I Am One With the Force - Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order (REVIEW)

written by Justin Prince (@prince_justin)

So… EA did something good finally? I didn’t think I could say it, I didn’t think I would give them the praise they got and I was so ready to tear this new IP apart… but Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order is so very uncharacteristically EA it baffles me. From Respawn Entertainment, the minds behind Titanfall and the former heads of Infinity Ward, we are treated to a Star Wars story that isn’t a loot box driven cash grab (Battlefront, The Old Republic, anything EA) but instead shares more in common with sweeping single player narratives like God of War and Horizon Zero Dawn. These are games that have continually proven EA wrong that gamers do value single player experiences. This title especially proves that single player narratives have a place in games and the games industry isn’t just all about live services.

even a single Stormtrooper can punish sloppy button mashing

Jedi Fallen Order follows the story of Cal Kestis, a former Jedi Padawan hiding away in an Imperial junk yard after surviving the Jedi Purge. Taking place firmly before the events of A New Hope, this is yet another expanded look at the world of Star Wars in between Episode III and IV. When circumstances force Cal to give up his true identity, he’s pursued by the Empire’s Inquisitors. Of course it wouldn’t be a sweeping Star Wars narrative if a crew and a ship didn’t come into play here, saved by Cere and Greez of the Mantis, Cal is set on a mission to uncover a hidden Jedi Holocron containing the names of force sensitive children across the galaxy… and of course the Empire is also looking for the very same Holocron; but Cal, the crew of the Mantis, and his cute and trusty little droid BD-1 are up to the task.

“When I failed, I know exactly why I failed and when I succeeded I felt a true sense of pride and accomplishment”

First off, I feel like I need to touch on the game’s progression and combat. A few contemporaries stick out when touching how Jedi Fallen Order’s game plays. Hints of Metroid, lots of Dark Souls, some Sekiro, a little bit of Uncharted, and some Respawn-esque wall-running like in Titanfall. Combat is fairly simple to grasp with Cal’s main force powers and block mapped to the shoulder buttons and triggers, two attack buttons (light and strong), a jump, and dodge button. Like in Dark Souls and Sekiro, you will be relying on well timed dodges and parries, even deflecting blaster bolts require tight timing. This gives the game a truly technical aspect to it while giving us the tools to BE an all powerful Jedi without making wins feels unearned. Immediately, if you played the Force Unleashed games, this might seem familiar. But mind you, Cal Kestis isn’t Starkiller. Starkiller felt incredibly overpowered and aside from a few bosses you could brute force your way through most adversaries, in Jedi Fallen Order you can be easily taken down by a lowly Stormtrooper, and when you start factoring more aggressive enemy types like Purge Troopers, wild beats, and the Inquisitors… you will see right away that this is NOT the Force Unleashed, more like the Force Refined… the Force in check… the Force will only take you so far. Precision is the name of the game, pulling off combos and managing blocks and parries will be the difference between victory and defeat.

A familiar face makes an appearance

Like in Dark Souls, the campfire save mechanic is used here, in Jedi Fallen Order these are shown as mediation spots where Cal can save the game, input skill points into the various skills on his tree, and regenerate health and BD-1 stims. Mind you, also like Dark Souls (and Sekiro for that matter) when you regenerate your health and stims you also respawn all the enemies you cleared and if you fall to an enemy you need to attack that enemy to gain back your lost experience. Thankfully while there are shades of Dark Souls and Sekiro, rarely are enemies so overwhelmingly powerful… it’s like Diet Dark Souls to be honest. As for how Metroid and Uncharted come into play, some parts of the planets you visit will require multiple runs to complete everything. As Cal attunes his reconnection to the force he will unlock abilities, like the aforementioned wall-running, along with key powers like force push and pull. At the start, the only force power you have is the ability to slow enemies for a short period, this one ability you will be very familiar with during more intense fights. So like in Metroid, your progression is blocked until you unlock certain abilities. As for Uncharted, this is mostly seen in the levels that require some puzzle solving. Cal is venturing across the Galaxy looking for clues and many of these clues are found at the bottom of a dark and ancient tomb on some remote planet.

“I hope Respawn continues to make single player Star Wars games and EA continues to be as hands off as possible. ”

Combat is tight and snappy, honestly it never felt off. When I failed, I know exactly why I failed and when I succeeded I felt a true sense of pride and accomplishment. The game’s combat rewards clean play while punishing sloppy button mashing. Like I said, Cal Kestis is not Starkiller… and that’s fine. Unfortunately, some of the game’s platforming controls could have used some polish. Unlike the combat, there were moment I fell off a cliff or slid into the dark abyss and mostly it was the clunky platforming controls working against me. This left me frustrated at some parts and while I was eventually able to clear these segments, I grew tired of constantly failing and not understanding why. Also, the map felt very confusing and I found myself lost more often than not. Shown as a 3-D holo map projected by BD-1, I’d constantly check it but be lost when trying to figure out how to navigate it. Level design was not linear, and that does make sense for a game that encourages exploration, but also it doesn’t have to be linear to feel intuitive. Jedi Fallen Order’s maps were unintuitive and frustrating to navigate.

A few audio glitches also kept me from truly enjoying the game, one bug involves a short frame rate stutter when transitioning between in-game and cutscenes, this interruption doesn’t affect the audio and when the cutscene loads in the voices are out of sync… a glitch that happened more often than I would have liked. Granted, these sort of bugs are to be expected but it feels like they rushed to push it out before ensuring this worked. A shame because the story itself is very Star Wars at its core. I could have watched a whole movie or series featuring this character and his journey. I hope that when I eventually replay it, hopefully if they add a New Game+ mode, I can enjoy a more polished product.

VERDICT

Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order is a game so uncharacteristically EA that I pause a bit to give them credit, instead… much like how I praised the Monster Hunter team for Monster Hunter World instead of Capcom, all the praise here has to go to Respawn Entertainment. Snappy combat that felt both powerful and vulnerable, an interesting narrative, and gorgeous visuals make this a winner in my book. I can look past some of the issues, though I feel I would be remiss if I didn’t touch on how the platforming felt clunky at times and the audio glitches definitely impacted my enjoyment of the story. Not perfect, but an excellent first entry in a new IP. I hope Respawn continues to make single player Star Wars games and EA continues to be as hands off as possible.

4 out of 5

Not perfect but a damn good start!