It’s safe to say EA has not had the best time since gaining the license to produce the games on behalf of Disney’s Star Wars. With a lacklustre Battlefront remake launch, and a disaster launch of it’s sequel. Disney was forced to step in with the second game.
Things started to get better, when Respawn partnered with EA to create a single-player, no multiplayer, no microtransactions game. You know EA never really wanted this, but felt the need to do it. It’s why I pushed everyone to buy it, so EA could understand that single-player games can do well. Sony have proved this.
Here, we follow our hero, Cal. In the middle of Order 66 by the Empire, we see him try and restore the Jedi Order. You know the basics of the story. You’ve saw the trailers. You’ve read the synopsis. I will dive straight into my review. As of now, I have just hit 30 hours gameplay.
PLEASE NOTE, THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS. READ AHEAD IF YOU WISH, IF NOT, PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR A DIFFERENT REVIEW
Pros
1. Let’s begin with the story. A lot happened during Episode III, and Episode IV. Too much to the point it’s always wonderful for that to be explored. We follow Cal, through his hiding, to attempting to restore the Jedi Order. We see him grow. We see him fight the Inquisitors. We get the Easter eggs (a notable mention from Obi-Wan, and a mention of Qui-Gon). More importantly it brings a bag of emotions. The kyber crystal ark is worth a mention here. Regardless, the cutscenes are incredible. All the voice acting work, and the graphics go hand in hand to create an amazing immersive Star Wars experience. The ending ended on a better note. Usually with these games the hero ALWAYS dies. Not in this. It sets up a sequel, or even the possibility of bringing him into the actual live action. Cameron Monaghan is young enough to hold his own in live action. He’s good enough, we saw his Joker performance in Gotham. He’s up there with one of the best performances in that category.
Plus, Darth Vader.
2. Combat. Through the years Star Wars games have had some awful combat mechanics. Here, this is different. There’s no better feeling than playing around with your powers. Whether you’re stopping a blaster bolt mid flight, and flinging it back at a stormtrooper, or whether you’re playing single-bladed, or double-bladed, it’s an experience. Granted, at times it can get tedious, but it’s important to note that a lot of the enemies are different. You have to switch it up. This makes it more interesting.
3. Graphics. I don’t need to go into much when it comes down to this. The worlds are beautiful. Graphically this game is a straight 10/10. Even down to the slightest detail of Cal’s hair, it flows, but then again, EA has always done amazing with their Star Wars games in this department.
4. Customisation. A mechanic I’ve wanted for such a long time. Customising your lightsaber is an experience in it’s own right. Granted, I do wish there was more options, but what we’ve been given here deserves praise. It makes it more special when you receive the double-bladed saber, you can edit both ends. When you unlock the colours, it gets so interesting. You can also edit the skin of BD-1, and the Mantis. You can change your clothing to match your style too.
5. Sound. I often found myself in a long elevator ride just turning on the saber, and turning it back off again just because it was so nice. The voice acting from everybody involved was out of this world. Literally. Blaster bolts, the atmosphere, the ships, AT-ATs, and everything else was perfect. I do not think there was any room for improvement here.
6. Puzzles. Capturing that Tomb Raider, and Uncharted vibe but does it so well. Not too difficult to the point it becomes annoying, but difficult enough to challenge your mind. I spent a couple of hours at least on the Zeffon tomb. It drives the time played and keeps you engaged.
7. Not another Legends story. This is actually canon. Meaning in the current timeline of Star Wars, this actually happened. It’s not like the Force Unleashed. To be honest, I can see why they switched that to Legends. Starkiller was far too overpowered.
8. Star Wars lore. This is something in 10 movies we never actually see. The deepful stuff in the lore. The kyber crystals, how a Jedi actually gets his saber. We have never saw this in any movies, and I feel like it’s important. We see Cal eventually get his own crystal, and even get to choose colours. However we actually see how much a Jedi has to go through to get the crystals. Especially in the current timeline.
Cons
1. A return to Mantis option would’ve be a nice touch. Often times I spent too long trying to find my way back.
2. This is more of a slight annoyance than anything. I’m not sure if I missed it, but with the Nightsisters we got no mention of Maul, or even got to see him. I don’t think he’s dead in this timeline yet, so it would have been nice to get a mention.
3. A few bugs here and there. I came across a groundbreaking glitch that literally made all the walls around me disappear. A restart of the game fixed it but it was a nightmare, as I hadn’t meditated for a while.
4. The Deluxe edition is an absolute waste of time unless you pre-ordered the game. The content is not worth the extra money. Unless DLC is planned, and Deluxe buyers get the content for free, then it’s really not worth it. I paid an extra £20 and never used any of the content.
Verdict
An absolute pleasure to play. A masterpiece in its own right. EA, and Respawn deserve praise from every angle. I’m stuck about what deserves Game of the Year this year. This, or Days Gone. I think this deserves the title. Everything about this game is perfect. Every Star Wars fan, gamer or not, should play the title. If you haven’t purchased the title yet; it’s Sunday. I suggest you go to your nearest game store and buy it.
Breakdown Ratings
Story – 10
Gameplay – 10
Combat – 10
Graphics – 10
Customisation – 9
Sound – 10
Characters – 10
Easter eggs – 8.6
Overall Rating 10/10
If you feel like I’ve missed anything. Good, or bad. Please let me know in the comments down below.
