One way that old franchises breathe new life into themselves is change. Every kind of game can add some new elements and try new ideas without abandoning the core elements that make the series great.Super Mario,for instance, has proven thoroughly that new ideas can turn out great.Mario’s first break from sidescrollinginSuper Mario 64has resulted in all kinds of exciting, memorable 3D platforming games in the Mushroom Kingdom. Another franchise that’s looking to try new things right now is Traveller’s Tales’LEGOgames. Specifically,LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Sagais totally changing its perspective on all kinds of core elements.
Traveller’s Tales has all kinds of ambitious ideas for making combat more interesting and expanding on the overworld that’ll makeLEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Sagareally unique compared to any of its predecessors. It’s no surprise thatLEGOfans are so excited for this game – there’s so many new things to do. Fans should keep in mind, though, thatThe Skywalker Saga’s changes to theLEGOformula mean a lot more to the franchise than they do toThe Skywalker Sagaalone. Traveller’s Tales seems to wantLEGOgames to get bolder and more surprising. If those plans pay off in the upcoming game, then futureLEGOgames will almost certainly carry over the breaks from franchise convention and then some.
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The Skywalker Saga’s Big Ideas
Combat is probably the biggest thing that’s changing inThe Skywalker Saga.Traveller’s Tales has already shed a fair amount of light on how it wants to freshen upLEGOgame combat. This element of the franchise is overdue for a makeover; historically, it consists mostly of nearly identical melee attacks and ranged weapons, with a few specialty weapons and character-specific abilities thrown in.The Skywalker Sagais changing that completelywith an over-the-shoulder camera for ranged characters, letting them aim down sights in battle for more immersion and accuracy. Melee attacks, meanwhile, are getting a combo system that ought to make lightsaber combat feel a lot more engaging and empowering.
The Skywalker Saga’s approach to a game hub is also on a totally different level from previous games. Most earlyLEGOgames just used a small, simple hub like the Mos Eisley Cantina to host the game’s levels, plus some shops for unlocking characters and extras. More recently, though,LEGOgames for franchises likeLord of the Rings,Marvel, and DC have started including overworld that players can explore freely in search of secrets and sidequests.The Skywalker Sagais including an overworld on a whole other level. There’s supposedly around two dozenStar Warsplanets that players can visit and explore, which means there’s a staggering amount of game to play outside of the game’s already impressive 45 levels taken fromall nine coreStar Warsmovies.
These factors and more – likeThe Skywalker Saga’s 300 playable characters, a number worthy of a search bar – prove that Traveller’s Tales is makingThe Skywalker Sagaabout bold changes and experimentation. It’s pushing the boundaries of what aLEGOgame looks like, and if it’s going this far, it’s not just doing it forStar Wars.Traveller’s Tales is probably trying to reinvent the franchise’s brand so that it can do similarly ambitious things with otherLEGOgames. If that’s the case, then fans should look forward to newLEGOgames with a lot of exciting changes.
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Imagining Future LEGO Games
There’s tons of major franchises that Traveller’s Tales has its hands on that could really benefit from the kind of treatment thatLEGO Star Warsis getting. One obvious choice is theLEGO Marvelseries of games.As Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universestarts up, there’s going to be a lot of superhero hype that Traveller’s Tales would be wise to capitalize on. If it does, then fans can look forward to a game where Iron Man and Hawkeye feature a third-person camera, plus sophisticated melee movesets for characters like Captain America, Thor, and Black Widow. On top of that,LEGO Marvelfans would be delighted to use the Avengers Tower as a hub for traveling to Sokovia, Wakanda, and other familiar Marvel settings.LEGO Marvel’s Avengersoffered fans a taste of a game like this, but there’s much more that Traveller’s Tales can do.
Another series poised to make a comeback isLEGO Indiana Jones.The secondLEGO Indiana Jonesgame wasn’t a favorite among critics, but it deserves credit for pioneering open-worldLEGOgames and probably spurring Traveller’s Tales to explore the format further.Indiana Jones 5’s release next year andBethesda’s announcement of anIndiana Jonesgamehave reignited interest in the franchise. Traveller’s Tales would be wise to get access to Indy once again so that it can make an elaborate, detailedLEGO Indiana Jonesgame reuniting the whole franchise once again. Indiana Jones’s signature whip lends itself well to a new combat system with combos and special techniques, and traveling around the overworld in search of long-lost artifacts between story missions sounds like a great time.
A New Age for LEGO Games
Traveller’s Tales has chosen the perfect time to overhaul conventions of theLEGOfranchise. For many years, the series has carried itself largely on doing its basics well and adapting famous IPs in clever, charming ways. However, a really important part of theLEGOfranchise is constant growth.LEGOgames have been getting bigger and bolder over the years, andThe Skywalker Sagais only the breaking pointwhere the franchise really blooms and changes. The series needs this kind of change to stay competitive, too. The video game industry is bigger than ever, soLEGO Star Warscan’t count on name recognition alone to sell its family-friendly titles.
It’ll be interesting to see how else Traveller’s Tales changes the formula from here on out. Maybe future games won’t stick to two player co-op, instead making room for up to four players at once. That would be a totally different look for the series, but then again, so are all the changes inThe Skywalker SagathatLEGOfans are so excited about. While it’s hard to say for now if Traveller’s Tales' new ideas work in practice and not just on paper, they’re certainly helping as far asraising interest inLEGO Star Warsis concerned.LEGOfans shouldn’t be surprised if new ideas and big changes become the status quo ofLEGOgames for a little while, because so far, it’s working.
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Sagais in development for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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