The player can determine which side of the Force that Kyle Katarn will eventually join by whether he kills innocent bystanders and harmless droids and how much of the light and dark side Force powers he uses. A "Morality scale" on the Force powers screen shows which side of the Force Kyle is resting on and he will automatically join that side at the end of the 14th level (where he fights Maw), after which he will only be able to use the Force powers of that side (Healing, Persuasion, Blinding, Absorb and Protection for the light side, Throw, Grip, Lightning, Destruction and Deadly Sight for the dark side). Regardless of which side Kyle joins, the player must still go through the same levels and defeat Jerec in the end. The only difference is, if he joins the dark side, Kyle fights Yun again instead of Sariss. Also, when Kyle joins the dark side, his mentor Rahn (a ghost) disowns him and stops giving introductory speeches at the beginning of the levels where Kyle fights Jerec's Dark Jedi henchmen (and ultimately Jerec himself).
The first Star Wars game to feature a fully functional lightsaber, one that could be used as much for attack as for defense (blocking laser bolts and blows from other lightsabers)
Unlike "Dark Forces", this game used the then powerful Sith Game Engine, which supported 3D acceleration. "Sith" was, obviously, reused for the "Mysteries of the Sith" expansion. Later "Jedi" games left "Sith" for the id Tech 3 (AKA Quake III Arena) game engine.
All the live action cutscenes use live actors in front of computer generated backgrounds via the green/blue screen method.
The Dark Jedi characters in this game are not Sith, which is the order that Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine belong to.