Fallen Order Started The Rise of Star Wars Video Games (PS5 Review)
With several highly anticipated Star Wars video games in development (Eclipse, Outlaws, and KotOR Remake), let’s take a look back at the first Star Wars game to bring the franchise back to glory in video games.
Released late 2019, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order brought fans something they’ve been wanting for awhile: an actually good Star Wars game. Taking inspiration from souls-like games and introducing new compelling characters for the franchise, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order managed to deliver an amazing experience for Star Wars fans. But how well does the game perform in 2023? Even after the official PS5 release in 2021, is Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order worth your time and money?
I actually purchased this game when it initially came out, around December 2019. It was on sale for $40 and with the amount of buzz going around, I had to check it out. I only played it for a few hours and couldn’t get myself invested. I’m not sure if it was because this is my first souls-like game but I couldn’t even get halfway through the adventure. It was until my girlfriend bought me the PlayStation 5 version, requesting I try to play and finish the game again (she’s a big Star Wars fan). And with the release of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, I might as well see what makes Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order so good.
Developed by a secondary team at Respawn Entertainment (the primary team is known for Titanfall 2 and Apex Legends), Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order brings the franchise into the souls-like genre and introduces another story post Order 66, the purge that killed nearly every Jedi in the galaxy. You play as Cal Kestis, a Jedi who survived Order 66. Cal went into the hiding due to the Jedi Order essentially dying out. It was until the Second Sister visited Cal’s planet, hunting for Jedi in the Galaxy. After Cere and Greez save Cal from getting toasted, Cal joins the duo in rebuilding the Jedi Order. Soon, Cal meets a droid named BD-1, a small droid who he befriends in his journey to rebuild the Jedi Order and reconnect with the force.
That’s pretty much the story of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. It slowly unravels, showing more of Cal’s backstory with the force and Cere’s connection with the Second Sister. It’s all solid storytelling. While nothing surprised me too much, it was enjoyable from beginning to end. Seeing Cal grow more familiar with the force is nice because it gave the writers a chance to sprinkle in sequences of young Cal as a padawan. The reason why Cal has become a favorite in the Star Wars community is because he’s a strong character. The trauma from Order 66 explains why Cal distanced himself from the force and his eventual rise back is cool to watch. Cere is a fine side character, having a motive to get Cal tangled into her mess as the Second Sister hunts them across the Galaxy.
Overall, the story is good. It doesn’t do anything super extraordinary but it doesn’t fall flat either. Star Wars stories will always go back to Order 66 for storytelling because it’s a massive event. And Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order doesn’t squander this storyline. Cal and co. are enjoyable characters to follow as they rebuild the Jedi Order. Even the Second Sister is a fantastic antagonist. Littering everyone’s backstory throughout the adventure worked, fitting the narrative as we learned more about the past to help us understand the present. All in all, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order nails its story.
Gameplay wise, this isn’t a normal hack and slash title like Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. It’s taking elements from the souls-like genre and putting the Star Wars spin on it. You have to think about your moves and the moves the enemies can do. Mashing the attack buttons over and over again will only kill you. Trust me, I’ve died a lot. Not just to bosses but to normal enemies as well, you need to think before you act. I outright sucked at this game until I embraced the souls-like gameplay. Not only was Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order my first souls-like experience, I also accidentally put the game on hard mode. I was too prideful to change the difficulty when I ran into trouble with the later bosses but hard mode definitely made me more aware of the souls-like features. I haven’t gamer raged like this in awhile but Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order brought it out in me.
You have to dodge, block, and parry attacks to defeat your enemies. Because this is Star Wars, you have force abilities to assist in combat. Abilities like slowing an enemy or pulling them closer to you are some ways to use the force in combat. You can’t spam these abilities either since you have a force meter at the bottom of the screen. BD-1 will throw a health stim if you need to replenish your health during combat. You can refill these stims and everything else by stepping onto a save point. They’re located at various spots on the planet and act as checkpoints as well. If you choose to save, all the enemies on the planet will respawn.
You don’t necessarily have to defeat every enemy in your way but it will help you gain experience and more familiarity with the combat. Experience levels up Cal, upgrading his stats and abilities. Experience is not only gained from combat, BD-1 will sometimes drop from Cal’s shoulder, prompting something is scan-able within the area. In a sense, these are collectibles to give backstory to the universe. As Cal rediscovers his connection with the force, you learn more abilities like wall running and force pushing, allowing you to access more areas of each planet. This metroidvania style of gameplay works because it ultimately ties-in with the narrative. Gain more force powers as the story continues and opens up more pathways for future and past planets.
Other upgrades are done through skill points. Split into three categories; Survival, Lightsaber, and Force, you can upgrade these stats to your liking. If you want more health and durability, you go into the Survival tree. Want better moves to deal with enemies? Choose upgrades from the Lightsaber tree. These upgrades will make playing the game easier and more fun.
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is amazing in combining souls-like elements and metroidvania exploration. It feels very satisfying defeating enemies because of these mechanics. Boss fights never get boring as they get harder and harder until the very end. Progressively getting stronger as Cal is natural, tying into the narrative seamlessly. The only problem I can see with the gameplay is if you don’t like the souls-like gameplay. If the idea of playing encounters and boss fights over and over again annoys you, then Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order isn’t the game for you. You can always lower the difficulty if you’re unable to advance to make it easier but the souls-like gameplay is integral. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is a fantastic action-adventure game.
Presentation wise, this is where the game falls apart a little. The PlayStation 5 upgrade is definitely nice, a bump for the graphics and the option for 60fps gameplay. However, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is littered with glitches and bugs. They will happen throughout your playthrough and to anyone who didn’t have any, lucky you. It’s not as disastrous as Star Wars Jedi: Survivor but it’s not “complete.” Everything else is spot on; the motion capture, the music, the animations, etc. That’s my only major complaint: the bugs and glitches. They aren’t game breaking or make it unplayable but do take you out of the experience.
In conclusion, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is an amazing game from 2019. Combining elements from souls-like and metroidvania games works perfectly for the gameplay. It never feels like a hindrance re-visiting old planets as you have more force powers to your disposal. The story is very entertaining as we watch Cal reconnect with the force. The performance is a bit spotty with bugs and glitches happening throughout your adventure. The 60 fps option is nice, so you can enjoy that to my current generation console players. I would recommend this game to anyone. Even if you’re not a Star Wars fan, Jedi: Fallen Order is a ton of fun and a great entry point to anyone wanting to try the souls-like genre. The game goes for under $25 on the PS5, cheaper if you get the PS4 or Xbox One versions which include a free digital upgrade. You really can’t go wrong with trying out Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.
Travis “tvsonic” Vuong
Business e-mail: travisvuong56@gmail.com
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