Few Star Wars games have been created since Electronic Arts has acquired the license, leaving many to worry about the state of the Star Wars brand in video games. The few that have come out resulted in either massive controversy or universal disappointment.
Not all hope is lost, however, as Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is a true Star Wars game in both presentation and gameplay. No massive controversy holds this game back, or any questionable design decisions. This game is fantastic and critically has made its mark as arguably one of, if not the, most well-rounded and high-quality Star Wars games of the modern video game era.
Updated April 29th, 2022 by Jerrad Wyche: With Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order's sequel on the horizon, a new High Republic game from Quantic Dream, and the remake of Knights of the Old Republic in development there's a lot coming down the pipeline for Star Wars and video game fans alike. The most recent licensed Star Wars game was Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, which was critically well received and has been selling tremendously well. As time goes on it's important to laud the Star Wars games, like Fallen Order, that gave fans one of the best games the series has ever seen.
8 Its Unique Game Pace
Fallen Order is significantly slower than many other Star Wars titles, lacking the speed of Jedi Knight or the pure ferocity of The Force Unleashed.
Yet Fallen Order uses that to its advantage, allowing players to focus on the environmental storytelling and mechanic-heavy enemy fights. Boss fights get a massive boost as a result, being more engaging than most Star Wars games that have come before it. Combat is broken up with exploration sections as well that are well executed, truly adding to the typical action-adventure formula.
7 True And Rewarding Exploration
On the opposite end, open-ended levels allow for plenty of extra secrets and shortcuts to be added. This has been masterfully done in games like Dark Souls, but is also done well in Fallen Order.
Running on walls, using Force Pull to open new sections, and finding secrets all help to make each planet in Fallen Order distinct. The death system in Fallen Order and its meditation save points help reinforce the idea that exploring and utilizing the environment is key to success.
6 Difficult Encounters And Challenges
Challenge is something that is not associated with Jedi or most Force wielders, seeing as they have the equivalent of space magic. Fallen Order shows a different side to Jedi combat.
Inquisitors are terrifying enemies to face, and even basic stormtroopers can provide difficulty when fought in large groups. Cal's highly limited arsenal helps breed creativity and agency within players, making mastery of Fallen Order's combat much more satisfying than many other Star Wars titles.
5 Great Source Material
Fallen Order is canon to the Star Wars universe, showing a more grounded side to the universe that just isn't conveyed in the blockbuster movies.
We get to see certain critical Star Wars events pan out in this game along with all of the consequences associated with them. Enemies are authentic to the source material, and the general production of the story makes this feel like a true addition to the overall universe. Respawn did a fantastic job adding and respecting the source material.
4 Cast Of Characters
So much of the main and supporting cast for Fallen Order is brilliantly executed, demonstrating sharp wit or meaningful guilt for their past actions.
Without getting into spoilers, the main ship crew is all engaging to talk to and grows surprising depth as the campaign progresses. A support character gets introduced late in the game and is a treat to talk to. Flashbacks of Cal's past further reinforce Respawn's mastery over character narratives.
3 Combat System
Before Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order released, the trailers gave many the feeling that the game would be aiming to deliver an engaging combat system. Though it ended up having many shades of combat from popular FromSoftware developed titles like Dark Souls or Bloodborne, it was uniquely its own in some ways as well.
The mix of dodging, blocking, force movement, and lightsaber-wielding all came together in a way that delivered an engaging and challenging enough combat system that made it more than simply another Star Wars action/adventure game.
2 Narrative Stakes
With Star Wars, anything that happens outside of the major movies or television shows is tricky because it's never clear what is main canon and what is a bit more temporary or legends-esque. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order managed to strike this beautiful balance - where the narrative felt like it had stakes that could effect the greater conflict in the universe - but also didn't bump elbows with things that made it feel like it didn't or shouldn't fit.
It also left players in a place where they were curious to see what their actions in this first game would lead to in terms of repercussions moving forward.
1 Complete Quality Experience
When you hear people talk about their favorite Star Wars games, there always seems to be a "but". They'll talk about how a specific aspect of the game was great, but another section didn't meet that standard which resulted in an off-kilter and unbalanced experience overall.
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order may not have delivered anything innovative or ground-breaking for the industry, but it did happen to have a well-round and quality experience that delivered strongly in both the moment-to-moment gameplay and the narrative it was delivering throughout.