LEGO Star Chores

I recently finished the main campaign of LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. Despite thoroughly enjoying everything about it, and in some ways considering it the best LEGO Star Wars entry, I’ve had little urge to keep going. I tried Free Play Mode, but it didn’t take long before I stopped. Even with the DLC, I’m sure it won’t take long for me to be burnt out on that too. Why is that?

Well, I think it goes back to something I said about the original LEGO Star Wars games. To quote an old piece of mine:

“…[B]y the time I’m done the main campaign my patience wears thin, so I lack the urge to press onwards.”

I feel that even more here, since this game’s much bigger than previous entries. It’s not even that the magic’s not there, because it is. Rather, it’s because the game has so much content, yet most of it isn’t accessible right away. It’s a problem I have with most games these days, particularly open world ones. And it’s getting on my nerves.

Let me explain.

Back in the early days, games were straightforward. They were hard, and often unfair, but once you beat them, that was it. You were done, could absorb your accomplishment, and either move on to another game, or start it again. And it worked!

Then limitations eased up, thanks to advances in technology, and games now had to be bigger and take up more real estate. It wasn’t enough to beat a game anymore. Now, with more space available, you could collect content post-campaign. Mario wasn’t confined to the main game, he now had coins/stars/shines/moons/insert items here to find. In some cases, backtracking to collect these even became necessary. And other franchises took note, with the collectibles swelling over time.

That said, a certain charm was lost along the way. Whereas getting an item was once a happy accident, now it was a mundane hunt. Whereas it was once optional, now it was mandatory. And whereas it once served the main story, now it was extra. In other words, it became a chore.

I know some people don’t mind additional collectibles. I’m probably in the minority too. But while this isn’t to slight newer games, many of which are masterpieces, I do think developers aren’t content with not including those extra trinkets. It’s almost as if they’re worried gamers won’t be satisfied unless they spend 40+ hours on a game, so as to get their money’s worth. And it’ll only get worse from here.

To be fair, I have two solutions that’d let people to have their cake and eat it too. The first is to make these collectibles optional. This is what I dub the “do it yourself” solution. It’s a method games like Super Mario Maker and Little Big Planet strive for: you don’t need the trinkets and whistles to complete the game, but they allow for a richer experience. You basically, like the option suggests, do it yourself, or go as you see fit. I find that option less-intrusive.

But since that’s not the best option for most games, or even the best solution, my second suggestion is more reasonable: make collecting everything integral to the main story, and all while not actually being a chore. This is something that the Pikmin franchise does wonderfully! Because while you can get by with not collecting every piece of Olimar’s ship in the first game, every treasure in the second game, or every fruit in the third game, you basically need to in order to beat them properly. What’s better, you feel that dopamine rush of collecting the trinkets without the drag of going on endless Easter egg hunts and performing laborious tasks with no satisfaction.

It’s not like this couldn’t be done with other franchises. Pokémon Snap only unlocks the real ending once you’ve taken pictures of all 63 of the in-game Pokémon and all 6 of the in-game Pokémon Signs. Bionicle: Matoran Adventures makes its side-quests in each level a necessity to complete them properly, and they’re simple enough to find without being a chore. I know integration of this kind is antithetical to modern sensibilities, and I get why, but think about how much more fun collectibles could be if you didn’t feel obligated to constantly backtrack for something as mundane as a music note or a key card.

Which ties back to LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. I really enjoyed playing the game, and I’ll probably go back again in the future! But I probably won’t 100% complete it once I’m finished the main campaign, as much as that bothers me. Because it’s too much trouble, too time-consuming and, let’s face it, not fun. And if I’m not having fun with a video game, then it might as well be homework. I think we can agree that’s not a fair alternative.