Having always been a big fan of the LEGO series, mainly because they’ve always made for terrific experiences to share with my more gaming-challenged wife, there’s always a crackle of excitement in the air when a new one is around the corner. The fact that it was clear this iteration was not only going to be exhaustively large (you have no idea), but would also be packed with refinements in gameplay, most critically with breaking characters down into defined classes, improved combo-focused brawling, and the terrific ability to pull out and get your shooting game on and it felt like the relatively long wait for it would all be worth it. For the most part, it really does deliver on that promise… and there’s no doubt that Skywalker Saga demonstrates a far more clear commitment to advancing the series than we’ve seen in many years. For all of the positives, though, I would point out that for my more casually-skilled wife there was an adjustment period where she wasn’t very happy. Where the movement and general control to this point has been very newbie-friendly, with the camera movement being pretty well automatic and adjusting in the direction you faced, this new version has finally latched onto the style pioneered by the likes of Mario 64 in the day, with the camera being explicitly controlled by you with the right stick. Not having ever really joined the modern-day 3D platforming crowd even though my wife has improved, on the whole I’d say for her the frustration in learning this new scheme makes it more of a wash. For me, who has been thirsting for the series being more gamer-focused I’m all about it. Not all of the new ideas necessarily work well, the vagaries of the challenges and following rumors across the galaxy can be aggravating, and if anything the density of secrets in larger areas goes a bit too far, practically cluttering your screen if you unlock the collectible hints perk fully. Oh, and the sadly trademark tendency to periodically crash, lock, freeze, or wonk out in a variety of ways is still there… though perhaps not as prevalent as it has been in the past. Regardless of its shortcomings in some specific areas there’s no denying that this is the most impressive and ambitious LEGO title to date, covering an obscene amount of narrative ground, absolutely dripping with content and secrets, and pretty well hitting every fan service target you could possibly imagine along the way. You’ll laugh, you’ll cringe, you’ll probably yell at the screen a bit… but whether you tackle it solo or, better yet, with a co-op companion you’ll more often than not thoroughly enjoy a game showing a whole lot of love for the source material and the series fans.