The concept of LEGO video games seems simple at first glance. A classic childhood toy that can be enjoyed by anyone, plus a form of media a ton of people already enjoy, should equal instant success, right? That comment seems like I’m setting up a contradictory statement, but that statement is completely true. Ever since the first LEGO game developed by Traveler’s Tales, the studio behind a vast majority of the games made since 2005, was released, the popularity of these games just kept growing and growing. From LEGO Star Wars to LEGO Lord of the Rings, there was a game for just about anyone to enjoy. 

Sure, that’s all well and good, but what’s the point in discussing these games today? There hasn’t been a new installment in the LEGO series since the beginning of 2019, and for fans of these games, that’s terribly disheartening. Luckily for those fans, TT Games (Traveler’s Tales abbreviated) have started advertising for their newest installment, LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. 

While this game has been in the public knowledge since late 2019, a very particular virus has kept the developers from working on the game at a consistent pace. With release dates being pushed farther and farther back, those ready eager to play the new release became ever more hopeless. That is why it was such a pleasant surprise to see the Twitter account for the game start posting again, and why I want to further discuss the rest of the games TT has developed and my connection to them. 

While it isn’t until spring of this year that we can expect to see the game on store shelves, fans of these games haven’t had a limited number of titles to play in the meantime. Possessing a catalog of over 25 games, players have had hours upon hours of gameplay to entertain themselves with, including myself. While I have been trying to wait for the latest game, I’ve been completing this series to 100% for far too long, with my obsession staring all the way back in August of 2017 with LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham. Ever since then I’ve methodically been finishing the collection game by game. 

In total, I have achieved a completion percentage of 100% on 18 games in total. That sounds like the work of a madman, especially when you consider each game, on average, takes 30 hours to complete. I don’t see it that way but that’s also coming from someone who’s put over 500 hours into Super Smash Bros. I’m a rare case of a completionist devoted to these games. The enjoyment I get out of these games is different from the next person, and that’s what makes them so great. 

They can be enjoyed by such a broad audience. For those who love seeing a progress bar filled all the way in, they are fairly easy to reach a status of 100%. For those who love seeing their favorite Marvel characters as LEGO, they can take a few hours of their free time to, say, play through the story of Avengers, but with characters replaced with those loveable plastic bricks. 

They’re also extremely simple, and that’s how I got into this series so long ago. The games first appear that they cater towards children, and yes, it’s not difficult for a child to play through one of them, the games don’t make themselves so simple that adults wouldn’t enjoy them. 

So if you’re a fan young or old, someone waiting for the new game to either reach 100% or just see the story of Star Wars in a whole new light, there is, and has been, something for everyone to enjoy when it comes to these games.