LAB NOTES
I started a free trial of PC
Game Pass this month, and
I’m impressed. I’ve used
subscription-based gaming
services such as PS Now
and Utomik in the past, but
they struggle to feature the
latest game releases, relying
on a back catalog of older
games. However, Microsoft
has invested heavily in Game
Pass, with plenty of big-namereleases available on launch
and a large library of titles,
from triple-A to indie gems.
I also play games on
PlayStation (I know, stone the
blasphemer) and I’m curious
about Sony’s approach to
the PS Plus service. Rolling
PS Now into a tier-based
Plus makes sense, but I’m
apprehensive about paying
more for the higher tiers.PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan
recently confirmed that Sony’s
biggest exclusives won’t be
available from day one on the
new service, which feels like
a cop-out in the face of Game
Pass, but I’m intrigued by the
prospect of playing old PS2
and PSP games. I have fond
memories of Sony’s handheld
years (I’m one of the few who
bought a PS Vita).It will be interesting to
see how the Plus platform
performs against the Game
Pass juggernaut because it
is at least doing some things
differently. I can’t see myself
paying for both—with limited
time for gaming, one will be
enough. It feels like a question
of nostalgia versus new
releases. Which do you think
is more important?CHRISTIAN GUYTON
Staff WriterSAM LEWIS, STAFF WRITERTHIS MONTH, a certain game has been
taking up my life and all I can think about is
when I next get to play it. Regular readers
will know about my love and nostalgia for
this type of game, but I haven’t spoken
about this particular title as frankly I didn’t
want to jinx it. As you might have seen from
the image to the right, the game is Lego
Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. I’ve been
waiting excitedly for it for a year and a half
now and, in the meantime, I tried to park
the idea of it to one side. This plan worked
pretty well as, all of a sudden, the release
date crept up out of nowhere.
I’ve only had a few days playing the
game and I can instantly tell that it’s going
to consume quite a lot of my time over the
next few months at least. I’ve played a lot of
the other games in the Lego lineup and the
open-world ones are some of my favorites.
So now that they’ve made this one moreopen, I’m thrilled
with the amount of
game I’m going to
get through!
In fact, I started
the game in order
of the Star Wars
films and have only
played through the
first main mission,.
The rest of the
time, I’ve been
trawling every last
corner of the open
world in Mos Eisley.
The level of detail is incredible and the
same can be said for the graphics. Yes, I
know it’s ‘only’ a Lego game but hear me
out... it’s silky smooth and just kicking back
on the couch after work and playing this on
a 4K TV has been a great experience.The game isn’t a remaster either, each
level is different from the ones in the
Complete Saga, so it feels like a fresh new
game, despite the Star Wars story being the
same. It’s the first game in ages that I’m
going to struggle to put down and I’ve barely
even scraped the surface yet. Yikes!I’ve become obsessed with a game and, no, it’s not Elden Ring
A long time
coming
© WARNER BROS INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENTThe Skywalker Saga
has become my all-
consuming love.72 MAXIMU MPC JUN 2022
tested. reviewed. verdictized.
in the lab
72