Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Orderis already being canonized as one of the greatStar Warsgames of all time. TheGame Rant reviewcalled it “a must-playStar Warsexperience that is likely to become a game of the year contender not just for fans of the franchise, but for anyone who loves a unique and challenging action-adventure title.”
While it takesinfluence fromDark Souls,Jedi: Fallen Orderis more of a Metroidvania style action adventure game. It places importance on exploring, combat, and is full of upgrades that allow the player to access new areas and secrets, all while filling out a map and competition percentage. It is most similar to theMetroid Primegames, Retro Studios acclaimed trilogy of games that tookMetroidinto glorious 3D. In traveling to different planets, each with their own map,Jedi: Fallen Orderis most reminiscent ofMetroid Prime 3: Corruptionfor the Wii. When compared to its peers in this regard,Fallen Orderfalls short in some disappointing ways.
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However, compared to any recentStar Warsgame,Jedi: Fallen Orderis unlike anything that’s come around in a while. The last groundbreakingStar Warsgame wasKnights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lordsand that game came out in 2005, but there’s also no forgetting theForce Unleashed. Since the EA acquisition, though,Star Warsgames have been focused on multiplayer. Even between the 2005 and the 2013 acquisitionStar Warsslowed down on the games front, with Bioware’sThe Old Republicbeing the only thing that came close to telling a goodStar Warsstory in a game.
It would be fair to sayJedi: Fallen Orderis one of thebestStar Warsgameswhen it comes to storytelling, but maybe not the absolute best.Knights of the Old Republicand its sequel are still the high watermark for storytelling inStar Warsgames and are among the bestStar Warsstories ever written. Fans of the old extendedStar Warsuniverse also praiseDark Forcesand theJedi Knightsub-franchise that game spawned, and Kyle Katarn is without a doubt a hall of fameStar Warscharacter.
Compared to pretty much anything that’s attempted it, most notablyThe Force Unleashedgames for the Xbox 360 and PS3, thelightsaber combat inFallen Orderis the closest anyone has come to emulating what it would be like to fight as a Jedi. The combat is empowering and challenging, everything aStar Warsfan could dream of. The last time it was done this well was inJedi Knight: Jedi Academyback in 2003. From slaying beasts and deflecting blaster bullets to lightsaber duels with the Sith and the overall lightsaber combat,Jedi:Fallen Orderis nothing short of perfection.
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As Metroidvania, though, as a game about uncovering the map and unlocking new abilities,Fallen Orderhas some shortcomings that hold it back compared to games in and inspired bytheMetroidseries. It lacks features that define the genre and make it so enduring.
One of the main complaints about the wayStar Wars Jedi: Fallen Orderadapts the Metroidvania genre is in what it gives the players in exchange for exploring its world. Many of the chests that are found in the game contain cosmetic upgrades that have no impact on the game’s progression. Yes, many of the more secret areas hidden behind puzzles will have a health or force upgrade, but most of the items inFallen Orderare cosmetic. This leaves players unsure of whether their exploration will be worth it, or if they will just be handed another poncho skin orlightsaber partsinstead.
The areas themselves are well designed labyrinths with a series of unlocking shortcuts, but at multiple points the game makes the player backtrack through a significant portion of the game for the sake of getting back to the ship. There is no fast travel inJedi: Fallen Order, so every level ends in this manner. Sometimes, this is easily accessible from a shortcut, but sometimes, players have to traverse their way back through a significant portion of an area. In these moments, the game shows its hand and reveals it itself as more of a linear experience than an open one, and it shows that it struggles as a Metroidvania game.
If not for its technical flaws,Fallen Ordercould bea game of the year contenderand probably will be for many fans that loveStar Wars. Hopefully, the prevalent texture pop in, load time, and frame-rate issuesFallen Orderis currently suffering will be patched out in time, giving many fans an opportunity to wait and play the best version of a game that is well worth the time. However, compared to similar 3D Metroidvanias likeMetroid PrimeandBatman: Arkham Asylum,the game fails to properly reward the player for exploration and has a good deal of traversal time that feels like pure backtracking. Fans of a refinedMetroidexperience will be let down by how limitedJedi: Fallen Orderends up feeling.
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Orderis out now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
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