Of Blocks and Coffee: Lego Star Wars and Legends & Lattes

This post has my combined thoughts on a game and book that I finished recently. The game is Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker, and the book is Legends & Lattes by author Travis Baldree.

Let’s start with Lego Star Wars. This is the latest game in this series, re-telling the story of the entire 9-movie series using Lego creations and minifigs and a lot of creative revisioning of the tale to make it more family-friendly. There’s been more in the series previously starting with an adaption of the three prequel movies, then a second game adapting the original trilogy, and then a third title that combined all six movies. An adaption of the first of the third trilogy followed later, but that was it until Skywalker Saga was announced.

What we have here is a neat package that covers all the movies in 45 levels that are unlocked as semi-open-world areas once the story mode for each has been completed, plus some space content for the ships you collect. To paraphrase the book of The Princess Bride, this is the “Good Parts" version.

I was hoping this would be something great, as a fan of both the Star Wars universe and the Lego Star Wars adaptions but it’s just … fine. I suspect my high expectations haven’t helped – anything that you’ve hyped up to yourself is going to have a hard time matching what you’ve imagined it could be.

But to sum up briefly, most of the levels are built around platforming and shooting with the minifigs you collect and unlock, with simple minigames for different activities and the occasional vehicle section. As you play through the story of each level, you’ll unlock it to come back in freeplay mode, which allows you to use different characters that the ones available in the story. This lets you access areas you didn’t have access to due to lacking required abilities – for example, having additional quests locked behind characters who you can only speak to using a protocol droid.

If you’re looking for a reason to come back once you’ve finished the story, this is it. But I’m happy to stop where I am, having seen how the developers told their version of it. If you’re interested in seeing how it compares to the movies, you might want to give this video from ElAnalistaDeBits a look as it’s doing exactly that kind of comparison.

I had a pretty good time with it overall, although I had a few problems with the camera just not wanting to give me the right view for a scene and controls for spaceships feeling wrong whether I inverted the Y axis or not. And my reactions are definitely slowing as I get older, so having so many times where an immediate response was sought… I’m feeling creakier with every cutscene.

And speaking of cutscenes, if you’re curious about the story but just can’t see yourself buying the game, they've been compiled on YouTube (of course). You can see the style of humour used within the first 15 seconds, like it or not.

Now to something I enjoyed a great deal more.

I first heard about this book as a post on Twitter from author Travis Baldree (you can find him here), showing off the cover art. On the strength of that and the synopsis of the story, I pre-ordered it on Amazon immediately.

High Fantasy with a double-shot of self-reinvention

"Worn out after decades of packing steel and raising hell, Viv the orc barbarian cashes out of the warrior’s life with one final score. A forgotten legend, a fabled artifact, and an unreasonable amount of hope lead her to the streets of Thune, where she plans to open the first coffee shop the city has ever seen.

However, her dreams of a fresh start pulling shots instead of swinging swords are hardly a sure bet. Old frenemies and Thune’s shady underbelly may just upset her plans. To finally build something that will last, Viv will need some new partners and a different kind of resolve.

A hot cup of fantasy slice-of-life with a dollop of romantic froth.”

There’s a lot to be said about stories that are both wholesome and fun, and following this quiet little story of a retired adventurer looking to find some peace also finding a family… It’s genuinely heart-warming, with characters who I came to care for. Right now, the Kindle version is dirt cheap on Amazon, and I’d recommend giving it a try. (I don't want to say too much for fear of spoiling the mostly-gentle story beats, as it's a story that's all about the journey - maybe enjoyed with a hot beverage and delicious baked goods as you sit somewhere comfortable)

In other news, I’ve re-subbed to World of Warcraft and I’ve picked up my oldest character (now with grey hair, to kind of match mine) with a view to getting him up to 50 and into Shadowlands. For all it’s flaws, it’s good to be back.