STAR WARS JEDI: FALLEN ORDER

STAR WARS JEDI: FALLEN ORDER - 8 MONTHS LATER

GAME REVIEW

Developed by the studio Respawn, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order bring the Lucasfilm games back to a single player action packed adventure game.

This new original story take places 5 years after Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, following Cal Kestis, a Padawan who escaped Order 66. Played by Cameron Monaghan, Cal is forced to hide as a shipyard worker. After using the force to save his friend, Cal is now hunted by the sinister Inquisitors, Second Sister and Ninth Sister. Fortunately, with the help of the crew on the Stinger Mantis and his adorable droid BD-1, Cal gradually unlock his force ability, to bring the jedi back to the power they once had.

Like many RPGs, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order combat can be bit dull, at first. To start out with, all you have to work with are basic strikes, blocks, and roll to dodge attacks. However, nothing beats the amount of fun one has wielding a lightsaber, especially double bladed lightsaber. Progressing though the amazing story, Cal remembers his jedi training, awakening force abilities, he once forgotten. Unlocking this skills with points earned, you will feel not only competent, but godlike. The more I progress into the story and unlock new skills, the combat gradually become much more fun and entertaining, with new clever ways of defeating your enemy.

Borrowing elements from Dark Souls, boss fights are quite difficult. However, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order does have four level of difficulties, Story Mode, Jedi Knight, Jedi Master, and Jedi Grandmaster. Like Dark Souls, the boss fights rely on timed parrying and dodging. Inside the droid BD-1, are healing canister in which Cal can use to restore health in fights. You will lose whatever XP you’ve gathered, when an enemy has defeated you. To reclaim your lost XP, you must face the enemy that defeated you once again. Scattered throughout the each planet’s map, are Jedi meditation circles. Similar to Dark Souls bonfires, these Jedi meditation circles will fully restore your health, Force, and healing canisters. However, resting at these meditation circles will respawn all fallen enemies.

The ship Stinger Mantis, is made up of rememberable characters, Cere Junda (played by Debra Wilson) and the ship’s captain, Greez Dritus (played by Daniel Roebuck). Merlin,(played by Tina Ivlev) a Dathomirian Nightsister who joined the Mantis crew later on in the story. This story sends our hero Cal Kestis and the Mantis crew, on a quest that spans across several familiar and new planets.

The first planet to be ins in the game, Bracca, an inhospitable junkyard planet controlled by the Imperial Empire. After escaping the Second Sister and Ninth Sister, Cal and crew heads to the glassy planet of Bogano, where the Great Vault of Zeffo is located. Fans of the Prequel Trilogy and The Clone Wars series, will be surprise to find the Wookiee planet of Kashyyyk, and the dark red world of Darth Mual’s birthplace, Dathomir. Each planet has it own unique look and feel, yet still having that Star Wars feel.

The key to these planets is exploration. Each of the planets have these audio logs called Force Echos, scattered everywhere, which give small detail of the backstory. There also chests where BD-1 can collect cosmetic loot for you to customize your lightsaber, Mantis ship, Cal’s clothing, and BD-1 colors. When first arriving on any of the planets, they will seem small. However, after exploring each planets revealed to be quite large, with paths and shortcuts in which you will later unlock, similar to a Metroidvania game.

So the verdict, is that Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is so great, that makes up for the long waited for the next great single player Star Wars games. It isn’t without it flaws, but it still loyal to the Star Wars lore. With a challenging although fun combat and diverse planets to explore, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order proves to be an all-around great game.

Check out my podcast Geeking Around for more review of the game and other geek related topics.

Geeking Around:

https://youtu.be/EJfy997bVjM

https://anchor.fm/geeking-around2/episodes/Geeking-Around-Episode-1-Jedi-Fallen-Order-egb86d