has thus remained generally the same since 2005. The destruction of Lego objects most often gives us valuable parts, but it can also allow us to then build other objects in order to advance further in the level. The characters also have their own skills to solve puzzles, sometimes in the form of QTE. As Lego games were released, new skills appeared to be then reused or not in the following games. Like its predecessors, Lego Star Wars: the Skywalker saga also brings its share of novelties. We can cite for example the fact of moving on certain walls using our lightsaber, or the tools of the “looter” type characters.

But this new Lego game doesn’t just add new skills. The biggest change in gameplay mainly comes from the addition of a TPS aiming mode and a cover system. Thus, blaster clashes become more lively than in the past, even if we remain on a fairly simplistic experience, far from the tenors of the genre such as Gears of War. Nevertheless, this addition is most significant and brings a welcome breath of fresh air to the gameplay of the license.

Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga also sees the return of combos. Thus, it is possible to vary the attacks of our character between the X, A and B keys. Each hit then raises a gauge of combos, rewarded by obtaining coins. On the other hand, we may regret the lack of interest in varying the shots, since this is not taken into account in the speed of progression of the gauge. The only time to vary his attack remains useful is during certain clashes with tougher opponents (especially bosses) in order to prevent the enemy from parrying our blows. To talk more specifically about bosses, Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga has way too many of them. Unfortunately, they are also very similar, which can be boring in the long run.

Latest novelty of the game, it is now possible to improve its characters. Thus, with coins and kyber bricks, we have the opportunity, for example, to extend the sprint time, increase the damage or even detect certain treasures around us. Without upsetting the whole license, this addition is a good surprise and adds a slight RPG dimension to the title.

Finally, note that as with the rest of the Lego license, it is possible to play up to two players in split screen. Player 2 can then join and leave the game at any time without any loading, perfect to offer a little help to his child for example. On the other hand, it is still not possible to play online co-op.

A happy brick-a-brac

Star Wars obliges, the soundtrack of the game must be up to the movies. No need to worry on this side, Lego Star Wars: the Skywalker saga restores the most legendary themes of the saga (Duel of Fates, The Imperial March, Battle of the Heroes, etc.). The sound effects are not to be outdone, whether it is the alarms of the imperial stations, the firing of blasters or the Jawas without forgetting the famous cry of Wilhelm omnipresent in the saga.

The game has, as for a few episodes, a full VF. Unfortunately, if some characters are dubbed by the official voices (Obi-Wan, Padmé, Palpatine or even Mace Windu) there are many missing and the quality of some dubbing remains quite uneven. But let fans of early Lego games be reassured, Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga takes you back in time with the return of “Mumbling”. Once this option is activated, the dialogues are then replaced by mumblings and sound effects, as was the case in the first games of the franchise.

Visually, we feel that a milestone has been reached, this Lego Star Wars: the Skywalker saga is much prettier than its predecessors. The textures are finer and more detailed, but it is above all through the play of shadow and light that the title sometimes comes to flatter our retinas. In addition, the different planets (and there are many of them) are perfectly restored and faithful to the original work.

It is accompanied by this audio-visual mix, that the game regularly bombards us with humor specific to the license. Mainly highlighted in the various cinematics, the developers never hesitate to parody certain passages of the original work to add anything and everything. The result is still just as good and we regularly have fun with what we see and hear.

Tested on Xbox Series X.