LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga – Test / Review (Switch).
Contents
Star Wars… that name should at least sound familiar to most, with most likely having seen most of the film series. As is the case with other well-known films such as Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter, there are also many different games from Star Wars. About a month ago, the globally anticipated LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga was released. We took a closer look at the title to be able to tell you about it!
Star Wars meets LEGO
The fact that LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is a LEGO title is obvious from the title alone. Even before the new title, several Star Wars titles were published in LEGO form, but none of these titles was nearly as comprehensive as LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, because the title includes all 9 episodes and not just individual ones as before 6 pieces. You have to keep in mind that literally 9 films of about 2 to 2 1/2 hours each had to be integrated into the game, including side tasks, the basic gameplay and the technical effort to make everything playable as problem-free as possible, because the title finally came out on the Switch and of course the console can’t do the same thing as a PC, for example! Therefore, one can of course imagine that the game must have been in development for a long time and according to research this should have been the case as early as 2017, i.e. in fact before the release of Episode 9.
Where do you want to start?
At least with the Nintendo Switch variant, you can select the voice output at the beginning. Here you have the normal “Lego” voices, but also many other different languages available for which you have to download a short update, which is not significantly large. Then, after a short film sequence, you are back in the main menu, where the game shows you the other 9 episodes in addition to the “free mode” (which is initially locked). Of these, however, only Episode 1, Episode 4 and Episode 7 can be selected at the beginning. Now you can decide whether you want to proceed purely chronologically or whether you want to experience the episodes according to the year of publication. We decided on the first variant and therefore started with Episode 1. Basically, each episode has 5 missions and once you have completed the episode, you can continue with the next one. Or you can visit the free mode afterwards, where you can revisit planets you have already visited and complete side tasks there.
However, we wouldn’t recommend this at the outset as there are many quests that require specific characters to complete. That’s how it’s been in every LEGO title so far and we’re glad that hasn’t changed. You unlock these through various tasks in the course of the game, whereby you can also get tips for a certain number of coins on how each character can be unlocked. These coins, which are shaped like round Lego bricks by the way, can also be spent on skill upgrades (more on that later) or even cheat codes!
May the Force be with you
The story, if you focus purely on that, will take around 12 hours to complete. However, so far in every LEGO game the main focus has also been on side tasks, puzzles and the basic gameplay. Of course, LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is no exception.
The basic controls are also like in other games of the LEGO type. There is a basic attack, which can be continued in 2 different combinations at the beginning. Furthermore, it is of course also possible, for example, to throw the lightsaber with a Jedi character or to hurl opponents with the force or to pick up objects, place them again or throw them at the enemies in order to inflict a lot of damage on them. Otherwise it is of course possible to sprint, jump and sometimes climb walls or special areas.
In addition to the normal areas in which you can move on foot, other means of transport are also waiting for us. For example, it is possible to take part in the pod race, to wreak havoc with the spaceship near the planets in space, or to use mounts or vehicles on the planets to be able to move quickly.
From spoiled clubs to shooting practice
Depending on the mission, or rather depending on the planet, there are really large areas in LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga that you should explore, because there is a lot waiting for you to discover. In addition, you will be shown on the map or by taxi with a fast travel function whether you can still find shiny Lego bricks, mini-packs or similar in this area!
Basically, the first thing to do with the cards in the missions is to unlock the main rank, which in most cases is called “True Jedi”. In order to achieve this, you have to collect a certain amount of coins. These are lying around in masses all over the map and you also get them if you destroy the large number of objects on the respective map. These differ in the colors silver, gold, blue and purple and depending on the color they are worth more. You can find the silver and gold ones everywhere, blue ones only every now and then. The purple ones, on the other hand, are very hidden and sometimes in places that are difficult to access!
These aforementioned mini-packs can only be found in certain locations or in certain missions and can easily be overlooked. With these you get components and once you have collected all of them from a set, you unlock new spaceships. If in doubt, it is therefore advisable to revisit old levels and collect all of these packs.
Most important, however, are the already mentioned shiny Lego bricks, which you discover for side missions, in puzzles and at hidden points on the maps. Some of these missions are easy to complete, while others require some brain power! For example, you have to deliver a message that the legs of meat that were delivered are bad, but the area around this person is contaminated with some kind of poison gas and this must first be removed by us, or rather by a droid. This would be an easy task. The task of opening the main dome underwater is a tougher task!
Improve your skills
With shiny stones and the required amount of coins, you can of course also improve many different skill trees and finally complete them completely. These skill trees are divided into many different categories, and each one offers either new perks or bonuses for all or just a specific type of character.
The most important tree in our opinion is the general hero tree, because here you can increase your base damage and health, but also increase the range for coin collection, which is definitely recommended. If you have maximized this skill, the range for this is so wide that you get far more coins without having to pay attention to them yourself.
The other trees primarily provide enhancements for a variety of character types such as Sith, Jedi, Droids, Androids and many more! So try to unlock as many skills as you can!
Everything is more fun with two people
You are not forced to experience everything alone in LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. At least not when there is a player in the immediate vicinity, because there is no direct online mode, at least not on the switch. As we were told, the Steam version at least has the remote play function to play with friends.
With the Switch variant, on the other hand, like all other versions, you can activate the split-screen mode in order to be able to play with others. However, you shouldn’t stray too far from one another here. If you keep this in mind, you can also have a lot of fun in the co-op mode!
Beautiful Lego world
What is definitely a huge plus point is the beautifully designed and detailed game world and when you enter each zone you notice how much work and heart and soul was put into the game. Many of the regions felt like they were taken over from the films 1 to 1, which is immediately noticeable.
Also, the world is not empty like it is in other games. Everywhere you will find different NPCs, robots or animals, which of course you as a Star Wars fan recognize immediately without paying much attention to them.
There are also Easter Eggs to be found here and there if you look closely. Be it cleaning crews or various conversations between the characters. Mixed with the large number of humorous video sequences, the game knows how to entertain.
Attention was also paid to details. Be it shiny surfaces, signs of wear or the wonderfully designed lighting effects, the shadows or the weather effects in the game!
Problems here and there
Unfortunately, there are some more or less small and big problems in LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. For example, we had the problem for a long time that the game got stuck in the first episode as soon as we wanted to visit the Gungans underwater with JarJar Bings. Only after some time and several attempts were we finally able to see this cutscene and continue playing.
It also happens every now and then that a cutscene only shows a black background and the subtitles for entertainment. Here it only helps to restart the game and play the area of the episode again, which of course can be annoying depending on the length.
In most cases, the Nintendo Switch version worked without any problems in terms of FPS, but every now and then we could notice huge drops in FPS, which is understandable with the many lighting effects and the destruction of several objects. For the most part, however, we were able to enjoy the game without any problems!
