A long time ago in a boardroom far, far away, EA signed a 10 year contract with Disney to be the exclusive developer of games for the revitalization of the Star Wars universe. What has happened since 2013 has probably not been at the level Disney would be happy with. Studio closures, canceled games and negative backlash are the results that have been seen thus far. The only two games that have been released are the two Battlefront games from Dice, with the sequel leaving a sour note with it micro transaction model. Can Respawn help people forget about how EA has dwindled the Star Wars license so far? 

Fallen Order has plenty of imperfections and issues but everything the game has to offer makes it one of the best of the year. How can a game be a potential game of the year candidate if it’s not doing anything original or even reaching the level of quality it’s trying to emulate. The answer lies within how everything is tied together to create one cohesive and exciting world to explore.

You play as Cal Kestis, one of the last few remaining Jedi (Padawan) after order 66, who has gone into hiding from the empire and now is a lowly ship scrapper. After a slight twist of fate your connection with the force is revealed which puts you on the run from the inquisition who are set on eliminating the Jedi completely. Something happened to Cal during the Jedi purge as his connection with the force has become fractured, this acts as a gameplay mechanic to explain why you don’t have all your force powers from the start. He quickly meets a retired Jedi, Cere, and a four handed pilot by the name of Greez. These two along with their ship, the mantis, becomes your hub for the rest of the game and it is a very welcome respite as the dynamic between the three of them is fantastic as well as the performances by all of these characters due to the immediate chemistry and writing. Also part of the charm of this game is when you meet your droid companion BD-1 early on. This is easily one of the best Star Wars sidekicks ever and I even found myself very concerned when my little buddy was in danger. I never thought I would care about a droid this much.  
Early on, the writing for Cal seems bland, uninteresting and makes you angry for how arrogant he can be but by the time the credits rolled, I was deeply invested in Cals journey, growth and importance of everything in his world. Every relationship Cal makes throughout the game is earned including BD1, Cere, Greez and especially his mentor, Jaro. 

One of my personal favorite games of all time is Metroid Prime and it has been a while since that itch has been scratched. The planets in the game are characters themselves, each with a different feel that begged to be explored. The biggest compliment I can say is that rather than push for the main objective, I often found myself traveling back to older planets when I had unlocked a new power to access new areas. The 3D hologram map that you get from BD-1 is generally easy to navigate and updates in real time with red areas you can’t yet and green areas which you can. 

Just like in Metroid you will reach areas where it’s clear that you do not have the proper tools or skill to proceed. New force abilities are found through memories which you find by exploring and upgrading your skills is done by gaining experience. You upgrade your ability tree which grows during the game as you unlock new force powers. It’s not on the level of an RPG but adds a small area in which you can customize the game to your play style. Defeating enemies nets you progress in a skill bar and dying eliminates all the progress, however you can traverse back to the enemy that killed you and strike them once to regain your experience. 

Traversal is borrowed heavily from the Uncharted series with wall climbing, rope swinging and edge hanging. It does miss the mark a little in this department as rope swinging and sliding feel imprecise and you will often die multiple times before you figure out exactly which angle you need to be at. This is very ironic because Fallen Order is developed by the same studio that made TitanFall and Apex Legends, two games that are known for their tight controls. Although this is their first attempt at the third person perspective with a semi open world. For the most part traveling the world is usually very fun but it definitely falls short of the gold standard. 

The other gold standard Fallen Order tries to emulate is in the area of combat. This is inspired by the FROMSOFTWARE games that have demanded precise timing. The closest parallel is Sekiro that was released earlier this year that had the demanding, even punishing combat the studio was known for but introduced a speed and parry system that was unlike the rest. Fallen Order tries to match that system and for the most part it works great but on the higher difficulty settings the parry system can feel cheap. In Sekiro the timing of the parry system is demanding yet fair. In Fallen Order, maybe I don’t understand it but if I can master it in a FROMSOFTWARE game I should be able to master it anywhere. 

Combat with the lightsaber is very fun especially combined with the force as you slowly unlock and reacclimatize yourself to the power.  Throughout the game you will find memories that will unlock new skills that will change the way you play the game. At first the game is about blocking and attacking but then it becomes a game of chess when you are outnumbered. You survey the battlefield and figure out which enemies will require force and what enemies will require direct combat. I wish Fallen Order would have incorporated a small stealth system. It doesn’t need to be in depth maybe just line of sight and sound.  If I am crouching and the enemy is looking the other way it would be nice to eliminate major threats on the battlefield before alerting the whole sector.

Encountering new enemies in the world is also a reward as you will be able to scan and add them to your journal as this really plays to collectors mentality. Same goes for collecting new seeds, ponchos, BD-1 skins and all of the lightsaber attachments. This is all done very smartly by asking players to explore the world and in some cases defeat challenging enemies rather than through predatory micro-transactions. Mini bosses throughout the game are a sheer pleasure and although they are usually very tough they are very unique and rewarding. I spent so much time early on against Oggdo Bogdo.

The world is also full of environmental puzzles that are reminiscent of Tomb Raider. These puzzles can range from small, single pieces needed to traverse new areas but they can also be very complex requiring BD-1, force abilities and platforming to solve. Once again, the puzzle sections don’t reach the bar that has been set before it.

Visually, Fallen Order is a bit of mixed bag. The worlds and environments that have been created feel as though they have been ripped right out of the movies. The audio and visual aesthetics from this game are instantly recognizable. Unfortunately, there are areas where the technical aspects just don’t meet up. Feet walk through floors, Cal can get hung up on floating edges, textures can be slow to load in when you reach new areas and there are even times when Cal falls to his death in the water and it doesn’t even ripple. More serious technical issues even arose where the game would freeze for around 10 seconds and even worse sometimes hard crashed the game on the middle of a playing. Dying can sometimes be a headache as well, although platforming deaths generally are instant respawns, combat deaths are painfully long loading screens that can be in the range of 45 seconds give or take.  

With a little more development time, I think this game could have been a masterpiece. Unfortunately, I think timing the release of this game with the upcoming Rise of Skywalker may have forced Respawns hand and pushed it out sooner than desired. Nonetheless, this game does enough as it is now to merit a strong recommendation and place it in the running for game of the year for myself. 

9/10