Game review 15 November 2019, 09:31

author: Darius Matusiak

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order – EA (Finally) Strikes Back

After the great commotion caused by the first, fantastic episode of The Mandalorian, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order storms the gaming world. This is a production that brings new hope for the upcoming games in the famous universe.

The review is based on the PS4 version. It's also relevant to XONE version(s).

When we heard two years ago that Visceral Games is shutting down, and the Star Wars project based on Uncharted is consequently binned, many players felt "A great disturbance in the Force. As if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror... and were suddenly silenced." Perhaps, however, it was the restoration of a proper balance in the galaxy? A preventive action designed to not have two, very similar games on the market?

Because Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order from Respawn Entertainment is exactly an Uncharted in the cult universe. Of course, there are elements of God of War, Tomb Raider and several other titles, but this game is in no way a random blend of borrowed ideas. Everything creates a perfect mix of an epic adventure, riveting, cinematic story, and satisfying combat and exploration.

If there's anything to find fault with, it's only the graphics that are noticeably worse than in the Frostbite-powered Battlefronts. However, considering the reports of how problematic that engine is in TPP games, I think I prefer solid gameplay to visual bells and whistles. On PlayStation 4, I experienced a few more technical shortcomings, and that was pretty much it as far as blemishes are concerned in SW Jedi: Fallen Order.

Although some may scoff at the atmoshpere that goes from dark depictions of the totalitarian Empire, to fairy-tale like scenes straight from E-rated games. It's apparent the developer's were ultimately spread thin, trying to create a story for everyone. However, since the extremities of the mood and climate are pretty far apart in time, and since the story is truly engrossing, there's no particular conflict here.

Star Wars: Stories – The ginger goes solo

There's plenty of epic moments in the story – the action is fast, high-octane, and everything we experience amounts to a fantastic adventure that doesn't let go until the very end. The creators surprise us more than once, because even the occasional backtracking was used as an opportunity for showing something new and sexy. What's more, the ginger teenager Jedi knight, who I felt was completely unconvincing in the trailers, turns out a great protagonist, for whom I was rooting during the entire story.

Cal Kastis, just like Rey in the movies, is a space scavenger – but contrary to her, he's an ordinary worker of the Scrapper Guild, who recycle Clone-Wars-era ships on the planet Brakka. The job is rather boring. He listens to some rock music, commutes to work every day in a dirty, crowded train, and remains under the jurisdiction of Empire soldiers. Cal also hides the fact that he used to be a Padawan – a would-be Jedi knight who somehow survived the purge of Order 66. When circumstances compel him to use the Force, Inquisition starts hunting for him, and he decides to accept the unlikely help of the crew of Stinger-Mantis, and lend them a hand during a certain mission.

Cal must find the holocron with information about the surviving children endowed with the Force, and with them, restore the power of The Jedi Order. The item was, however, well concealed, and its secrets are sealed in ancient tombs of an primordial civilization. In good, old-fashioned Hitchcock manner, we start with an earthquake, and then the tension only rises. Playing as Cal feels like being a combo of a Jedi knight, Nathan Drake, Harrison Ford and Lara Croft. There are battles, there's learning about the past, and there's a few things I have not the candid heart to reveal to you. The thing about Fallen Order that impressed me the most, was perhaps the way the story is seamlessly blended with the gameplay.

Here, every swing of the saber, every leap over a precipice, and even healing seems an inseparable part of the story, as if we are participating in one, long cut. If this game hasn't the same type of finesse as known from the Uncharted 4, it's only because pauses in action happen a bit too often – we often stop to meditate, and bossfights break the momentum. Sometimes, however, we stop on purpose to take in the living world, or just watch the troopers scuffle with the local fauna.

Raiders of the lost tombs

The gameplay that complements the plot so well is based on two main pillars: battles and exploration. We rarely just mindlessly run forward. Instead, we're almost constantly engaged in a thoroughly compelling TPP platformer experience. We climb, slide, jump, cross chasms on ropes, and sometimes combine all these abilities in complex sequences to reach the right place. Cal also has to use the Force often to push or stop some object, but it is not so versatile. Sometimes, a machine with soul, the amiable robot BD-1, helps him out by unlocking passages, but it can also get collectables for you.

Fallen Order is in total denial of open-world freedom and... that's another great decision. The labyrinths of several floors of narrow spaces and corridors, over time opening up more and more in the style of Metroidvania (and, more recently, Darksiders 3), is a breath of freshness in these days of open-world rage. The game is relatively short, but makes up for it with the diversity of visited planets, and the secret locations, opening which requires some effort.

The environmental puzzles in the tombs are also well designed – they're neither overtly complex, nor banal, and the BD-1 gives useful feedback. Moreover – everything was planned in such a way that the player constantly discovers new movement mechanics throughout the entire game. Same goes for combat, although there, everything comes down to the development tree and independent decisions regarding learning new skills.

Light sabre with a dark soul

Cal Kastis is a Jedi, and so he doesn't use a primitive blaster, but rather "an elegant weapon for a more civilized age." So how did the developers handle the lightsaber combat? In my opinion, it's a new benchmark, but everything depends on the difficulty level. On easy, you can push forward like a chisel without worrying about the health bar or having to block or dodge. On normal, it's enough to be more cautious. The proper challenge begins on hard, and here, you really have to focus before combat, but it's still not Dark-Souls level of difficulty.

You can see inspirations with different games such as Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Sekiro, or God of War in many smaller elements, such as saving game in resting places, or reclaiming lost health and XP after death from the enemy who defeated us, but in general, small mistakes aren't extremely punishable. Fighting can be challenging but it's fair, whether it's a large group of Empire stormtroopers or a single boss. Swinging the lightsaber is usually a lot of fun, mostly thanks to good animations. Cal can perform a real ballet of death by slipping on the back of enemies, cutting from different positions and finishing actions with juicy finishers.

On top of that, there's the Force, allowing us to slow, pull and push enemies. Maybe the game doesn't provide some amazing, difficult combos, but combining the Force with various sword attacks, parrying and dodging can yield impressive results. The decision of whether the player wants to expand the capabilities of the sword or the Force is made in the development tree, divided into three branches.

The tree is of course connected with gaining experience points, there also are cosmetic changes in the appearance of various elements, or personalization of the sword, but all these RPG mechanics always remain in the background. They support the gameplay, but never come to the fore. There's no trace of grinding, or deliberately slowing down the progress of the story to accumulate XP. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is primarily a role-playing game, with clear, honest principles – just like the good old days.

Force is not strong in my PS4

It's a pity that harking back to the days of old is not limited to the good stuff – when it comes to comfort of playing, my PS4 did feel a bit outdated. The version I had the chance to play had some technical issues that have become exacerbated once the areas became more open, or when there appeared more enemies. It was possible to turn a blind eye to a couple of small textures loaded too late, but when the framerate dips noticeably, it's hard to shrug it off – on a few occasions, the game totally froze.

During a pre-release preview of the game, I played on a high-end PC, and noticed none of those blemishes. On the other hand, we only played a portion of the game from the very beginning, the planet Zeffo, where – maybe surprisingly – the PS4 had no problems at all. Looking at the quality of the graphics, it doesn't seem like a problem of PS4's processing power – the issues are probably hidden in among the lines of code, and we hope there are patches inbound to address that.

A new hope for EA?

Despite the technical pitfalls, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order I still had so much fun – just like in the old days, and I'm really jealous of young players, whose first encounter with the franchise will be in this, great adventure. Respawn Entertainment's game is without doubt up there with games like Jedi Outcast. We've been waiting for this game for a long time. Will Cal Kastis become the new Kyle Katarnem? I have no idea. But the name sure sounds familiar.

Fallen Order combines addictive gameplay and a good story – could this be a sign? Maybe the Force is strong with the redhead, and there's finally hope for EA's Star Wars games? If so, my next wish is a new X-Wing and then TIE-Fighter. I feel like I played these titles too long ago, as if it happened in a distant galaxy…