Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens captures the essence of the movie and builds on the TT Games LEGO series with new gameplay additions that fans of this genre will thoroughly enjoy.
We were treated to a presentation and a hands-on gameplay demo running on the PS4 at GDC and it was surprising how sleek and detailed LEGO blocks look rendered in high definition. The game features 18 playable levels and 7 new story levels to fill in the gaps the movie left unanswered, for example how C3PO got his replacement red arm and where Poe Dameron went after the opening of the film. It’ll also feature new voice over lines from Daisy Ridley, John Boyega and other key talent from The Force Awakens.
The development team hopes to bring authenticity to its world building with playable hubs including Jakku, Takodana, Starkiller Base, D’Qar and of course, The Millennium Falcon. Even the menus are rendered in-game, leaving a goosebumps feeling after seeing the opening title shot and crawler.
Crucial here are the gameplay additions to spice up the LEGO Star Wars experience this time around. In our hands-on section, we played through a mix of action-packed sequences like Rey boarding down a sand dune and puzzle solving with BB-8. A new feature, multi-builds, hopes to add replayability with multiple options to tackle the situation at hand. To do so, LEGO blocks can be built up and re-built into different objects.
My favorite from LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens was the flight gameplay and TT Games overhauled this section to include dogfights with Tie Fighters in an open arena setting. Played co-operatively, this was a blast to maneuver around as one person flies the Millennium Falcon while the other controls the turrets. Not to mention, the linear chase section preceding the aerial mayhem offers that “sugar rush of destruction” and free play value through completing entirely optional objectives, earning the ability to select a different starship the next go-around.
It’s easy to see why the next LEGO game is not a re-thread but the natural step for the block building franchise and the support of the Lucasarts studio ensures that this is one to look forward to in a galaxy far far away when it releases June 28, 2016.
