CRISP. Gaming: Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Review, Playstation 4

It’s been a long time ago since the last single-player Star Wars game graced our consoles, feeding our need to venture off into a galaxy far far away, and somehow famed developers Respawn have pulled together one of the best action adventures games of 2019. 

Overseeing and manipulating from the shadows much like dastardly Palpatine is controversial game publisher EA (Electronic Arts). Comparing EA to the dark side can seem a little harsh, but is somewhat appropriate.

They do have a bad habit of embracing some of the worst practices in the gaming industry from buying and dissolving smaller studios for no real reason, rehashing the same games every year and generally turning beloved franchises, genres and brands into bottom line ventures – completely void of any soul. 

Since EA owns the exclusive rights to all Star Wars games you can be sure the heads at LucasArts would take a great interest in the development of this game.

Its release marks EA’s first triple-A game without any online multiplayer or downloadable content (as of writing), plus its release date was sandwiched very closely between the launch of the Mandalorian on Disney+ and hyped-up final episode of the sequel trilogy Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker.

It would have tarnished the whole release period had Fallen Order made any negative waves in the manner of the last Star Wars game we were given – Battlefront 2 – and its implementation of loot boxes; which sparked furious and on-going debate as to whether EA was promoting & encouraging gambling.

Luckily for all parties involved, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order has been a commercial and critical success – Fallen Order takes place after Episode III after Anakin becomes Darth Vader, and before A New Hope, prior to Luke meeting Obi-Wan.

In this original story you follow Cal Kestis; a young Jedi padawan living in hiding following every Jedi in the galaxy being marked for death by the Empire under Order 66.

Something happens which forces Cal to use his powers, inadvertently making himself a target. Cal and BD-1, your loveable droid companion, must join forces with some colourful and insightful characters to embark on a journey across space to try and rebuild the Jedi Order, whilst being hunted by the new Galactic Empire, and sneaky bounty hunters desperate for a huge payday.

The story is one of the major draws for this game. With fun characters, epic moments and fantastic Easter eggs for fans, it was so easy to embrace this beautifully designed game world.

The level design is good, and graphics are fantastic, as you can expect. We played it on a standard PS4 and the colours and textures are vibrant and detailed.

It generally runs at a smooth 30 frames per second (the industry standard now), apart from some noticeable slow down when things get a little hectic on screen. Those moments and long loading times in addition to various little glitches, like invisible walls and wonky AI, can subtract from the immersion. 

The combat is fun and hard, no chance of blindly smashing buttons until everything on screen is dead. Oh no! You must learn attack patterns and when to strike, block, dodge or parry. It is challenging, as any enemy at any point could catch you slipping and send you back to your last save point, taking all your experience points for good measure.

But this is balanced out by learning new abilities at regular intervals which helps keep the combat fresh and engaging. Cals lightsaber feels suitably powerful but not over-powered, and wielding it is an absolute joy, which is a good thing considering this is your weapon of choice all the way through.

Something that’s not so much of a joy, however, is the platforming. Bad camera manipulation and clunky movement make precision platforming harder than it needed to be.

For a linear type of game that involves a lot of backtracking as part of your story, battling with the camera and the lack of fast travel can be an annoyance. The puzzle-solving sections which have straight up been borrowed from Tomb Raider, Uncharted and Breath of the Wild can be divisive – some are hard and some are stupidly easy – but they do add some variety.  

A real strong point to this game is its authenticity and the attention to detail displayed throughout the 25+ hour playthrough. There is so much about the Star Wars franchise that makes it so incredibly special. Everything from the screen swipes, iconic music, the sounds of lightsabers, Tie-fighters, Wookies, and heavy breathing are so distinctive and instantly recognisable.

They immediately draw you in, especially if you have a deeply ingrained fondness for Star Wars (like we do). In terms of difficulty and replay value, you have the option of adjusting your enemies, aggression, health, damage dealt and parry timing windows, making for varied experiences and the need for Jedi-like reflexes.

Should you play Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order? Yes.

Don’t get us wrong – this game is far from perfect, but with the full might of LucasArts and Respawn’s talented game developers, EA has managed to produce a brilliantly authentic single-player Star Wars story that is both fun and challenging.

The Force is strong with this one! 

Available on PS4, Xbox One and PC