Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Review- What is it they’ve sent us?

I know this is the coldest take on this blog so far, but I don’t think EA have been doing a great job with Star Wars games. I did enjoy the Battlefront games, but I think that was probably thanks to the Stockholm Syndrome that developed when there was nothing else to play. But the fact that a universe as expansive as Star Wars was reduced to two online first-person-shooter games was pretty weak. That genre only scratches one specific gaming itch and the fans looking for something else were left disappointed (which is especially understandable when you look back through the impressive and varied library of games that were released before EA got the exclusive license).

Things were set to change this year, though, with the release of Jedi: Fallen Order, Respawn’s new single-player action adventure game. Approaching release, fans became more and more hopeful that this would begin to make things right, putting Star Wars games back on track. People had expectations higher than Yarel Poof’s head- so did it live up to the hype? Absolutely. The game blew my expectations out of the water. I got it on Friday and have had an absolute blast playing it (almost non-stop) since then.

One of the most stunning environments is Bracca, a junk planet where the Empire sends their old ships to be scrapped. The planet also appeared in the novel Resistance Reborn, last month.

The first thing that hit me about it was how beautiful it looked. Graphics never make or break a game for me, but I admit I was worried when I saw some washed-out looking screenshots and unimpressive footage. I’m so pleased to say that I had no cause for concern, the game’s graphics and art design work are done brilliantly, they craft some breath-taking environments- some familiar, some brand new but all of them authentically Star Wars. The characters look great too, the motion capture and facial animations are fantastic- even for the unique looking aliens (aside for some funky looking wookies). As well as the visuals, the sound design is spectacular- Lucasfilm projects always sound great, but this game felt exceptionally rich. My favourite part of the presentation was the soundtrack- Gordy Haab and Stephen Barton have composed my favourite non-John Williams Star Wars score and I really hope they release it onto the music streaming platforms very soon.

BD-1 and Cal on the planet Dathomir, a location that has appeared in a number of Star Wars animations, novels and comics

But good presentation means nothing on its own- it’s become the norm for Star Wars projects. It needs to supplement fun, engaging gameplay. Luckily, this is where Jedi: Fallen Order really excels- I’ve never had this much fun in a Star Wars game. The combat is impressive and incredibly satisfying: gone are the days of Battlefront’s simple “block” or “attack” mechanics because Respawn has given the player so much freedom and choice in how enemies can be taken down. The other side of the gameplay is the exploration- the player is given free roam of a number of reasonably sized hub worlds, with many hidden items and secrets scattered throughout. For the main story, you have to find your way through a series of platforming sections (with traversal methods such as climbing, swinging and wall-running) and solve some unique puzzles using the Force. Once the story is complete and you have unlocked more Force abilities, new pathways are available to you so there’s a real incentive to return to all the areas you’ve been. The one element of the gameplay that I’m not so keen on is the boss battles with other lightsaber users- on the Jedi Master difficulty level I was playing on, the enemies all have so much health that it takes so much time and precision to defeat them and they deal out a ridiculous amount of damage meaning that, if you fail to block once or twice, you’ll be cut down and lose all progress. After a while, I stopped finding the fights fun and began lowering the difficulty for those duels. But despite that small gripe, I can’t believe how much I like the gameplay- I beat the game this weekend and I am super motivated to 100% complete it in the next few days.

"OH MY GOD HE'S SO CUTE I LOVE HIM I WANT A BD-1"- me, 2019

As for the story, it undeniably felt like it was taking place within the wider Star Wars canon, and I really appreciated that. However, while I was relatively engaged throughout, Cal Kestis’ journey isn’t one that I found particularly special. The plot was fairly easy to predict, and nothing about it surprised or excited me. While Cameron Monaghan gives a likable enough performance as the lead character, there is little that sets him apart from other the Jedi characters we’ve seen, and I was left fairly lukewarm. The supporting characters have a lot of potential, and they all have some really strong moments but overall, I felt they were pretty underdeveloped. I’m not sure if it was a consequence of my completing it so quickly, but the implied comradery of the crew felt like it was rushed, and the game never quite sold me on it. The best character is the droid BD-1, an adorable assistant and friend to Cal, voiced by legendary sound designer, Ben Burtt. If everyone had as much charm as Beedee, I would have enjoyed the game’s story much more. Despite my lack of deep investment in the characters and plot, I do hope we get a sequel- the story is really just an excuse for a fun game, and I would definitely be interested to see how the lives of these characters continue (as long as the gameplay stays as fantastic as it is here).

One of the few familiar characters in the story is Saw Gerrera from The Clone Wars and Rogue One, Forest Whitaker reprises his role for the game, providing some fun connectivity between different mediums

Overall, I was so pleasantly surprised by Jedi: Fallen Order. I need to sit on it for a little longer, but it may have become my favourite Star Wars game of all time. I feel like Princess Leia at the end of Rogue One- Respawn has brought me hope for the future of Star Wars games. Hopefully we get more experiences that aren’t afraid to branch out and challenge the idea of what a game should be like made by studios that aren’t being forced to include microtransactions. I can’t recommend this game enough and am crossing my fingers that we get a sequel very very soon.