Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga's Greatest Trick Is Letting You Tell Your Own Stories

thegamer.com:

At first, Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga annoyed me. The mixture between story levels and free play is as blurry as I’ve ever known it to be in a Lego game, and wandering off in a random direction initially got quite tiresome. Rather than make an active choice between story mode or free play, I’d find myself on a planet (usually Tatooine, because Star Wars loves Tatooine), and unbeknownst to me, wandering left would continue the story, while wandering right would send me around in circles collecting studs, meeting new characters, and finding hidden secrets.

The reason it annoyed me was how difficult it was to follow. I know, I know, stupid game journos think even Lego Star Wars is too hard. But what I mean is I’d watch a cutscene and be strapped in for The Empire Strikes Back, then suddenly find myself not in The Empire Strikes Back at all, but instead walking around aimlessly. Once you start a level for realsies, you’re locked in and have a condensed adventure through a major section from each movie, but it’s not especially clear where that starting point is.

Related: Play Lego Jurassic World While You Wait For Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

I imagine this was the cause of some debate during development. It’s normal for there to be a back and forth on various decisions in game design, and with The Skywalker Saga going through a reported intense crunch, that can often be caused by dithering on or backtracking on decisions. On the one hand, making it much clearer means no confusion, and means players can remain focussed on the story they’re here for instead of wandering around until it picks back up. On the other, more clarity could be disruptive, as most players want an organic experience, not a menu screen that