The test
LEGO and Star Wars is a love story that has lasted since 2005, when Lego Star Wars: The Video Game was released. Since then we have had Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy, Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga, Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars and Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Under these conditions, the release of a new episode once again taking up the scenarios of the various films may seem like a dubious marketing operation. But surprisingly, we are finally entitled to a very good game, which clearly surpasses all its predecessors.
There are some beautiful people at work on this production! The introductory parade features the logos of LEGO, TT Games, Warner Bros Games, Disney and Lucasfilm Games. The tone is set: we are dealing with a sum game, as evidenced by the menu dedicated to the choice of playable episodes. The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith, A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and The Rise of Skywalker: They Are come, they are all there! Any new game can start with the first episode of each trilogy, the other two are then unlocked by playing. In any case, the scenario generally and faithfully follows that of each film, even if certain cinematographic passages have been drastically shortened (sometimes even a little too much) and sequences dedicated to gameplay have been added. These fluidly mix combat, exploration, puzzles and mini-games. Quite regularly it is necessary to destroy elements made of bricks in order to build new ones (in a scripted and automatic way), and thus find a solution to overcome an obstacle.
The different gameplay elements are all successful, even if the level of difficulty is never very high. But the reverse would have been surprising and potentially problematic for a LEGO game that is primarily intended for children. Similarly, it would be inappropriate to complain about the fact that the more violent aspects of the films have been watered down. It’s a good thing here, especially since the general tone is clearly that of good-natured humour. Darth Vader doing push-ups on his LEGO hands, stormtroopers caught in the shower, in a jacuzzi, or in the middle of a Tai chi exercise, a simple toll barrier placed in space, fish on the heads of the heroes after they are underwater, Obi-Wan Kenobi looking suspiciously at his classic lightsaber after Darth Maul drew his double saber, or even the LEGO man mowing the lawn in the middle of a battle, there is no shortage of burlesque situations. If the game does not take itself seriously, it has nothing of the production treated over the leg. The full VF offers very convincing voices, while the graphics do not use the LEGO license as an excuse to settle for the minimum service. Very far from being ugly, the game displays beautiful light effects, many reflections, and detailed textures. We can also see the plastic “seams” of the figurines, and even the serial numbers and other information engraved on certain parts of their bodies. We hardly expected so much!
THE WEATED EGO
Following movie scripts is great, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The Skywalker Saga offers many side activities intended to extend the lifespan and appeal to collectors and other completionists. A simple glance in the menus allows for example to see that there are, among other things, 225 minikits to find in the scenery, 135 level challenges to complete, 140 secondary missions to complete and 731 puzzles to solve. And let’s not forget the 300 characters from the movies to unlock, as well as the hundred ships and mini-ships. For this, the best is to come back and explore the different levels in “free play” mode. Freed from the scriptwriting shackles, it becomes possible to embody any possessed hero and thus discover different paths, knowing that there are very often several ways to fulfill the objectives. We can thus enjoy more serenely the semi-open aspect of the environments and quietly fulfill the many requests of the inhabitants of each planet. This is also how we will manage to find all the Kyber bricks, which are used to improve the skills of the characters. The different heroes are grouped into ten distinct archetypes (Jedi, Hero, Raider, Rascal, Bounty Hunter, Villain, Dark Side, Astromecano Droid, Protocol Droid, Extra), each of these classes having its own talent tree. It is also one of the strengths of the game to offer us a relatively varied gameplay. Some types of characters shoot rifles, while others use lightsabers. Some are able to wield force to lift objects and swing them at enemies’ faces, and others can translate the languages of different planets. And if almost all are able to hit melee thanks to an easy-to-master combo system, only a handful can deploy glider or net-thrower type gadgets.
IS THIS LEGO GAME BIG?
The game is therefore extremely generous in all its aspects, especially since it does not forget to occasionally give us the controls of spaceships or to make us play the famous module race of the young Anakin Skywalker, for a result always varied and relatively long. You will see here and there some people talking about a lifespan limited to ten hours, but this statement is highly debatable, unless you play Sunday speedrunners. Instead, count 15 to 20 hours to complete the adventure by trying to enjoy it and watching all the cutscenes, and 30 to 60 hours to find most of the secrets and complete as many free mode objectives as possible. And it is obviously this aspect that must motivate the players, since following the main scenario will not necessarily surprise any movie buff or any follower of the previous LEGO Star Wars. Playing in co-op will certainly reduce these different durations, but in return you will have even more fun. The adventure is really designed for cooperation, since even in solo you always lead a team of characters, and it is necessary to regularly zap from one hero to another. As a result, it is really surprising and regrettable that the game ignores online coop, only the local mode being available. In terms of faults, we can also mention menus and an interface that are too busy and not always very practical. By dint of wanting to put too much in their game, the developers have somewhat forgotten the accessibility of this point of view. Nothing too bad, however, and it is better to have an adventure that is too full than not enough, especially in an anthological, or even integral, context like this one.
