A Star Wars game inspired by Dark Souls? Sounds good to me! [Spoilers ahead.]
That is an oversimplification though. Perhaps with its more acrobatic moves and de-emphasised RPG elements, comparing this to Sekiro would be more apt. Plus the puzzles, ability unlocks, and map system of Metroid Prime, and of course the Force powers of something like The Force Unleashed, but a little more grounded. Mix it all together with a lot of authentic Star Wars aesthetics and you get something pretty tasty.
My first impressions of this game were a slight turnoff from the main character being yet another bland white male human Jedi. I warmed to Cal over the course of the game thanks to his developing relationships with his cute and versatile droid buddy BD-1, his aloof and regretful mentor Cere, and the gruff and jokey pilot Greez. If I’d pushed through with the story earlier instead of scouring the maps for side collectibles I would have had more time with Merrin the Nightsister too; she has a really cool arc and some fun interactions. Frequently returning to your ship to travel between planets gives you a chance for some character-developing chats between the crew, which is nice.
The premise is very similar to the show Rebels: a Padawan who survived the Purge is in hiding, running from Inquisitors while working to subvert the Empire and find quest MacGuffins, along with a ragtag crew of misfits. Cal in this case is following clues from a Qui-Gon-esque Jedi who was interested in relics and ruins of the lost Zeffo civilisation, with the ultimate goal being a backup of the Jedi Archive’s list of Force-sensitive children to rebuild the Order. Along the way there’s some familiar faces and types (Saw Gerrera, Wookiees on Kazook, Nightbrothers of Dathomir, the usual Imperial stuff) as well as some compelling new characters (the Jedi corrupted by NIghtsister magick, the Seventh Sister whose past is linked to Cere’s) and some well-rendered new planetary landscapes to admire (the windswept bluffs of Zeffo or swampy plateaus of Bogano).
Going through the journey is satisfying. Your crew mates chat to you occasionally as you struggle with Stormtroopers, aggressive creatures, etc., solve environmental puzzles, upgrade BD and your own Force mastery, and learn more about the places you visit. Cal has the ability to sense memories and impressions from objects, which injects a bit of storytelling from exploration and discovery along with tangible experience points. In between the combat and exploration are some set pieces, usually involving too-slippery slides.
Combat is methodical as with From’s successful series. Learning each enemy type’s attack patterns is important for blocking, dodging, and parrying, or finding an opening to use Estus, er, I mean, a stim canister. Your Force powers can help you get an opening on tricky enemies (or later on, can become an “I win” button for certain foes, which is satisfying in its own way). The most fun part of The Force Unleashed and similar games is still effective here: Force-pushing guys off a cliff to their doom. It’s great fun every time.
A particularly impressive feature is the accessibility options. You can tweak lots of stuff about the visuals, the controls, and the difficulty in the options menu. While you’re in there there’s a nice database of the lore you’ve uncovered and enemy data, and the customisation menu. Chests are hidden throughout the game but sadly don’t give you any edge in gameplay; instead they unlock new cosmetic options for BD, your poncho, the paint job on the ship, etc. It’s fun to change up your look slightly I guess. You can also tweak your lightsaber look; at first you’re limited to the boring blue and green (plus orange) blade but late in the game they open up a whole rainbow of cool colours I wish I’d had earlier. I settled on a yellow-bladed double saber most of the time.
I started playing this from a PS4 disc but after my first session I was offered a free PS5 upgrade, very nice. The next-gen version probably looks better, not that I could notice, and has the better rumble, sure. It does significantly improve the long loading times between deaths, which I appreciated. Even the fancy new version has some bugs though; the occasional missing geometry or collision, animations flipping out weirdly at times. Not really a big deal; except for the post-release post-game combat arenas, many of which had missing floor and wall collision that worked in my favour: enemy projectiles fell into the void, and I could step outside the boundaries for a breather while my foes were stuck inside.
As a takeaway I was impressed with how thoroughly they’d achieved a cool Star Wars tone and aesthetic. I guess that’s the benefit to Disney’s heavy hand in branding. It’s full of recognisable iconography plus the new stuff and a new story that fits in that toybox. But like a lot of Star Wars stories I wish there were more prominent alien characters please! Too many humans! And Darth Vader didn’t really need to be there but he was anyway, briefly. Either way, I had a really good time with this game.