"Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order" is not only an ingenious game, but also convinces as a film
22.11.2019
Translation: machine translated
"Jedi: Fallen Order is finally a true Star Wars game again. With a real campaign, epic moments and a combat system worthy of a Jedi.
When EA snapped up the exclusive rights to "Star Wars" games from Disney six years ago, it didn't go down well with gamers. Death to creativity, full throttle into franchise slaughter hell. Personally, I remained optimistic. After all, you can do a lot of good things with a lot of money. And with studios like Dice or Bioware, EA didn't have a bad hand. But the critics were proved right: Instead of first-class blockbuster games, we got generic mobile rip-offs and "Star Wars: Battlefront".
But there are still miracles. With Respawn, EA has commissioned the right studio to work on a new single-player "Star Wars" game. "Titanfall 2" was the perfect proof that they can master campaigns that are on a par with "Half-Life 2". Jedi Fallen Order" doesn't need any warm-up time either. The intro is one of the best I've ever played. After that, it continues at the same pace.
Like in the film
You play Cal Kestis - they couldn't have picked a more Star Wars-y name - a former Padawan who finds himself on the run from the Empire. The game is set a few years after "Star Wars Episode III". The Empire has almost wiped out the Jedi. Cal is therefore trying to get hold of a hidden list of remaining Force-sensitive people in the galaxy. This is the only way to save the Jedi Order. To do this, you travel to different planets and experience epic adventures that are in no way inferior to the films. The game offers a lot of variety. Sometimes you escape from a prison planet without a laser sword, other times you board a giant AT-AT and yet other times you fight an Empire Inquisitor on a gigantic tree.
The impressive moments are made possible by the detailed graphics and especially the image composition. When you land your spaceship on a blood-red planet with deep craters and sharp rocks and another planet shimmers through the dusty haze in the sky behind the spaceship, it gives you goosebumps. And the game is full of scenes like this. The fact that you often get into the spaceship after a mission without a loading screen, discuss the next destination with your crew and then watch from the Cockpit as you take off and fly to the next world helps enormously to create a living world. The level design is simply brilliant. Only the somewhat awkward three-dimensional overview map takes some getting used to.
The colossal sound design is at least as impressive as the graphics. Sometimes quiet, sometimes powerful, it perfectly emphasises the action on the screen. I haven't felt this much "Star Wars" in a long time.
And "Fallen Order" also has something typically Star Wars: BD-1. Your small, cuddly companion droid manages to develop a real personality with its clumsy movements and beeping. I'd even say he's grown on me more than R2-D2 or BB-8. You can even give him a new coat of paint. As you progress through the game, you'll find new designs for BD or your spaceship. There are colourful ponchos for Cal. The highlight, however, are the lightsaber customisations. Even if you can barely see it while playing, just looking at the workbench is enough for me to be able to change the hilt, base, pattern and lightsaber colour.
Jack of all Trades Master of Star Wars
"Jedi: Fallen Order" is a typical action role-playing game. You jump and climb through imaginative worlds, beat up heaps of Stormtroopers and strange aliens with your laser sword and collect experience points. This unlocks new skills, such as hurling enemies through the air, throwing lightsabers and so on. Another familiar principle is that Cal only learns certain skills, such as the double jump, when he suddenly remembers lessons from his Jedi Master.
Respawn has generally taken a lot of inspiration from other games. In the "Kinda Funny Gamescast" podcast, someone put it perfectly. "Fallen Order" is Jack of all Trades Master of Star Wars. Roughly translated, that means: good everywhere, perfect in Star Wars. You'll find recognisable elements from "Uncharted", "Tomb Raider", "God of War" or "Sekiro". In no category is "Fallen Order" as perfect as the original. The controls when climbing and especially when fighting, where you have to attack, block and dodge in a targeted and deliberate manner, are not as precise as in "Sekiro". Whereas in "Sekiro" I always knew why an opponent had hit me, I don't have this precise hit feedback in "Fallen Order". This can be annoying at times, but the combat system still feels pleasantly powerful. Thanks to a constant stream of new power tricks, combat is extremely varied and spectacular. Throwing back blaster shots is my personal highlight.
Although it doesn't imitate other games flawlessly, what emerges is the perfect symbiosis of action, story and spirit of discovery. Cal may not be the most charismatic character, but "Fallen Order" still excels at the "Star Wars" feel. From the mysterious planets, to the quirky creatures and characters, to the epic action scenes, you'll feel like you're in a (good) Star Wars film from the first seconds to the end. Except you get to wield the lightsaber.
"Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order" was provided to us by EA and is available for PC, PS4 and Xbox One.
Philipp Rüegg
Senior Editor
Philipp.Rueegg@digitecgalaxus.chBeing the game and gadget geek that I am, working at digitec and Galaxus makes me feel like a kid in a candy shop – but it does take its toll on my wallet. I enjoy tinkering with my PC in Tim Taylor fashion and talking about games on my podcast http://www.onemorelevel.ch. To satisfy my need for speed, I get on my full suspension mountain bike and set out to find some nice trails. My thirst for culture is quenched by deep conversations over a couple of cold ones at the mostly frustrating games of FC Winterthur.
