It's probably the game Star Wars fans have been waiting for years. No multiplayer-only as last in "Battlefront", no microtransactions, no loot-boxing – just a good Star Wars story that further enriches the franchise and fills in previously unrequested gaps.
This time Respawn Entertainment was allowed to try "Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order" and thus a huge task previously known for games like "Titanfall" or "Apex Legends". The team also brought in real veteran veterans, including former God of War director Stig Asmussen, who are jointly heading the Star Wars franchise back in the right direction. Whether you let yourself be seduced too much by the dark side of power again, or the Jedis get their revenge among you, you will learn in our test.
A story not told so far
Chronologically, "Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order" plays around five years after Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Anakin Skywalker is now fighting for the Dark Side as Darth Vader, the Jedi Order is largely destroyed and only a handful of those in power are scattered throughout the galaxy. This includes the new protagonist Cal Kestis, who is still aware of his powers after the purge of the Empire, but most of them do not use it anymore. As luck would have it, somewhere a little Jedi light shimmers in the distance that makes Cal feel called to resurrect the Jedi Order. To do this, travel back and forth between different planets, visit mysterious vaults, the ancient Jedi Temple, and brave the ever-expanding empire.
As an inveterate Star Wars fan, you probably will not get around to "Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order", which is another piece of the puzzle throughout the Canon. The story depicts the moment when a few Jedi regroup to save the Order before the story eventually enters the original trilogy. For over 15 hours you will be entertained with a typical Star Wars action fireworks, which is a bit slow in running, but promises galactic hours and lots of lightsaber duels to the end. Also because you get to know adorable new Star Wars characters, especially the cute BB-1 or the somewhat grumpy pilot Greez. But even familiar faces like Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker) have small appearances in the game. Otherwise, "Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order" renounces largely on prominent faces of the films, probably because Respawn wanted to tell an original story that stands for itself. They have definitely succeeded in doing so and from the first minute on you feel transported into this gigantic universe, which has a familiar recognition value on every corner.
These include the five planets you travel to, each of which has its own look and feel, the many whimsical creatures that romp on it, as well as the sometimes formidable assets of the Empire, such as the Inquisitorial Fortress on only – where you compete against the 'second sister' as an antagonist. For this one has strictly adhered to the film and book templates, but still offers something new to discover and explore. And you have plenty of opportunities, because as a player, you are free to travel between the planets and thus uncover the last secrets or reveal one or the other side story. The structure is a bit reminiscent of "Mass Effect", where it is up to the player, whether you just want to follow the story or explore the planet extensively, to become an even better Jedi, for example. Here, "Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order" also differs from traditional campaigns that are often linear in this genre. Roughly it could be described as a good mix of "Uncharted", the former "God of War" games and "Tomb Raider", but with much more freedom of movement.
There is a Jedi in each one of us
As mentioned before, in "Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order" you do not start from scratch, because Cal is aware of his Jedi forces and just has to sharpen them. This happens either automatically as the story progresses or through experience gained for all the activities in the game. At first, if you poke around with a one-handed sword, Cal has a powerful double-staff at the end, which can also be split to bring his opponents to the ground with brute force. Add to this the familiar invisible powers of power that, in combination with the lightsaber, make you a true Jedi.
These powers should also be well learned and practiced, as the difficulty level of "Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order" is quite crisp and requires more tactical thinking than just a Haudrauf tactic. Especially battles against larger groups can only be overcome if, for example, you are involved in a fast melee, the stormtroopers also shoot from a distance. Often it is the clever combination of all the skills that make the difference between winning and losing, even if you often feel like you are completely inferior or trick the opponents with unfair means. This can be frustrating at first, but you will soon realize how powerful you are when you deliberately use your powers. With that, the tempo also moves to a fun level and you can plow your way through the battlefield with relish.
The highlights are, of course, the boss fights against huge opponents, where strongly the influences of the former God of War Director, Stig Asmussen, are felt. First and foremost against Gorgara, a bat-like monster that takes you high in the air to tackle you in a lavish and epic staged fight. Here you are sitting tensely in front of the screen and can not put the controller down – just great memories of the former PS2 and PS3 hit.
Otherwise, in "Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order" explore many ancient temples and puzzles in the style of Tomb Raider games, you have the freedom to choose how far you want to explore the planet off the story and so can with all kinds of smaller Reward stories. Especially like the Wookie village, which holds many secrets also underwater. Even after the completion of the story is still possible.
Light and shadow
Thankfully, Respawn was able to free himself from the Frostbite engine compulsion and was allowed to use the Unreal Engine 4 for "Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order". Otherwise, it would probably end in a disaster again. Because what you get out of the game with the UE4, can really be seen. Partially, you feel like you're in the beautiful surroundings of "Death Stranding" and, on top of that, you're rewarded with great cut scenes that promise a first class Star Wars experience, including excellent animation work. All in all, "Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order" makes a great impression on the technical side, although sometimes it strikes that one neglects one or the other detail. Here you could draw comparisons to Naughty Dog, where you feel every time anew, with which dedication they think of all the details. In "Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order", you often have to close your eyes, where you can let Cal drop dull through a texture and do without special effects when dipping. Even with the gameplay animations, you always have the feeling that they seem a bit old-fashioned, such as the imprecise jumps, the loss of control in the air or in the slide games. This is sometimes reminiscent of Jump 'n Run Games from 10 years ago, although one would think that, too, has somehow evolved, see Tomb Raider. You can live with that, but it can still be annoying. The detail sharpness is neglected again and again and often seems too spongy for my taste, which is unfortunately a bit detrimental to the overall atmosphere.
An even bigger faux pas is that you forgot to forget about the legendary Star Wars intro – there's really no real intro and you just fall into the game – and the typical crossfades of the movies when changing scenes are completely missing , Shame on you! 😉
