If you’re a fan of the LEGO Star Wars games, there’s a pretty good chance that you’ve already helped a mini-fig-styled Princess Leia get the Death Star plans safely off of the Tantive IV, surrounded by mini-fig Stormtroopers… at least once.
However, that iconic scene is heading back to consoles next month with the launch of LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. We got to attend a gameplay preview of this revamped LEGO anthology adventure, and it’s packed with upgrades and adventures that are sure to entice new and old LEGO Star Wars gamers alike.
Within the game, players can drop into the nine-episode Skywalker Saga at any point they’d like, thanks to a menu made up of animated dioramas that indicate each episode. Want to play in release order? Go for it. Or are you a chronological die-hard who would prefer to start at Episode I? Also doable.
Once you select an episode, players land right inside the action. Of course, many of these scenes and characters will be familiar, but there are plenty of new features and upgrades. For example, the interiors of every starship are made up entirely of LEGO. As they navigate the tale of the Skywalker Saga, players can use different button combinations to utilize different attacks. Better combos = more studs and (as any LEGO video game lover will know) collecting studs is a key element in beating the game. In this game, the True Jedi meter is broken into three sections, and you get a collectible for completing each section.
In LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, players also have a lot of freedom in how they complete the game. Often, there are multiple paths to success that players can choose from, one often requiring more combat while the other may require more logic. Another new addition for this game is level challenges — three on each level, to be exact.
Along with the main, movie-inspired adventure of the game, The Skywalker Saga offers drop-in, drop-out gameplay. Fans can travel to different planets using the Galaxy Map, and while flying between planets you can take on Smuggling Run quests by going into the orbit of other ships and destroy Kyber Comets to collect Kyber Bricks. These Kyber Bricks (which you can also collect throughout the game’s main levels) can be used to purchase upgrades in the game.
Of course, the game also maintains the sense of humor that has always been a main tentpole of LEGO video games — The iconic Stormtrooper hot tub makes an appearance, and you can unlock a special effect called “galaxy rave” that turns the entire game into a giant party, complete with Star Wars-themed dance music.
Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga will be available for the Nintendo Switch, Xbox, Steam, and PlayStation on April 5. You can preorder the game at the links below.
