Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Sagais a 2022Lego-themedaction-adventure gamedeveloped byTraveller's Talesand published byWarner Bros. Games.It is the sixth installment in theLego Star Warsvideo game series. The game adapts all nine entries in theSkywalker Sagaseries of films, with additional characters based on otherStar Warsfilms and television series released asDLC.

Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
Developer(s)	Traveller's Tales
Publisher(s)	Warner Bros. Games
Director(s)	James McLoughlin
Producer(s)	James Norton
Designer(s)	Arthur Parsons
Programmer(s)	Ben Klages
Artist(s)	John Lomax
Writer(s)	James Pugh
Composer(s)	Simon Withenshaw
Series	Lego Star Wars
Engine	NTT
Platform(s)	Nintendo Switch PlayStation 4 PlayStation 5 Windows Xbox One Xbox Series X/S
Release	5 April 2022
Genre(s)	Action-adventure
Mode(s)	Single-player,multiplayer

Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Sagawas released on 5 April 2022 forNintendo Switch,PlayStation 4,PlayStation 5,Windows,Xbox One,andXbox Series X/S.It received generally favorable reviews from critics, with praise for its graphics, level design and humor; mixed opinions were directed at its side content and combat, while its technical issues and lack of onlineco-opwere criticized. The game sold more than 3.2 million copies within two weeks of its release.

Gameplay

Unlike mostLego video games,in which players have to advance through the story in a linear order, players can choose to start the game from any of the threeSkywalker Sagatrilogies and complete them in any order they wish.All nine episodes of the Skywalker Saga are represented in the game, in comparison to the first six episodes (I-VI) represented inLego Star Wars: The Complete Saga(2007). Each episode contains five main story missions, totaling 45 levels, as opposed to six levels in previous games. There are also short pre-levels between the five main levels that advance the story forward but do not feature collectibles like minikits or True Jedi. Combat has been revamped from previous titles, such as lightsaber wielders now using a variety of combos with light attacks, heavy attacks, and Force moves, and blaster characters having anover-the-shouldercamera. The game features 380 playable characters, not necessarily restricted to the nine Skywalker Saga films.

Similar toLego Star Wars: The Force Awakens(2016), the game's hub is not a single area, such as the Mos Eisley Cantina inLego Star Wars: The Complete Saga,but a wide range of fully explorable planets filled with many iconicStar Warslandmarks. Planets and moons featured in the game includeNaboo,Tatooine,Coruscant,Kamino,Geonosis,Kashyyyk,Utapau,Mustafar,Yavin 4,Hoth,Dagobah,Bespin,Endor,Jakku,Takodana,D'Qar,Starkiller Base,Ahch-To,Cantonica,Crait,Ajan Kloss,Pasaana,Kijimi,Kef Bir,andExegol.Many ships have freely explorable areas in the hub as well, such asStar Destroyersand theDeath Star.Random encounters may occur in the game's hub world. For example, an Imperial Star Destroyer could suddenly jump out of hyperspace and send a fleet ofTIE fightersafter the player. Players can choose to engage indogfightswith them or continue onward to progress the story.

Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Sagadoes not feature a character customization tool unlike many previous Lego video games.The game also includes Mumble Mode, an extra feature allowing players to switch between the game's original voice acting and having the characters mumble and grunt, akin to the style of older Lego video games.

Development

The game marks the final acting credit of voice actorTom Kane,due to a forced retirement in the wake of his stroke in November 2020.

The Walt Disney CompanyandLucasfilmhad not shared significant details of the filmStar Wars: The Rise of Skywalkerwith the game team before the film's release. In the meantime,TT Gamesworked on other aspects of the game until Lucasfilm shared more details.The game is developed in TT Games' new proprietary game engine, NTT (pronounced "entity" ).

On 20 January 2022, a report published byPolygondetailed the amount ofcrunchthat occurred since the game began development back in late 2017, including dozens inside the company being at odds with management, due to expressing frustration over tight development schedules, the company's crunch culture, and outdated development tools.In addition, the use of NTT was controversial within the company, as many employees had been pushing to instead useUnreal Engine.NTT turned out to be incredibly difficult to use, with some animations taking hours more to produce than they would on the old engine. As a result,Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Sagawould end up being the only game developed by Traveller's Tales to use NTT, with the company deciding to use Unreal Engine going forward for their future projects.

LikeLego Star Wars: The Force Awakens,Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Sagafeatures original voice acting, with some actors reprising their roles from thefilmsandtelevision series.

Release

Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Sagawas first teased to be in development byLucasfilmsound editorMatthew WoodatStar Wars Celebration Chicago.An announcement trailer premiered atE3 2019during Microsoft's press conference. A second trailer showing one scene from all nine movies was released on 20 December to coincide with the release ofThe Rise of Skywalker.

On 7 May 2020, the release date was revealed as 20 October 2020 through a trailer posted on the officialStar WarsYouTubechannel.On the same day, the original video was made private and a new video, in which the release date was cut out, was uploaded.AtGamescom: Opening Night Livein August 2020, it was announced that the game would release in Q1/Q2 2021 with additional versions on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.On 2 April 2021, it was announced that the game had been delayed, with no further release window specified.On 25 August 2021, duringGamescom,a second gameplay trailer was released along with the announcement that the game will be released in early 2022.On 20 January 2022, a gameplay trailer was released, officially revealing the release date as 5 April 2022.

Before release, players were able to pre-order either the standard or deluxe edition of the game. The latter comes with all additional character packs, and aLuke Skywalkerminifigurewith "blue milk".

In May 2022, a month after the game was released, a patch was pushed out to address major glitches and added the Venator,Invisible Hand,Home Oneand theFulminatrixas new unlockable capital ships.

Downloadable content

On 7 March 2022, sevenDLCpacks were announced, which were released in the weeks following the game's launch.These initial DLC make up theCharacter Collection 1and are included in the Deluxe Edition and the later-releasedGalactic Edition.

• A classicObi-Wan Kenobiis included as an exclusive character for any digital purchases, including pre-orders.
• On 5 April, four character packs were released alongside the base game.The MandalorianSeason 1adds five playable characters:Din Djarin,Greef Karga,Cara Dune,IG-11,andKuiil;Groguis also included as a non-playable companion for Djarin.Solo: A Star Wars Storyfeatures younger versions ofHan Solo,Chewbacca,andLando Calrissian(as seen in the film), as well asQi'ra,Tobias Beckett,and Enfys Nest.Classic Charactersadds the original minifigure versions ofLuke Skywalker,Princess Leia,Han Solo,Darth Vader,and Lando Calrissian.Trooper Packincludes fivestormtrooperspecialist variants: the Death Trooper, Incinerator Trooper, Range Trooper, Imperial Shore Trooper, and Mimban Stormtrooper. The latter two packs were only made available at launch to players who had pre-ordered the game, and were released for purchase individually at later dates:Classic Characterson 19 April, andTrooper Packon 4 May (Star Wars Day).
• On 19 April, theRogue One: A Star Wars Storycharacter pack was released, addingJyn Erso,Bodhi Rook,Cassian Andor,K-2SO,Chirrut Îmwe, Baze Malbus, andOrson Krennicto the game.
• On 4 May, the final two character packs were released.The Mandalorian Season 2includes the playable charactersAhsoka Tano,Boba Fett,Bo-Katan Kryze,Fennec Shand,andMoff Gideon,whileThe Bad Batchadds Hunter, Wrecker, Tech, Crosshair, and Echo.

On 9 September 2022, at the2022 D23 Expo Presentation,aGalactic Editionof the game was announced, which was released on 1 November 2022. This version comes with the first seven DLC packs and a newCharacter Collection 2,which contains six new character packs, all of which were also made available for purchase separately, though some at later dates.

• On 1 November,The Clone WarsandLego Star Wars: Summer VacationTV Specialpacks were released. The former includesCaptain Rex,Darth Maul,Asajj Ventress,Savage Opress,andGar Saxon,while the latter features holiday-themed versions of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Darth Vader,Finn,Emperor Palpatine,andR2-D2.
• On 15 November, theRebelsandObi-Wan Kenobipacks were released. The former introducesSabine Wren,Ezra Bridger,Grand Admiral Thrawn,Kanan Jarrus,andHera Syndulla,while the latter includes new variations of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader (based on their appearances in the show), as well as the Third Sister, theGrand Inquisitor,and theFifth Brother.
• On 29 November, the final two packs were released.Andorfeatures the playable characters Cassian Andor, Luthen Rael, Syril Karn, Dedra Meero, and Bix Caleen, whileThe Book of Boba FettaddsBlack Krrsantan,Cad Bane,Cobb Vanth,Peli Motto,andThe Armorerto the game.
• On 4 May 2023, an in-game DLC was released that features "Luke Starkiller", a concept character created byRalph McQuarriewho would later evolve into Luke Skywalker.

Reception

Reception

Aggregate score

Aggregator	Score
Metacritic	NS: 82/100 PC: 78/100 PS5: 82/100 XONE: 76/100 XSXS: 82/100

Review scores

Publication	Score
Destructoid	7.5/10
Electronic Gaming Monthly
Game Informer	8/10
GameRevolution
GameSpot	7/10
GamesRadar+
IGN	8/10
Nintendo Life
PC Gamer(US)	77/100
Push Square
Shacknews	9/10
The Guardian
Pure Xbox

Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Sagareceived "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregatorMetacritic.

IGNgave the game an 8 out of 10, saying "LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Sagaprovides some rollicking reimaginings ofStar Wars's most iconic moments and seats them inside a series of interplanetary playgrounds that are dense with discovery and entertaining diversions. "Destructoidgave the game a 7.5 out of 10 and wrote, "Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Sagadoesn't reinvent the wheel and the subject matter is limited because the narrative mostly adheres to the film trilogies [...] but it's a fun way to relive them as an adult and show them to kids at the same time. "Game Informerpraised the game's story-focused levels, combat, and character unlocks, stating, "While nailing the little moments, the immense scale of the project appears to have been too wide for TT Games to harness, as some of the content is uncharacteristically dull or uneven [...] Despite being periodically uneventful, theSkywalker Sagais a thorough and fun examination of all three Star Wars movie trilogies. "Shacknewsgave the title a 9 out of 10, praising its humor, combat features, voice acting, and visuals while taking minor issue with the excessive collectibles and challenges.Nintendo Lifealso praised its campaign, pacing, side content,co-op,humor, and music while criticizing some performance issues.Push Squaresimilarly praised the game while lamenting occasional camera issues, performance dips, and the lack of online co-op.Pure Xboxlikewise criticized the lack of online co-op, but did not notice any performance issues, and praised the graphics as well as its "endlessly enjoyable gameplay".Kotakucalled it "one of the bestStar Warsgames ever made ", praising its graphics and humor.

EGMcriticized the game for not including a more streamlined gameplay loop and coherent map system, but concluded that "Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Sagaembraces a lot of what made earlier Lego games fun and a few that made them frustrating, while adding a new layer of polish and flair that's sure to please fans. "GameRevolutionstated that the game "does more than enough right" but noted that its scope was "undermined by the lackluster implementation of certain ideas that are supposed to be its big selling points, such as its improved combat and new camera angle."GameSpotlauded the combat mechanics, roster of character types, visuals, and humor, but criticized some "empty" campaign objectives, repetitive content in hub areas, and limited character upgrades.GamesRadar+commended the "gorgeous" visuals, multiplayer mode, and the amount of content on offer, but felt that the gameplay was too simplistic, concluding, "[The Skywalker Saga] is funny, playable, technically stupendous, massive and immensely authentic, it's just a shame it feels so shallow and childish at times. "PC Gamercriticized the combat and boss fights as feeling elongated, the lack of online co-op, and lamented the reported crunch during development, but ultimately stated, "The Skywalker Sagais an impressive package, successfully adapting some of the most iconic sci-fi movies of all time with equal amounts playful mockery of and loving adherence to the source material. "

Sales

It had the biggest launch of aLegogame onSteam.The retail version of the game debuted at No. 1 on the UK software sales chart in its week of release. It had the biggest launch ever for aLegogame in the UK, breaking the record previously set byLego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures(2008).

The game sold more than 3.2 million copies within two weeks of its release, surpassing global sales of all previous Lego console game launches.The game had achieved more than 5 million copies sold as of June 2022.

Accolades

Year	Award	Category	Result	Ref(s).
2022	Golden Joystick Awards	Best Multiplayer Game	Nominated
	British Academy Children's Awards 2022	Game	Nominated
	The Game Awards 2022	Best Family Game	Nominated
2023	Steam Awards	Sit Back and Relax	Won
	19th British Academy Games Awards	Animation	Nominated
		Family	Nominated

External links

• Official website