For some fans, the vastly extended wait for LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga has been truly arduous. Traveller’s Tales fans are used to getting new LEGO games every few months, but unfortunately the next game in the franchise has seen some huge delays. Even so, there’s lots of hope that the wait for LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga will be worth it. If Traveller’s Tales’ changes to combat and exploration are as fun as they sound, then The Skywalker Saga will be a truly groundbreaking entry in the series. Fighting off villains and searching for hidden objectives could be more compelling than ever.
It’s worth noting, though, that The Skywalker Saga’s own positive qualities mean something for not just LEGO Star Wars, but for the LEGO franchise as a whole. It seems inevitable that the changes to the game formula that appear in The Skywalker Saga will appear in whatever LEGO game comes next, too, and that’s a big deal. There’s tons of classic LEGO adaptations of famous IPs that could get a ton of use out of The Skywalker Saga’s big ideas. New versions of LEGO Batman, LEGO Lord of the Rings, and so on would be vastly improved if they’re rooted in the next LEGO Star Wars game’s innovations.
The Skywalker Saga’s Forward-Looking Changes
Although many of The Skywalker Saga’s changes seem like they’re specific to LEGO Star Wars at a glance, many of them could easily be applied to the next LEGO game. For instance, the game famously features more intricate combat. Jedi have light and strong attacks that can form combos, while blaster wielders feature an over-the-shoulder third person camera for greater accuracy and immersion. Any future LEGO game can give melee characters different types of attacks while enhancing ranged characters’ shooting skills, meaning LEGO combat may permanently be more intricate than ever.
The Skywalker Saga also features a whole galaxy of planets that players can visit and explore. Players presumably unlock each planet in the galaxy as they move through The Skywalker Saga’s story, and once they’ve been to each planet, players can return there with the help of The Skywalker Saga’s galaxy map or fly there manually and explore space along the way. All of this exploration sounds hard to replicate in future LEGO games, but that’s not the case. Any IP that spans a vast world, real or fictional, can have a map on the same scale of The Skywalker Saga as long as there’s enough detail put into the design.
Other significant changes in The Skywalker Saga include the camera’s change from a fixed perspective to a more close-up third-person camera, as well as a staggering list of playable characters. Both of these shifts seem highly likely to influence the next big LEGO game, since the new camera angle is great for immersion and 3D exploration, while a huge character roster explores the depths of an IP and provides players with plenty of collectibles. All of these Skywalker Saga changes add up to a ton of potential for the next LEGO game from Traveller’s Tales, no matter what licensed IP it’s about.
Potential Successors to The Skywalker Saga
It’s hard to say what IP Traveller’s Tales wants to work on after The Skywalker Saga, but it’s certainly not hurting for options. One great choice could be to return to LEGO Batman. While this LEGO series has something of a plotline running through it, Traveller’s Tales could “reboot” the LEGO Batman universe with the next game, getting itself a clean slate that it can use to integrate new mechanics. Superheroes are extremely rich material for creating unique fighting styles, while a map that combines the real Earth with famous DC locations like Wayne Manor and the Fortress of Solitude would be perfect for an overworld on par with that of The Skywalker Saga.
LEGO Indiana Jones seems like another great IP to revisit after LEGO Star Wars. LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues got a mixed reception, but the new ideas ingrained in The Skywalker Saga could be just what Indy needs for a fresh start among LEGO fans. His whip could make great use of changes to combat, while improved gunplay would be a huge help for many other Indiana Jones characters. What’s more, a new LEGO Indiana Jones game could render locations from the movies in vast new detail, making players really feel like archaeologists as they explore Indiana Jones’ world in search of hidden secrets.
As for more fantastical IPs, a new LEGO Lord of the Rings game could really benefit from combat and exploration enhancements. It’d be great to get a second LEGO Lord of the Rings game that goes out of its way to distinguish heavy weapons users like Aragorn and Gimli from nimbler fighters like Legolas and Frodo. Gandalf deserves a magic-heavy fighting style, too. While the original LEGO Lord of the Rings had a very impressive overworld, an even more detailed and faithful recreation on the scope of The Skywalker Saga could be invaluable in capturing the feeling of Middle-earth in LEGO form.
A New Era of LEGO Games
On paper, The Skywalker Saga’s changes to combat and the overworld sound incredible. If Traveller’s Tales delivers on these promises, then The Skywalker Saga could be the most sophisticated and engaging LEGO game to date. The franchise often gets criticism for being repetitive and that there’s too little distinction between the games, but LEGO Star Wars’ next entry promises something completely different. Traveller’s Tales is throwing some much-needed change into the mix, which could mark the beginning of a new LEGO game generation.
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga may look like an impressive game in itself, but it’s only the beginning of Traveller’s Tales’ experimentation with drastically changing the franchise. It could be that future LEGO games all try to be so distinct from one another, rather than The Skywalker Saga establishing the new status quo. Whatever the case may be, it’ll be a while before more games come out, but all signs indicate that Traveller’s Tales’ next project will be worth the wait. Hopefully The Skywalker Saga’s spirit of innovation is the mark of a new trend within the studio, rather than an exception to the rule.
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga releases in early 2022 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
