LEGO Star Wars TEST: The Skywalker Saga, the Quiet Force

TT Games is known mainly for games LEGO who have passed through the ages and generations. The firm embarked on the design of a new LEGO Star Warsyes, but not just any… In the viewfinder? An ultimate collection where the player can discover all the films in a universe filled with bricks. Thus, we have dissected LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga for hours and hours, it’s time to give you our impressions of this new production, which catches the eye of aficionados since its announcement.

Our eyes delight in spectacular and lively environments.

Let’s talk little, let’s talk well, the adventure begins with a rather well done introduction. Several episodes are available to us, just start with the saga that excites us the most. The first pixels appear in the image and it must be said that it is neat and detailed. The developers designed vast areas to explore and blended “realistic look” and “plastic world” brilliantly. Thus, our eyes delight in spectacular and lively environments, worthy of feature films, all embellished with decorative elements in LEGO that make us smile. We were also impressed by the striking light effects and the gestures of the totally crazy characters. In other words, if you are a franchise lover Star Wars, the levels do not leave indifferent, some places give little shivers of excitement.

It’s beautiful, it’s fine, it’s chewable, but unfortunately, visual imperfections are present. First of all, there are drops of frame rate sometimes. They are not disturbing, do not really spoil the experience, but are still visible. This small defect appears when the screen begins to be submerged from all sides. On “new-gen” platforms, it is possible to select 30 or 60 fps. According to our choice, the resolution changes. And for good reason, on the one hand, the backgrounds are clear, on the other, a bit blurry. For once, we recommend playing it with a high number of frames per second, it’s much more pleasant and, overall, the rendering is super clean. In addition, we also observed tearing which arises in certain levels (often cloistered). These tears are tiring so much they arise abundantly; enough to make your teeth cringe.

On the soundtrack side, our esgourdes take pleasure in listening to known notes that make the hairs rise ; thanks John Williams. During our escapades, soft melodies from the franchise guide our steps and become more intense and energetic when there is a bit of action. As for sound effects, the sound effects of films, old and new, have been preserved to fully immerse ourselves in the universes. To finish, the French dubbing is very good and allows us to immerse ourselves as we should in the game. The icing on the cake, there are even “official” voices, like Bruno Choël playing Obi-Wan Kenobi. In short, everything is there to take us to the guts. And if Molière’s language bothers you, don’t panic, English can be selected.

The handling of LEGO has never been complicated. And for good reason, at the base, the target audience is children. The team therefore thought of a gameplay accessible. By taking the controller, the player quickly finds his bearings. So and not to change, we can run, jump, attack and destroy/build things throughout our odyssey. Of course, we play several characters with different skills. Jedibandits, Stormtroopersdroids and many more allow you to progress.

Accessible gameplay.

In LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, we solve ultra simplistic puzzles to unlock passages and we engage in more or less intense confrontations. During our explorations, the battles with the enemies are “free”, it is enough to move where we wish to beat an opponent (with a camera which can sulk at times). Something to consider, the opposing AI does nothing 3/4 of the time and looks us in the eye. A little more challenge would have been appreciated… During a quarrel with a boss, the game freezes on the rival, the gameplay gets a little more interesting. Here we can dodge, chain devastating combos and execute QTY. Honestly, lightsaber duels are fun and enjoyable.

If you’re wondering, yes, you always have to pick up “LEGO pieces”, big and small. They give the possibility of unlocking new skills; little advice, increase the speed of movement from the start to visit places quickly, without dragging your feet. To inflate your purse a little more, small side missions can be accomplished everywhere. They are often redundant, can be boring, but are still useful for obtaining coveted skills. Furthermore, note that the menu is not very ergonomicthere are categories within categories, the brain has a little trouble focusing when we change tabs… Let’s just say it takes a while to adapt.

And the vehicles in all this? They are numerous. Creatures of all kinds and other flying machines are there to move us quickly through the levels, but also to reach platforms that are not accessible on foot. Who says Star Wars, says battles in space. We then take control of a spaceship to do battle with theEmpire. Aim, shoot, accelerate, a machine can be mastered with ease. If you have trouble with vertical/horizontal movements, the axis can be reversed in the settings.

We get our hands on a video game work that immerses us in the 9 films Star Wars, but slightly revised to display more friendly, joyful and fun moments. Indeed, some (dramatic) scenes have been totally modified so that they are more suitable for everyone and all types of players. To give you an example, farewell to the massacre of Tusken by Anakin Skywalkerthe young Jedi puts discord in a tent and comes out sad. We are in a crazy world, it is not so disturbing to see such a change in a LEGO.

Not all levels are created equal.

The game pushes us to explore. The problem is that not all levels are created equal. There are episodes of extreme slownesslacking a bit of pep to entertain, and explosive chapters that hook from start to finish. Some phases are boring (like repairing the Millennium Falcon in L’Episode IV) and others much more exhilarating. Some environments are empty, the walks are monotonous, while others are lively, offering fun side quests. As you will have understood, there is a lack of a small balance between each part. Weariness occasionally rears its ugly head, unfortunately.

If you only focus on the story, note that worlds end in a snap. And for good reason, just follow its GPS which indicates where to go precisely, without worrying about what surrounds you. By completing a few challenges and traveling a bit in this quirky universe, it took us a dozen hours to get to the end of the tunnel. LEGO obliges, the title invites us to revisit places by embodying different characters from the main quest to obtain new bonuses; enough to spend a few extra hours in front of your screen to reach 100%.

Vast levels to explore, a whole bunch of missions to complete, phases of gameplay varied, LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is the Game LEGO the most ambitious ever created to date. But the problem is that some slowness and some bugs are a problem. We have here a game that is too simple, but which still has the merit of offering a colorful and wacky universe to entertain a minimum.

The fans of Star Wars, they are happy to browse and discover the cult places of the franchise. To be clear, if you’re looking for a fun, straightforward game that doesn’t require a lot of concentration, yes, this production is for you. We have an accessible and friendly experience for young and old.

You can buy LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga on Amazon.