LEGO video games have always been like the cheese pizza of the videogame industry: anyone can enjoy them. Those that love them, love them intensely, but these games also don’t push any buttons or break any new ground. 

“LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga” is the most recent in the lineup of LEGO film-to-videogame adaptations that began with “LEGO Star Wars: The Videogame” in 2005, which featured Episodes I-III. Ever since that release, the other films in the series have been sporadically adapted into the LEGO format, culminating with “The Skywalker Saga,” which features the nine numbered films of the series. 

Players experience the iconic moments of the main Star Wars franchise with the signature LEGO humor and twists, and it’s just about everything a fan of the LEGO games and “Star Wars” franchise could want. Nearly every planet visited in the films is explorable, each one serving as hubs for small challenges and providing an engaging environment to wander between story levels. There is an almost absurd variety of characters and vehicles to collect, as almost every face that has ever related to Star Wars is unlockable and playable. 

There is also a series of upgradeable abilities based on the characters’ classes, which make for more varied gameplay and exploration than has been possible in previous LEGO games. Scavengers like Rey Skywalker can build devices to help them glide over wide gaps or scale tall objects, while Scoundrels like Han Solo can enter a kind of bullet time to target and shoot objects that will have different resulting effects. 

At times, it feels as though the game is trying too hard to be like other games that have released in recent years, with its focus on RPG character-building, exploration, shooting and side missions. While these things can make a game longer and unique for each player, they also detract from the simple charm of the classic LEGO games. It’s hard to fault the developers, though, as innovation and risks are just about impossible with a franchise so beloved, especially when the formula for LEGO games was perfected about 15 years ago. 

Star Wars videogames have been hit-or-miss in recent years, but “LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga” is a crowd-pleasing experience that is faithful to the films, even if it is missing some of the magic of the original LEGO games