TheLEGOfranchise has spent over fifteen years cultivating a reputation for accessible games that follow a familiar formula with each new entry. Whether the games are tackling the wide world of Marvel Comics or theJurassic Parkfilms, they’ve all abided by a similar structure in terms of gameplay and level design. As gaming has evolved, theLEGOgames have introduced modern elements such as open-world exploration and full voice acting, but the series' next installment,LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, is about to introduce the most drastic changes to theLEGOformula yet.
Through its long development cycle,LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Sagahas been touted as the culmination of all the work that TT Games has done with theLEGOfranchise so far. The game’s many delays have kept fans from seeing the full scope of that work for some time, but a recent trailer has finally awarded the patient with a comprehensive overview of everythingThe Skywalker Sagawill have to offer. There was enough information in the trailer to easily maintain excitement until the game’s release, but the most prominent feature ofThe Skywalker Sagalooks to be its unprecedented level of freedom for aLEGOgame.
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LEGO’s Previous Lack Of Player Choice
When theLEGOgames first started out, their main intention was to serve as a playful recreation of popular films. Starting withLEGO Star Wars: The Video Game, the experience was rather linear for gamers. Each of the prequel films was given a set of levels that guided players from point A to point B with a number of puzzles to solve in between, each objective crafted to be completed in a specific order with specific characters. It wasn’t until a level was beaten that players had the choice to replay them with whatever characters they wanted, and even then, the purpose of replaying levels would just be to grab any previously inaccessible collectibles.
AsLEGOgames began to evolve and spread to more and more properties, the biggest shakeup to the franchise formula came whenLEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroesgave players an open Gotham City overworld to explore. This allowed for exploration that hadn’t been seen inLEGOgames before, but there was still the slight issue of levels following the same linear structure as previous entries. This isn’t to say the story being told through these levels wasn’t still entertaining, but once all the collectibles in each level have been collected, there’s hardly any reason to go for another playthrough.
How LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga Allows More Player Choice
When it comes toLEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, its contributions to a greater player agency are extensive. The one aspect of the game that fans have known about for some time is howThe Skywalker Sagawill allow players to go through the films in order of whatever trilogy they want to start with. The recent overview trailer went into this feature in more detail, and it already looks to be a big change from the franchise’s usually linear format. Not only will it give gamers of all kinds the ability to play how they wish, but dedicatedStar Warsfans will be able to experience the films in the order they think is most appropriate.
The most significant change to theLEGOformula thatThe Skywalker Sagais demonstrating is its approach to level design. For the first time in franchise history, players will have opportunities to approach levels stealthily or with a more aggressive style. This introduces a layer of strategy and choice that has the potential to makeThe Skywalker Sagaone of the most replayableLEGOgames yet. When combined withThe Skywalker Saga’s massive overworld of multiple planetsthat can be explored at will without having to fully complete certain story missions, TT Games is proving its commitment to a truly openLEGOexperience.
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How Future LEGO Games Can Allow More Agency
With how ambitiousLEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Sagais shaping up to be, it opens up questions onhow TT Games could possibly expand the franchise in the future. It’s far too soon to theorize on the next property the franchise might take on, but the smartest idea for future design philosophies would likely be to maintain what’s been created withThe Skywalker Saga. The most recent overview trailer has demonstrated a clear vision that blends classicLEGOtrappings with much more modern mechanics, and if TT Games' goal is to blend nostalgia with innovation, then it appears to already be on the right track.
If TT Games really wants to get ambitious, however, there are various courses it could take to turn theLEGOfranchise into something akin tothe biggest AAA games of today. In terms of level design, the developer could make the decision to fully marry its open worlds with its structured missions by fully incorporating the latter into the former, instead of bringing players into an independent location for every level like the games often do. This could open up countless opportunities for gamers to approach each objective however they want, and possibly turn theLEGOfranchise into a great way for younger gamers to get more acquainted with the open-world genre.
The ambition ofLEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Sagais hard to overstate, and the final product will likely prove to be a sign of things to come for theLEGOfranchise as a whole. There are still a lot of properties that can get theLEGOtreatment afterThe Skywalker Saga, and with the new design philosophy that TT Games is taking on, the sky is truly the limit. For now,Star Warsis most definitely in the spotlight, andThe Skywalker Sagalooks to be one of the biggest celebrations ofStar Warsto come out of a video game. Fans will only have to wait a couple more months before they can dive into what TT Games has worked so hard on.
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Sagareleases June 05, 2025 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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