JOE Gaming Weekly – The Lego Skywalker Saga is just pure entertainment

This week also sees the much-awaited announcement of a long-delayed sequel.

Welcome to JOE Gaming Weekly, your weekly round-up of all things gaming. Or, specifically, the one big game you should play this week, the one big piece of gaming news you need to know about, and the one big deal available to purchase this week. So, off we go! MUST PLAY OF THE WEEK Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga Spread across all nine of the main Star Wars movies, The Skywalker Saga clearly sees the folks behind the Lego games sit up and take notice of It Takes Two - doubtlessly one of the most inventive and fun games of recent years - and say to themselves, "We should be doing more like that". And so across the many levels you control different characters, some with blasters and some with lightsabers, some with force powers and some... are R2-D2, with many of the levels giving you different tasks and gameplay elements to mess with. Yes, you've got must-have additions like the pod-race from Episode I or the Trench Run from Episode IV or the duel with Kylo Ren from Episode VII, but there are also tricky platforms sections from within the cave of mirrors from Episode VIII, or a full-on Command & Conquer-style top-down battle from Episode II. That is coupled with the requisite Lego sense of humour that doesn't skimp on making fun of itself or the Star Wars universe, from slapstick moments involving thousands of stormtroopers, to some knowing looks between Poe and Finn in the opening credits. It all boils down to a massively entertaining 20 hours of mainline gameplay, which can expand to as far as 90 hours if you find yourself going off the beaten track to discover as much of these nine worlds as possible. Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is available on PS5, Xbox Series X, PS4, Xbox One, Switch and PC right now. BIG NEWS OF THE WEEK We're returning to Monkey Island! 13 years since the last entry in the series, the Return to Monkey Island is on the way! The plot is said to follow on directly from the ending to 1991's Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge. A collaboration between LucasFilm Games and Devolver Digital (who recently had a huge hit with Fall Guys), the announcement video arrived this week, while the finished game itself is due to arrive before the end of 2022. DEAL OF THE WEEK Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice - Game of the Year Edition It is very likely that you've spent most of the last few weeks playing Elden Ring, but if you've - somehow - managed to finish that game already but you're not fully versed in the history of releases by From Software, then you should absolutely check out their previous release. The Game of the Year Edition comes equipped with new boss challenge modes, the ability to leave messages and recordings of your actions that other players can view and rate, and three unlockable cosmetic skins. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice - Game of the Year Edition is available on the PS Store marked down from €69.99 to €34.99 until Wednesday, 13 April. Clips via Devolver Digital, WB Games & PlayStation