Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga - What We Know So Far

The very first Lego Star Wars game to be released came out way back in 2005. Since then, numerous titles have been released featuring characters and locations from everyone's favorite galaxy far, far away. And now, with the Skywalker story coming to a close once the ninth film in the franchise is released, Lego has decided to wrap things up nicely with a game that spans the entirety of the timeline. Douglas Reilly, the vice president of LucasFilm Games, said, "With the Skywalker Saga coming to an end, we wanted to give fans the ultimate Star Wars video game experience with all the humor and charm that is uniquely Lego."

Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga was announced during E3 2019, and there is a lot to be excited for with this new title. The game will span all nine movies in the Skywalker story, including the not-yet-released Rise of Skywalker. While the game will still feature the blocky Lego characters you've grown to love, the scenery surrounding those characters will be more realistic. In fact, the graphics are downright stunning. This massive undertaking is made all the more impressive when you learn that none of the old games are being remastered; each episode will have all new content created specifically for The Skywalker Saga.

Here's what we know about the release so far, including its release date, characters, and gameplay.

Just like many of the titles announced at E3 2019, Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga doesn't have a release date nailed down yet. It has been confirmed by the creative team behind the game, however, that we can expect the new title in 2020.

This makes sense, as story beats from The Rise of Skywalker will be included in the game, and it's likely no one wants to spoil the ninth film. Once we have a solid release date, we'll let you know. 

One of the unique and exciting aspects of Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is the fact that fans of the franchise can jump into whatever film they want, no matter the chronological order. And because of this, the game will change depending on how much of the story your character has experienced. If, for example, you visit Tatooine before you play episode 4, you won't find an aged Uncle Owen there. Instead, you'll see characters pertinent to where you are in the timeline.

Developers have also hinted at the wide range of characters that will be included in the game. With the game series spanning nine different films, you'd expect to see a lot of characters included, but the sheer number the developers have managed to include is still beyond expectations. At E3, the team behind the game stated that The Skywalker Saga will feature "Every Star Wars character you can think of." When giving a ballpark figure, the answer was "hundreds". With so many characters being included in the new game, it's unlikely any fan favorites will be left out. And while we don't have an exact roster for who to expect, chances are most bases will be covered.

Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga will still have the Lego wit and humor fans have come to expect from the franchise, but there are some big changes to the gameplay as well. The classic blocky Lego characters will still be at the forefront of the game, but they'll be dropped into photorealistic environments that are beautifully rendered.The surroundings aren't the only visuals you'll want to keep an eye on, however; the environment will now have an impact on your Lego characters. The ground will cause wear and tear on the plastic and sand and dirt will even stick to them, just to make things that much more immersive. 

In addition to the new visual upgrades, some changes to combat have been announced to make the game feel a bit more advanced while still keeping it family-friendly. Enemies will now have health meters so that you can keep track of just how much damage you're doing. Where you shoot an enemy will also impact the amount of damage you do, meaning there will be much more aiming required in this new game than there has been in past Lego games. And one last big change that has many fans excited is the camera. Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga will have a camera that players have complete control over, as opposed to the fixed camera angles of past Lego games.

As per its E3 2019 announcement, it looks like Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga will be available on most platforms. The creators announced that it will be available on Xbox One, Playstation 4, PC, and Nintendo Switch at the time it's released, which means just about anyone who wants to play The Skywalker Saga should have a chance to do so.