Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

Thanks to EA for bringing the world a Star Wars game that is more than just a bitty, online-only punch-up. As a fan of old titles like 'Knight of the Old Republic', a single-player, immersive adventure like this was just the ticket for me. That said, the game is not without its problems. If EA is planning more like this, I'd like to offer some constructive criticism.

First - combat difficulty levels. I'm an old fart and my gamer reflexes are very mid-table by some standards. That said, I'm generally far above the easy-peasy modes, which is where I spend a lot of my Fallen Order time. It's just too difficult to time parries and use force powers - particularly against animals - without getting killed, a lot. I learned the game's ways eventually but I'm still mostly limited to 'Jedi Knight' level. Even on my second run-through, I can't nail a boss scene without taking it all the way down to kindergarten level. An unfortunate effect of all this is that a cagey, defensive combat style which avoids frequent death and tedious back-tracking also stops you generating and using the force powers which are really the key appeal of the game.

Second - interminable cut-scenes that go on and on and on and can't be skipped. Please give the gamer the choice about whether they want to watch the cinematic links. They don't always enrich and can simply frustrate.

Third - puzzles. As an Assassin's Creed aficionado, I quickly learned that the third-person mayhem of Fallen Order is only superficially similar to AC Odyssey, et al. Not only is the combat trickier and less intuitive, but there is far more head-scratching and problem-solving to be tackled simply to get from A to B. I learned to enjoy this aspect - apart from one or two scenes I simply couldn't crack without YouTube. I'd ask EA to make the cutesier problems a bit less obstuse. Examining one room for twenty minutes isn't my idea of a good time, nor is repeatedly failing an impossible jump because I'm new to the game and don't realise I'll be coming back to the location later with more powers.

That's it. This game comes pretty close to classic, but the frustration needs to be dialled down.

Seriously, how can a game's story be waaaay better than the whole new trilogy?

The game is very well made, annoying at times when you cannot get up when fighting bosses or bigger creatures, but it wasn't a massive problem, it should be challenging at times. Overall beautiful, well acted, good story, fun, a pleasant surprise. After the fails that were, in my opinion, the new trilogy and the new battlefront titles, this was like a breath of fresh air. Well done!

The game borrows heavily from the mechanics of other great games, Uncharted, Dark Souls, and the metroidvania genre. But it works. If you're expecting a groundbreaking completely original game, this isn't that. If you want a beautiful game that's basically a 3D metroidvania then you'll love this game. I did.

I never thought I'd live to see it honestly. But for once, the company actually did something cool. A single player star wars videogame. And it's actually pretty good! The combat for the most part was pretty engaging and it was fun to try and parry moves to counter attack. The force abilities were cool too and were sometimes used to solve puzzles creativity. I especially enjoyed force pulling ropes at the last second so I could do an awesome swing, I really felt awesome doing cool stuff like that. Blocking blaster bolts is pretty fun too and taking out hordes of stormtroopers is probably the most satisfying thing in the world. However there are some faults. The game is extremely glitchy for one, sometimes Cal would fall off the map or enemies would glitch out. The respawn screens were also way to long I thought and it became a nightmare every time I died, which I did, a lot. And I also thought while being unique, the map designs were sometimes way too hard to navigate and you can end up accidentally going in circles which is frustrating, the overview map isn't too well done either, it's an eyesore to look at and it could've been done better imo. I would've also liked to see more planets, perhaps some that weren't in the main story. Speaking of story, it's not half bad, it's not completely original but for a star wars tale, I was thoroughly invested and I did like the relationship between Cal and BD. The main villain was also pretty likeable and she's one of my favourites and the suprise at the end was actually really well done and actually felt intimidating. The Order 66 section was one of the best parts too and I thought it was one of the game's stronger points. I liked designing my lightsaber too and I only wish there was a red option. Also Cal could've had more clothing options other than ponchos. This review probably sounds like a ramble but aside from its flaws, Jedi: Fallen Order is a pretty great and fun experience that is a step in the right direction for EA. I hope a sequel improves upon this game's flaws and comes out as a masterpiece. It's not perfect, but it's pretty fun.

This is a game any fan of the Jedi Order or Star Wars in general has been waiting for! I wish you could slice enemies in half or cut off their arms. However Disney made the stipulation that Respawn could not show dismemberment of humanoid figures.