Call Me a Skeptic on Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order

To my surprise, Respawn Entertainment and Electronic Arts appear to have upheld their promises for a linear, microtransaction-free, story-driven Star Wars game in the form of Rise Of The Fallen Order. It has become a smash hit with audiences who had previously been declared as being “uninterested in single-player titles.” The result is a game which has earned a 7.3 out of 10 on PC Gamer, and 9 out of 10 on Steam.

Here’s the basic premise: Jedi padawan (Jedi-in-training) Cal Kestis was learning how to use the force when Order 66 occurred (the order of Emperor Palpatine in Revenge of the Sith to the army to kill all members of the Jedi). As a result, Kestis’ master is dead and the Jedi Council has collapsed. After being found by the Empire, Kestis sets out on his quest to rebuild the Jedi Council and strike back against the Empire. 

While it has received overall great reviews, I’m a bit of a skeptic on this game. Fallen Order feels like a collision of unrelated games from all genres. The combat follows in the footsteps of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, the exploration and platforming appears to be ripped straight from Uncharted, and its puzzles relate to those of The Legend Of Zelda. However because of these borrowed mechanics, the game does very little to innovate. This collision of game mechanics makes the game feel forgettable, like you’ve already seen it somewhere else, but in a better form.  

One major issue is the lightsaber system; everything you can unlock is purely cosmetic and doesn’t affect game play. As for the upgrade system, it’s bare bones and lacks anything truly worthy of the time it takes to feel rewarded. 

I may be a skeptic, but to me, Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order is a pretty average game overall. Still, it makes for an enjoyable Star Wars experience with optional exploration that’s rewarded with cosmetic items. The game does have some really amazing boss fights that tie into Star Wars: The Clone Wars TV show and Star Wars: Rebels. The game has sold very well and hopefully, we’ll see more single player Star Wars games in the future that are willing to innovate and stand out more than Fallen Order.