JEDI FALLEN ORDER [2019] PS5 REVIEW

🏆  MASTERPIECE  🏆

The positive:

💗 Compelling story suited for both fans & newcomers

💗 Captures the magic of growing as a Jedi

💗 Cal Kestis is such a likable main character

💗 Amazing lightsaber-based combat

💗 The Purge Troopers are great Mini-bosses

💗 Lots of challenging boss fights keep it interesting

💗 Superb Metroid-vania inspired level design

💗 Rewarding exploration with lore insights through force echoes

The negative:

👎 The ending is both amazing and frustrating

👎 Feels like you were honing your skills for something bigger

👎 Some return trips get blocked to funnel you into linear situations

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is one of the very best games of 2019, beaten only by Control for GOTY in my personal score. With a compelling story suited for both fans & newcomers, Respawn managed to capture the magic of growing as a Jedi, overcoming impossible odds, and the power of hope in the midst of despair. Mixing several successful gameplay and level design elements, they crafted an excellent formula that could propel the franchise into the stratosphere, this could be a whole new line of games, with Fallen Order being just the first entry into this reboot series. We can only dream.

A HISTORY OF FAILURES

Star Wars IS the most overexploited franchise in history. The 1st trilogy's success in the '80s was so massive that over the decades, we saw countless films, spinoff movies, series, books, and... tons of crappy videogames. Despite having the love and support of an immense fanbase, few of these countless games were able to make it into the hall of fame. Some of those games that were strong enough with the force to make it are: Jedi Knight II Outcast (2002) Knights of the old republic (2003) & Star Wars Squadron (2020).  Six years after EA secured the license, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is the publisher's first single-player title and is by far the best Star Wars game ever made, I really hope EA will continue to work with Respawn to further expand the series.

EXPLORATION & DISCOVERY

The story is amazing and engaging, secondary to exploration and combat at first, and slowly builds up, offloading a ton of exposition and character growth near the end. The rest is basically on autopilot in favor of getting you to new places to explore. There is this Cordova Guy that set up this wild goose chase across different planets to get the Holo thing location. The game is about exploration and discovery. The traversal is the entire point. There are many moments that feel like Lara Croft or Nathan Drake exploring the ruins of ancient civilizations. Many critics viewed this as a sign of a lack of own identity but for me, it was a great formula that kept me invested while exploring the game's universe and lore.

There is an impressively open-ended structure that allows you to choose where to head next. With the Stinger Mantis spaceship and its crew by your side, five different planets can eventually be traveled between and all of them feature sprawling environments that reveal more of their secrets as you gain further force powers using a clever Metroidvania level design. I love how you can just walk into an optional mini-boss and get wrecked while exploring. It gives off the impression that these are actual, believable locales rather than a series of linear hallways and streets that usher you to the next objective.

SUPERB COMBAT

The Jedi fantasy is well realized, through an intense puzzle-like combat system that rewards fast and frenetic reaction times. The game takes a good approach to difficulty that should please everyone. With a story mode for people who are not familiar with games, and Jedi Master & Jedi Grand Master for veteran players looking for a challenge. They provide razor-thin parry timing and even more aggressive AI. It took me a lot of effort to complete the game on Jedi Master, but I felt so great, you start weak and fragile and become a strong and powerful badass Jedi. Well-timed parries are a Jedi's best friend, but dodges and blocks are important too. Heavy attacks and force powers add depth to the mix thanks to some unlockable moves. Force Pulling a combatant toward you and then tossing them off the side of a cliff feels amazing. You really need to play the game on the higher difficulties to appreciate the challenge.

FALLEN ORDER

A superb narrative connects exploration and combat together. Series newcomer Cal Kestis was a young padawan, or Jedi apprentice, when Emperor Palpatine sent out Order 66, a command that began the Great Jedi Purge, wiping out the vast majority of the Jedi order in a few minutes. Cal survived the Purge and hid on the planet Bracca until the Empire found him, several years later. Then he finds himself in over his head on a quest to rebuild the Jedi Order, taking place just after the culmination of the prequel saga. Joined by the lovely BD-1 droid and ship crew mates Cere and Greez, the story also focuses on the team that must band together to locate a Holocron containing a list of force-sensitive children before it falls into the hands of the empire.

CONCLUSION

With a compelling story suited for both fans & newcomers, Respawn managed to capture the magic of growing as a Jedi, overcoming impossible odds, and the power of hope in the midst of despair. When Fallen Order is at its best, you’re fighting amazing creatures or hardened empire strike forces with Jedi reflexes, venturing into the unknown, or exploring the ruins of ancient civilizations. When it’s at its worst, exploration of free-roam established areas becomes restricted and designed to funnel you into new areas or prevent return trips. Fallen Order could be just the first entry into a reboot series that might bring