Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order' Review: A Precious Story Combined With Action, Adventure And Emotion

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is one of the most surprising games that came out this year. Developed by Respawn Entertainment and published by EA, Jedi: Fallen Order is a single-player story-focused Star Wars game. 

Yes, there are no multiplayer components or microtransactions. Let that sink in for a bit. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s talk about the game itself.

So, How's the Story?

Image Credit: ign.com

The moment you start up the game, you are greeted with the familiar John Williams inspired music we got to experience in the movies. The game starts off by putting you on the planet “Bracca” which is the Empire's Shipyard. Here you take control of Cal Kestis, an engineer turned scrapper who is working with his partner to repair Star Destroyers. However, you are secretly a Jedi that escaped from the purge or better known as the Order 66 purge five years earlier. While working at the shipyard, your partner suffers an accident and Kal uses his Force powers to save his life. This results in Kal being discovered by the Empire which begins your journey as a Jedi in this game. You confront the Second Sister, (a Jedi-hunting Imperial Inquisitor similar to what you may have seen on Star Wars: Rebels) and escape the planet with the help of some strangers after a very short battle.

These strangers turn out to be ex-Jedi Cere Junda and pilot Greez Dritus who later set you on a path to find a missing list of Force-sensitive children. This list would be crucial to establish a new Jedi Order in the future and save the Galaxy from the Empire's tyranny. As you progress through the first level of the game, you also meet your companion BD-1 or as we like to call him “buddy.” You get to explore different planets from Greez's ship (the Stinger Mantis), an experience similar to what you may have seen previously in the KOTOR games. You visit ancient temples and exotic planets as you re-discover your force abilities via flashbacks that are triggered by Force echoes spread around the world.

Speaking of characters, performances for Cere (played by Debra Wilson) and Kal (played by Cameron Monaghan) were exceptional and both characters have their own issues they need to deal with. Cere reminisces being a Jedi and reminds us of all the horrible things she went through due to the Jedi purge. Kal, on the other hand also grows as a character as the narrative of the game progresses. While the voiceovers are filled with emotions, a sense of urgency and anxiety, the game really shines in the motion-captured cutscenes. Having said that, we would have loved to see Kal struggle with the Dark Side of the force. We never really get to see him get seduced by the Dark Side, especially since he has now re-discovering his Force abilities. We would have loved to see him draw power from raw emotions and feelings such as anger, hatred, greed, jealousy, fear, aggression, megalomania, and unrestrained passion. We feel this was a lost opportunity that could have added more power to the story but alas we have to be happy with what we get.

Image Credit: starwars.com

Having said that, the star of the game is BD-1, your companion who is cute, needy, helpful and playful, exactly like your dog at home. BD-1's beeps and boops give you much-needed company when you are exploring ancient temples all by yourself. He makes a noise every time you come across something interesting or need to scan a point of interest. However, BD-1 is not only a companion that does rudimentary tasks, but he can also be used to heal yourself, slice doors amongst other helpful things this tiny droid can do.

While most of the characters are well thought out, the story itself is also quite exciting. The main story of the game is definitely Star Wars canon but you do not need to know the lore in detail to understand the story. You don't need to watch every single episode of The Clone Wars or Rebels to know what's going on in the game. However, we do recommend seeing the movies as there are many references that you may not get unless you've watched them. Apart from some references, you also meet Saw Gerrera who is a very important character from Rogue One. If you've enjoyed any of the Star Wars movies (old and new), you definitely need to play this game to find out more about the lore.

Gameplay and Performance

The gameplay of the game is inspired by many games we have come across in the past. If you've played previous Star Wars games, Dark Souls and Uncharted, you will feel right at home. The game mixes in elements and mechanics from all of the games to deliver a proper single-player game. For example, Jedi: Fallen Order uses a mechanic where you can block blaster shots so that it hits back a stormtrooper and kills him. This can only be achieved if you time your block perfectly. This mechanic was first introduced in the Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace game on the PlayStation twenty years ago.

Image Credit: onlysp.escapistmagazine.com

Having said that, Jedi: Fallen Order is not a hack and slash game like the Force Unleashed series either. You simply cannot go spamming the attack button to kill enemies. It is very similar to Dark Souls as you need to adapt and strategize your attacks according to the enemy you are facing.

The game also has a few RPG elements as you learn new Force abilities by levying up your character. You learn Push, Pull and Slow Time that can be upgraded as you earn skill points. You even get to learn new combos for the lightsaber that comes in handy during the latter part of the game. All of these skills can be learned at meditation points spread across levels. You can also rest and heal yourself at these meditation points, however like Dark Souls, enemies will respawn each time you rest.

We played the game on a PS4 Pro and the graphics look extremely beautiful. Each and every planet has been designed keeping planet-specific aesthetics in mind and in line with the lore. For example, you visit the Wookiee's homeworld "Kashyyk" that is forested just like the movies and the TV shows. The textures and character models look impressive, however also have their own issues like clipping around a character's head. There are times when you will face minor glitches and long load times, but overall, it performed quite fairly on the PlayStation 4. Alternatively, you can run the game on performance mode, however the resolution will be limited to 1080p.

The Final Say 

If you've been looking to play a single-player Star Wars game that satisfies your lore appetite, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order will deliver. It has been a very long time since we enjoyed a Star Wars single-player game and Respawn Entertainment has knocked it out of the park with this one. It will go down as one of the iconic Star Wars game in history that will stay with you for a very long time. Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order is now available to play on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC right now.




REVIEWED BY
Ankush Halder