Although it’s months away from release,LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Sagahas already made a mark on Traveller’s Tales' franchise of licensedLEGOgames. This newLEGO Star Warstitle’s emphasis on reworking core mechanics contributes to that, but there’s more to it.LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Sagahas temporarily brought the franchise to a halt. Last year was the first year that Traveller’s Tales didn’t release a newLEGOgame after maintaining a 15-year streak of annual releases. SinceThe Skywalker Sagawon’t release until 2022, it looks like that break in tradition will be extended to a 2-year hiatus.
Fans remain optimistic thatThe Skywalker Sagawill marktheLEGOfranchise’s triumphant return to form. The trailer for the game certainly suggests that there’s a lot to be excited about. However, one still wonders ifThe Skywalker Saga’s many years of development mean anything for the overarching franchise’s future. Few previousLEGOgames from Traveller’s Tales have gone through a development cycle quite like that ofThe Skywalker Saga,which has suffered delay after delay while still showing tremendous promise. There’s a chance that Traveller’s Tales will develop its titles in the more long-term way ofThe Skywalker Saga,changing the release pacing and quality ofLEGOgames forever.
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LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga’s Long Journey
A long time ago, fans were led to believe thatLEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Sagawould release in late 2020, which sounded perfectly reasonable after its initial announcement at E3 2019. Unfortunately, this date didn’t last long. At Gamescom 2020, fans got a new release date for spring 2021, suggesting there was quite a bit more work to be done. As spring 2021 came around,LEGO Star Warsfans received no news until Traveller’s Tales delayed the game indefinitely.Finally, at Gamescom 2021, fans got another release window: early 2022, a full year after the original delayed date.
The Skywalker Saga’s initial delay wasn’t surprising, of course. Tons of developers all across the game industry were delaying projects big and small throughout 2020 as they adjusted to new decentralized working conditions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s perfectly plausible that the pandemic got inThe Skywalker Saga’s delay too. However, the 2021 delay of the game was a little more surprising, especially because it was a far bigger delay than the first one. In 2020,The Skywalker Sagawas pushed back by about half a year, but factoring in how long it took Traveller’s Tales to give a new release window, the second delay was more like a full year.
Delays are winding down across the game industry as studios get back into the rhythm of development, but seemingly Traveller’s Tales wanted vastly more time to perfectThe Skywalker Saga.In spring 2021, a tweet from the studio claimed that it intends forThe Skywalker Sagato be the best game to ever join theLEGOseries. That could suggest that the game’s second delay had less to do with the pandemic and more to do with a changing internal standard for quality. MaybeThe Skywalker Saga’s many years of development aresetting a new bar forLEGOgames, eschewing the franchise’s original annual release schedule in favor of longer, more meticulous development schedules.
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Should LEGO Games Take Longer to Make?
Traveller’s Tales hasn’t confirmed that futureLEGOgames will take as long to develop asThe Skywalker Saga,but it’s interesting to consider. On the one hand, longtimeLEGOfans would be pretty disappointed to learn that the franchise will get sparser moving forward.The licensedLEGOgame franchise is famously annual, with something new always around the corner, meaning its fans never have to wait too long for another title, which is great. Fast release schedules mean that theseLEGOgames can touch on a lot of licensed IPs at once, too, meaning the franchise’s aesthetic always stays fresh.
On the other hand, maybe longer development times would behealthier forLEGO Star Warsand its video game peers in the long run. Generally speaking, there are two categories of complaints that mostLEGOgames have received from reviewers. The first is that they’re often buggy; an annual release schedule doesn’t leave a lot of room for polish, and Traveller’s Tales sometimes gets criticism for that. The second is that they can be repetitive. MostLEGOgames do reuse a lot of the same mechanics, favoring reliably fun but simple gameplay over constant innovation. If there’s one thing Traveller’s Tales could do to address these complaints, it’s simply spending more time onLEGOgames during development to ensure a higher standard of quality and originality.
There’s clearly a case to be made for both the annual approach and the long-term approach. A constant stream of new titles is very satisfying, but there’s also something to be said for slowly developed and mechanically innovativeLEGOgames.The Skywalker Sagawill serve as a good case study for this second approach.The Skywalker Sagais packed with changesand original ideas, but does that make up for its many years spent in development? There’s only one way to find out.
The Future of LEGO Games
It’s entirely possible that Traveller’s Tales will go right back into its original habits afterThe Skywalker Saga,releasinga newLEGO BatmanorLEGO Marvelgame within a year ofThe Skywalker Saga.However,The Skywalker Sagaalso might not permit that. It’s been such a huge undertaking that Traveller’s Tales might not have any other games in the oven at the moment. What’s more,The Skywalker Saga’s sprawling map and intricate combat mean that any subsequentLEGOgame that goes back to basics risks living inThe Skywalker Saga’s shadow. It may ultimately be more practical for thisLEGO Star Warstitle to serve as the franchise’s new benchmark.
For now, all eyes should be onLEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga.After all, if the game’s big changes end up being more disappointing than entertaining, then maybe Traveller’s Tales can justify going back to basics after all. The studio’s diligence and willingness to try new things should be cause for optimism, though. It’s always great to see a develop take an IPas well loved asLEGO Star Warsso seriously and do everything it can to help that IP reach its full potential. Hopefully, the nextLEGOgame gets the same treatment.
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Sagareleases in 2022 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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