We are truly in the end times when EA has published a fantastic Star Wars video game. After the two disappointing Battlefront games, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is an outstanding experience that captures the magic of previous in-universe titles like Knights of the Old Republic and the Jedi Knight series. Star Wars games truly flourish when they branch off of the movies’ storylines and dive deep into the lore they’ve established, whether it be canon or not.

Fallen Order follows Cal Kestis, a Jedi who survived Emperor Palpatine’s Order 66 from Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. At the time, Cal was only a padawan, and he suffers major PTSD from the event, so he must re-learn his Jedi abilities as the story progresses. He eventually meets up with a resistance fighter, Cere Junda, and the pilot of the Mantis, Greez Dritus. Throughout the game, though, Cal is accompanied by one of the many whimsical astromech droids in Star Wars, BD-1, who can assist Cal in traversal and combat.

Jedi: Fallen Order takes the best elements of this decade’s premier action games. It utilizes a “bonfire system” like the Dark Souls series, where players can regain their health and resources at the cost of enemies in the world respawning. Traversing the environment sees Cal grappling, parkouring, and shimmying much like Nathan Drake would in Uncharted. Enemies can deal massive damage, but deep combos and maneuvers will quell them with ease, like in 2018’s God of War.

The levels in this game are dynamic like a Metroidvania, as some areas get locked off until you progress further into the story and/or acquire new abilities, such as force push, wall run, and Jedi flip. While you start off with only your lightsaber and a few abilities, you never truly feel like you’re at a disadvantage against the enemies before you. Having good parry timing, as well as knowing when to dodge and when to block will save your life on the harder difficulties.

The standout moment of the game was first landing on Kashyyyk. The Wookiee homeworld is under siege after the events of Episode III, and this level begins with Cal climbing the moss on an AT-AT, and eventually piloting it. While I had experience behind an AT-AT in Star Wars: Battlefront II (2005), using one with the camera behind the cockpit is an absolute thrill ride, especially when Saw Gerrera, who made appearances in Clone Wars and Rogue One, made an appearance. Another noteworthy planet is Dathomir, the homeworld of Darth Maul. This harsh, brutal environment makes for a challenging level that demands the player progress before the climax of its events.

What Jedi: Fallen Order does better than the Battlefront games, is making the player truly feel like they are in a Star Wars game, and not a Battlefield re-skin. Respawn Entertainment did a wonderful job taking on this genre switch and did not re-use assets from their flagship series, Titanfall. Action-adventure is not what Respawn was known for, with a background exclusively in first-person shooters, but this game is proof that the studio can branch out and deliver a knockout game in a different field.

My pre-order of the game came with quite a lot of bonuses. It featured an exclusive lightsaber color (orange), which was nice since, for the majority of the game, you are confined to either blue or green. The additional skins for my robot companion and ship were nice, but I ended up preferring a skin unlocked early in the game. What really stood out, though, was the $15 Fandango credit that came on the receipt. It would feel almost criminal to use this on anything other than the final entry in the Skywalker Saga, Rise of Skywalker, out later this month.

I would argue that the story of this game is short at roughly twelve hours, but there is an abundance of things to do. I am drawn to discovering all of the force echoes, as they make for excellent bits of lore. Plenty of codex entries give great detail to the areas you inhabit, with no stone left unturned. Overall, it is an experience no Star Wars fan can afford to miss, whether you are a casual movie-goer or a die-hard fan.

Phenixx Gaming is everywhere you are. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

$59.99

9.1

Score

9.1/10

Pros

• Magnificent combat
• Great adherence to lore
• Memorable characters
• Perfect difficulty for everyone

Cons

• A few technical hiccups
• Breakneck story pacing