LEGO Star Wars The Force Awakens is, by far, the most entertaining and charming Star Wars experience I’ve had since watching the original film trilogy decades ago.
Traveller’s Tales has made up for the choppy pacing of the LEGO Marvel’s Avengers game released earlier this year with a title that uses wildly popular licensing assets effectively. Rather than merely relying on pre-recorded lines to weave a story together, LEGO Star Wars The Force Awakens uses spot-on voice acting to piece together a saga that began when my parents first traveled to a galaxy far, far away a long time ago.
If you’ve had a chance to play any of the other LEGO games, then for the most part, you know what you’re in for. All of your favorite characters from Star Wars: The Force Awakens are here, and they’ve got cool abilities that makes local co-op a blast. The puzzle and platforming aspects are fun and approachable for even the youngest of gamers, but seasoned gamers will be pleased with the steps that Traveller’s Tales has taken to expand their repertoire.
I had an absolute blast playing the flight sections in LEGO Star Wars The Force Awakens, which, like the rest of the game’s elements, were easy and enjoyable. There’s no beating the thrill of flying around as the Millenium Falcon, but blasting TIE fighters in Poe Dameron’s X-wing comes pretty close.
In addition to the airborne dogfights, LEGO Star Wars The Force Awakens has a few new instances that throw your character into cover fire battles. Even though LEGO games are always forgiving, these fights require a bit more tactical thought than the pray-and-spray approach. We’re not talking Gears of War-level exchanges, but it utilizes the basic mechanics to create a similar (and far less violent) experience for young gamers.
Despite some of the darker twists in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, this LEGO game adaptation remains light in tone. When Starkiller Base fires its massive deadly beam, for example, some of the Stormtroopers seen in formation throw on 3D glasses. Innocent little jokes like these have become signature aspects of the LEGO games from Traveller’s Tales, adding pleasant surprise moments for even the most diehard fans of the original source material.
Even if you’ve seen the film it’s based on a dozen times by now, there’s still enough content in LEGO Star Wars The Force Awakens’ 10 hour or so campaign to entertain fans and gamers of all ages and skill levels. While the online multiplayer feature that I’ve wanted in LEGO games for a while is still absent, the whole of everything offered is more than enough to encourage a few replays. The Force is definitely with this game.
LEGO Star Wars The Force Awakens is now available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Wii U, Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation Vita, iOS, and Steam. Disclaimer: Lego Star Wars The Force Awakens copy of game provided to us from WBIE for review.