Leaning into the “Wars” part of Star Wars, I found this an unsatisfying solo experience.
Yes, perhaps I didn’t play this game the intended way. I don’t have PS Plus, and I didn’t play any skirmishes, multiplayer or otherwise, aside from a brief plough through the arcade scenarios (they were… fine). I was here just for the single player campaign (it was… fine).
At least it has a campaign, unlike its predecessor. It’s pulling in a few different directions though: introducing you to game concepts, although some mechanics work differently to the multiplayer; giving you a thrilling if unbalanced 1st/3rd person shooter experience, with frequent diversions into vehicle and ship sections; telling a story, albeit tied up in the incoherent modern continuity and bogged down with character appearances.
There’s lots of different modifiers, gadgets, and weapon loadouts, so finding one that suited me or the situation took a while to settle into. Every mission gives you new abilities to come to grips with, on top of several functions related to your droid buddy (similar to Fallen Order’s BD but not as expressive). It didn’t help that at times the campaign felt balanced like a multiplayer battle, in terms of how quickly you can get shot down. The frequent ship missions too were a drag; less dangerous but more tedious, and for some reason flight control was on the right thumbstick!
As for the plot, I was pleased to see something rare for Star Wars: a woman of colour as the lead! (Shared only with Jedi Starfighter, I think.) Iden Versio is a cool addition to the overall story, as an elite Imperial operative who defects after seeing the Empire go too far. Although they dilute character development between her and her buddy Del, and saddle her with daddy issues to boot, a tired trope at best. She also gets an ignoble end in the free DLC epilogue campaign, although Del is worse off getting fridged early. Their wisecracking Duros friend Shriv is a fun companion in several missions at least.
We see the Empire’s crack team Inferno Squad at the battle of Endor, then the story continues up to the battle of Jakku with our leads carrying out, then working to subvert, Sheev’s nonsensical posthumous plots and schemes. Along the way there’s seemingly endless interruptions to play as Luke, Leia, Han, Lando, and even Kylo Ren, in some trying-too-hard attempts at fan service. I was trying to get invested in Iden’s story, thanks! The DLC then jumps you ahead to the typically narrow “concurrent with TFA” time period of sequel era spinoffs and introduces Iden’s daughter Zay as a supporting character, but it’s over quickly.
The banter between characters during missions is pretty enjoyable, which helped get me through the slog of slagging fools in the head endlessly. The brutal battles and grim murderfests are a big part of Star Wars to be sure, but they were never my favourite part. At least there are some redemptive themes and touching character moments at times, as well as the novelty of seeing well-rendered new places and events in the galaxy. I wanted more from this experience, but to be fair I was only sampling a small side dish of what’s supposed to be a long-term multiplayer standby. Oh well!