Summary
It’s been a little over two years sinceLEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Sagafirst launched, and there’s a lot to reflect on.LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Sagais by far the most ambitious titleLEGO and TT Gameshave ever produced, delivering over 20 open-world planets, hundreds of unlockable playable characters, countless side activities including space battles, and more collectibles than any 100% completionist could ever ask for. But it didn’t get everything quite right.
WhileLEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Sagapushed the LEGO formula in new directions and went out of its way to evolve some classic LEGO game mechanics, it ended up omitting some fan-favorite features in the process. One of the most glaring omissions inLEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Sagawas any form of character creator, a feature that had become a staple of LEGO games ever sinceLEGO Star Wars 2’s release back in 2006. Its absence was felt, and it’s integral that future LEGO games don’t repeat thisSkywalker Sagamistake.
LEGO’s Character Creator Shouldn’t Be Left Behind
Character Creation Used to be a Highlight of LEGO Games
In its very first iteration inLEGO Star Wars 2, the character creator allowed players to mix and match body parts to create their own custom hero or villain. This original iteration of the character creator was fairly rudimentary, only allowing players to customize the character’s hair, head, cape, chest, arms, hands, belt, and legs, as well as choose their equipped weapon. These body parts were all genericLEGO minifigure parts, something that future LEGO character creators would change quickly.
InLEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga, the character creator was overhauled. Players could now customize their character with a slew of body parts based on theStar Warscharacters they’d unlocked. This same character creator was then used throughout the next decade of LEGO video games, fromLEGO Harry Potterto theLEGO Ninjagogameand everything in between. InLEGO Marvel Superheroes 2, players were given even more customization options, such as the ability to map specific superhero abilities to the face buttons.
At the end of the day, LEGO’s brand is all about creativity and allowing people to express that in as many ways as possible. This is exactly what LEGO’s video game character creator did, letting players take the building blocks of the game’s roster and make their very own, wholly original creations.
Character Creation Was Sorely Missed in LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
Before launch,LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Sagawas being touted as thedefinitive LEGO video game experience, a title that had learned from the last two decades of LEGO games and was merging all of the best ideas together in one place. At launch, there were 384 unique playable characters inLEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, making it the perfect game for a character creator. But there was no character creator in sight on launch.
LEGO Character Creation Needs a Modern Makeover
WhileLEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Sagashould be a trendsetter in many ways, it shouldn’t mark the end ofLEGO’s character creator.LEGO DC Super-Villains– the entry beforeThe Skywalker Saga– featured the most in-depth character creator of any LEGO game, allowing players to color each individual body part, and even choose the visual effect that occurs when they hit an enemy. The next LEGO game needs to bring back this in-depth character creator and take things even further.
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
WHERE TO PLAY
The galaxy is yours in LEGO® Star Wars™: The Skywalker Saga. Experience memorable moments and nonstop action from all nine Skywalker saga films reimagined with signature LEGO humor. The digital edition includes an exclusive classic Obi-Wan Kenobi playable character.Explore the Trilogies in Any Order – Players will relive the epic story of all nine films in the Skywalker Saga, and it all starts with picking the trilogy of their choice to begin the journey.Play as Iconic Heroes and Villains – More than 300 playable characters from throughout the galaxy.Discover Legendary Locales – Players can visit well known locales from their favorite Skywalker saga films .They can unlock and have the freedom to seamlessly travel to 23 planets as they play through the saga or explore and discover exciting quests.Command Powerful Vehicles – More than 100 vehicles from across the galaxy to command. Join dogfights and defeat capital ships like the Super Star Destroyer that can be boarded and explored.Immersive Player Experiences – String attacks together to form combo chains and fend off oncoming attacks. New blaster controls and mechanics allow players to aim with precision, or utilize the skills of a Jedi by wielding a lightsaber and using the power of The Force.Upgradable Character Abilities – Exploration rewards players as they uncover Kyber Bricks which unlock new features and upgraded abilities across a range of character classes, including Jedi, Hero, Dark Side, Villain, Scavenger, Scoundrel, Bounty Hunter, Astromech Droid, and Protocol Droid.
