Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga preview

You might argue that the Lego games are a little bit samey, like a mould that gets used for each franchise. But that’s history with the biggest update and overhaul to date. Find out how in our Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga preview.

It’s a little bit hard to believe that the first Lego Star Wars game came out nearly 15 years ago. The Skywalker Saga is the seventh in the series but there have also been plenty of other Lego video games from Lord of the Rings, to Harry Potter, to Avengers.

As much as we’ve loved many of the Lego games over the years, the franchise had really reached a point when you pretty much knew what you were going to get once you put the disc in (or downloaded it). Sometimes we even felt like we were playing on auto-pilot not really paying much attention.

This all changes with The Skywalker Saga because Warner Bros had gone to town on the gameplay and the world of Lego Star Wars here. And we’re grateful because it brings fresh life to something potentially getting a bit monotonous.

Note that the demo we saw at E3 2019 was hands-off so we saw one of the developers take us through the game.

It wouldn’t be a Lego game without some fun and humour so that’s still there gladly, along with collecting bits and all the elements that make a Lego game what it is. Serious innovation in the way the game works is what is exciting here.

For starters, you can play the worlds (all nine films), in any order you like for the first time – from the off. So can nerd out with chronological order, the order the films were released, completely random or whatever you like.

The world’s will adapt correctly to where you are in the time-line so visit Tatooine in different episodes and the characters you meet will be different. It’s open-world so you can go where you like and even explore planets, getting into random dog fights on the way.

What’s more important is that the world of Lego Star Wars has had a serious upgrade. A complete refresh if you like. Things might look similar at first but look closely and there are layers of extra detail.

The Lego has scuff marks and walk around in some sand and you’ll get covered in the stuff. There are new movements and interactions and you can do fun things like break someone in half, moving around without legs.

Everything looks stunning in the demo we were shown and feels very new. The camera is also closer in so the action feels more real.

There are hundreds of playable characters (with optional co-op), more than ever, and there will also be random interactions rather than scripted ones. Any Lego you come across is breakable and you can also drive any vehicle you find, and that includes beasts.

Combat has also been upgraded and is much more complex, with numbers flying off bad guys as health bars are reduced. You can shoot enemies in different parts of their bodies and weapons are no longer locked on so aiming is more skillful.

Melee fighting is also reinvented so you can create your own combos as you fight. You’ll get style points for coming up with good ones. Gone are the days of spamming one button to defeat your foes.

One of the reasons we had a hands-off look at the game is because Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga isn’t arriving until 2020 (The Rise of Skywalker film arrives in December) so you’ll have to play some other games in the meantime.

When it does launch, it will be on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC and Nintendo Switch.

Also check out our previews for Luigi’s Mansion 3,  Pokémon Sword and Shield,  Zelda: Link’s Awakening,  Gears 5,  DOOM Eternal,  Watch Dogs Legion and  Ghost Recon Breakpoint.

Early Verdict

We may have only seen someone else play for a while but Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga looks to be the refresh that the franchise needed.

This is all the good bits that made the series so popular, with huge upgrades to all the bits that have become a bit stale and repetitive.

We love the open-world feel, with the ability to play the episodes in any order. Then there’s the way the whole game works in terms of the characters, vehicles and combat that makes it very exciting.

This looks like one for those who have played previous games but also anyone who hasn’t played any, too.