'LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga' Will Have More Playable Characters Than We Thought

Star Wars has maintained a strong presence in the gaming community since the 8-bit days. Atari and Intellivision carried the first licensed Star Wars video game with the adaptation of the Battle of Hoth. Released in 1982, this game required the player to pilot a snowspeeder against advancing walkers and blast each Imperial vehicle a grueling 48 times. That armor really is too strong for blasters! From multiple flight sim games (X-Wing and the newly released Squadrons), to shoot 'em up action (the award winning Battlefront series and Republic Commando), and of course lightsaber duels (Jedi Power Battles is criminally underrated), Star Wars video games span the galaxy of genres and gameplay. Lego, with help from developer Traveller's Tales, has excelled in combining all of these gameplay aspects, the best components of Star Wars, and seamlessly blending them together. Building the whole thing with LEGO bricks and plenty of humor, resulting in an extremely enjoyable and re-playable game fitting for fun-loving fans of all ages. The current Lego Star Wars titles separately span all eras of Star Wars, from the Battle of Naboo to the sequel trilogy. However, the newest game, hopefully releasing in spring of 2021, will combine all nine episodes of the Skywalker saga for an unprecedented Lego Star Wars experience.

One of strengths of the Lego Star Wars series of games is its wide variety of characters taken from the pages of Star Wars lore. Just as the characters of the Star Wars universe have specialized powers and abilities, so do their Lego counterparts, granting the player the power of the Force, the ability to equip a grappling gun, or the skill to bypass security checkpoints and access areas that are off-limits in your first semi-canonical playthrough. With the wide variety of factions, jobs, and alien species in the Star Wars, universe it is unsurprising that this large cast translates into a huge playable roster for Lego Star Wars. Traveller's Tales has taken the character recruitment to another level for The Skywalker Saga. Recently, Dawn McDiarmid, lead hub designer on LEGO Star Wars: the Skywalker Saga, told PlayStation Magazine details that could indicate that this is the largest Lego game to date:

"There were around 300 playable characters made for this game...our character team did a truly amazing job."

With 300 playable characters, The Skywalker Saga would easily break the current Lego character record held by Marvel Superheroes 2. Fan favorite heroes, villains, creatures, and droids from every era will get their well deserved screen time, as always, but fans who enjoy the deeper-cut characters will find plenty to unlock and play as. Yaddle has already been revealed in the gameplay trailer, and McDiarmid doubled down on her appearance, saying that her favorite character would be either Yaddle, the Wampa, or Babu Frik, claiming Frik is "one of the cutest things [she has] ever seen".

Needless to say, it wouldn't be much of a Star Wars game without intergalactic travel to far away planets. Traveller's Tales has that covered as well. Players of previous Lego games will be familiar with choosing what level to play through a series of doors in either Dex's Diner or the Mos Eisley Cantina. However, a new system has been put in place for this new title, featuring space travel to and around Star Wars planets, allowing players to pilot their favorite Star Wars ships through asteroid fields, defeat fighters in dogfights, and attack and board capital ships. McDiarmid hinted that there could be even more exploring to do once aboard the opposing flagship. Taking your ship planet side, players will have numerous missions to accomplish and random encounters to navigate across a variety of alien landscapes. McDiarmid assures fans that "if you have a favorite Star Wars location it's pretty likely you can visit it in-game." Featuring over 20 classic planets, The Skywalker Saga will have no shortage of exploration opportunities, missions, collectibles, or fun.

Lego Star Wars games have been generally well-received by Star Wars and video game fans alike, with their family friendly atmosphere, insane number of achievements and collectibles, and goofy surprises lurking around every corner and in every nook and cranny. As with any Star Wars title, there are high expectations and a large amount of hype surrounding this new game, and with what we've seen of the game so far, fans are already tabbing Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga to potentially be the sleeper hit of the year.

Written By Weston Erickson

Source(s): The Direct

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