A large part of what makes the LEGO franchise of games so fun and exciting is that it's clear how much fun the developers had with the game, too. LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is one of the best examples of that. It's full of authentic recreations of key Star Wars moments, but with the self-awareness that it's made out of LEGOs. It's supposed to be irreverent and funny. Fans have found a good example that some LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga players may not have noticed.
Idle animations are a familiar concept to most video game players. They're animations that trigger after a player's been AFK for a certain amount of time, if only to show a character won't stand around idly without stretching or showing a bit of personality. LEGO games are no different, only idle animations in a LEGO game get to twist expectations on their head. What better way to do that than to throw in some references that Star Wars fans are already deeply familiar with.
In this case, the idle animation in question comes from LEGO's version of Anakin Skywalker during the Droid Factory Frenzy stage. A player named TheGreatLazu on Reddit shared a clip recorded while they were briefly AFK. It shows Anakin light up his lightsaber only to discover that it's colored red instead of blue. Anakin then taps it several times, like his lightsaber is a flashlight that needs its batteries bounced around, and it switches back to blue.
As Star Wars fans are already well aware of, Anakin Skywalker becomes one of the most famous villains of all time -- Darth Vader. The idle animation is a hint at that transformation. Players are able to laugh with the game about what's going to happen next. Anakin may think his lightsaber turning red now is just a glitch, but little does he know.
Anakin starts as a Republic hero, though he never fully believed in the Jedi way, of course. Anakin's story in Star Wars Episode 1 through 3 is one of a lightsaber turning from blue to red. What would make the joke extra special if in a later stage of LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is having players play as Darth Vader and having the joke in reverse, with his lightsaber flashing blue instead of red.
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga players know that the game is filled with little jokes like this. There are nods to Shadows of the Empire, Luke Skywalker's love of blue milk, and much more. The game was made by fans of Star Wars for fans of Star Wars and that's worth acknowledging.
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.