LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga Needs to Nail One Big Feature
Even though LEGO products always come in sets aimed toward a certain build, half the fun is building something new out of the pieces. If a build falls apart or the owner wants to make it new, they're free to rearrange it into whatever they imagine. Creativity is the heart of LEGO, and that spirit carries on into licensed games like LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. Breaking things down and building them into something new is a key mechanic in every game. Customization is also close to the franchise's heart, as evidenced by mainstay features like the character customizer.
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga promises to have one of the biggest character rosters in LEGO game history, so players will have an unbelievable amount of parts to customize characters with. However, the context of Star Wars means that players need to be empowered to customize one particular feature in painstaking depth: lightsabers. One key feature of Star Wars lore is the process in which Jedi build their own lightsabers, and the fantasy of designing and making a lightsaber by hand runs deep in lovers of this sci-fi setting. It seems logical and optimal that a LEGO game that's all about being creative should empower players with a really rich customizer for the Jedi's signature weapon.
As far as lightsabers are concerned, customization options have been slowly expanding over time. Old games only offered three or four of the most common colors, but later entries like Lego Star Wars 3: The Clone Wars allowed players to choose from some more exotic colors like yellow, orange, and white. Players might have also noticed that characters with red lightsabers would use Count Dooku's signature curved hilt. These features establish two important facts: Traveller's Tales has been interested in giving players lots of color options before, and multiple types of stylized hilts are possible. The Clone Wars is a fairly old entry, too. The technology going into The Skywalker Saga has had nearly a decade to improve.
There's tons of ways that lightsaber building could become a detailed and highly engaging experience. For one, instead of making players cycle through a few color options, Traveller's Tales could put in a color wheel that players could pinpoint a spot on to choose a custom color for the lightsaber. For another, there's all kinds of detail work it could let players do on lightsaber hilts. In Star Wars media, no two lightsabers have the same hilt. They're often a good way to identify the owner. LEGO creativity would be well represented in The Skywalker Saga if players could customize the shape of the hilt, apply different materials and plating, and arrange buttons and other details to make the lightsaber truly unique.
Another important way to customize lightsabers would be to choose a particular fighting style for the saber. The Skywalker Saga is reportedly going to feature some major changes to the combat system in LEGO Star Wars games. This seems like the perfect time to hint at Jedi and Sith fighting styles, allowing players to assign fighting styles to their original characters. Even if there's no fighting styles, it'll go a long way if players can dual wield or have double bladed sabers without the use of cheat codes. Each of those weapon arrangements will make a world of difference.
LEGO games aren't just about reliving the stories told by beloved franchises. They also celebrate the creativity that LEGO products are dedicated to. Players should always have the opportunity to make sometimes fun and surprising by working with the pieces they're provided. Admittedly, highly detailed lightsaber customization is a bit of a deep cut for a wish. However, this game is a tremendous landmark both for LEGO games and Star Wars as a franchise. It seems worth celebrating in ways like letting players create lightsabers that are truly all their own.
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga releases in Spring 2021 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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