A Game as wide as a Galaxy but with the depth of Puddle.

When I was a kid, one of my fondest memories was getting a PS2 with the first Lego Star Wars for Christmas 2005. That game helped shaped my childhood and my love of Lego games going forward. Lego Star Wars 2 the year after was also a great experience with many improvements over the first. The humour and quirkiness of these games set the bar for gaming that both children and adults could enjoy.
The 6 missions per film with between 30 mins to an hour-ish per level gave a good amount of gameplay and despite the levels being "linear" there was plenty to build with hidden secrets to find. From illusive Minikits to Dancing Skeletons to Snow Globes on Hoth there was many a fun and unusual quirk in these levels.

Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga gets rid of these big levels in favour of smaller set pieces with 5 in each film and honestly... it's a mess. I find myself running between various points in hub worlds (a cool idea in principle) to small missions that feel anti-climatic, unfulfilling, and generally clunky without the fun puzzle solving that the first games had. There are puzzles but they feel hollow, samey, and erratic. By the time a mission starts, it's over and I am aimlessly wandering an open world talking to generic NPC's that I could skin how I wanted and import into any generic game.

Co-op is pathetic at best. Player 2 is often on the sidelines in big epic encounters as opposed to the original games where they were an active participant to defeat the boss.

I will stop rambling but all I will say is, the devs obviously worked hard on this game and had a love for Lego Star Wars but whilst it is a large game it feels unfocused and more like a spiral galaxy of ideas that sound good but just make the core gameplay feel rushed and unfulfilling. The plot goes by at lightspeed and I feel as if I am not able to take in the story of these amazing films.

Honestly, if you love this game then I am happy for you but for me, I recommend the original Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga to fill that nostalgia with a more focused and fun and satisfying experience that honours the narrative of Star Wars more.