Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

This is an ambitious game that should more than satisfy fans of both Star Wars and Lego franchises. Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is fun, hilarious, accessible and packed with content that can take a very long time to fully experience. But it's not without its issues, such as some repetitive and redundant missions, an expansive universe that can be both exciting and boring depending on where you are, and perhaps a "deja vu" experience for those who've played previous Lego Star Wars games. There are also some bugs, too, which should be squashed soon. Still, playing this is a blast. While you can complete stories and visit locations in any order, you'll start with Episode IV: A New Hope. Playing as Princess Leia, R2-D2, C-3PO inside a spaceship is fun, and you get a sense of the teamwork needed to complete missions, but the real fun is when you land on Tatooine and realize how much more open these worlds are compared to previous Lego Star Wars games. You can hop in a vehicle or run around on foot and explore the lands, including running into Sand People camps, visiting Stormtrooper-run areas, and watching Jawas go about their business. It's a blast for fans, and the sense of freedom is refreshing: a mini-map shows where you are, where you need to go, and other important info, so younger players shouldn't be overwhelmed by these big areas.

The main storylines, and side-missions, all tie into a larger story arc, but the openness of your options feels incredible. Speaking of the scope of the game, there are about 300 characters in total (not including the seven DLC packs with extras, like The Mandalorian and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) and more than 1,000 collectible bricks (and many other goodies to find). But it's true that some areas are less exciting (especially when you need to travel for a while to get to where you're going, sometimes without a vehicle option), plus some quests are more memorable than others. There were also some issues with continuity and progression between the movie chapters that will supposedly be fixed with an update. But the game's Free Play mode is perfect once you complete the main 45 story missions (five per movie). The cooperative (co-op) option is fun on the same screen, and works as smoothly as previous games in the franchise. Combat is better with two instead of one and many of the puzzles require some help. Finally, Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is a great-looking game, played from a third-person view, with high-quality character models, huge set pieces, colorful lighting effects, and silky smooth animation. It sounds great, too, including great music, crisp sound effects, and impressive (soundalike) voice actors. Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga really is a great game for novice and seasoned players alike. What it lacks in consistency it makes up for in ambition (and does trade depth for breadth), which is fine for the core age group of this title.