Game review - Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (2019)
Yo, how goes it? It's ya boi, half dilapidated corpse rotting on the couch here. Back to bring you another absolutely flawless game review. Today, I'm going to be going over the second most recent Star Wars game to drop, Jedi: Fallen Order. I'm just going to call it Fallen Order for short from now on, because I'm lazy. Fallen Order was published by EA (Don't worry, there's no micro transactions so you won't have to avoid this like you do with your hygiene) and developed by Respawn Entertainment, who you would probably know from their previously released games like Apex Legends or Titanfall. It came out in 2019 for all the more popular gaming platforms.
I feel like star wars games have had a really solid track record, and I'm glad to say this game doesn't let down that record, in my opinion. This is a game that star wars fans and just people who like action games alone will both really enjoy. But, why is that? Well, maybe you should read on you fucking idiot.
The combat gameplay for this game is the shining star by far, I never once got tired/bored with the fighting mechanics through the entire 15-16 hours of the campaign. (There's more to the game as well if you're looking to 100 percent it, I don't get boners over doing that though so I didn't.) If I had to compare it to any other style of combat, I would say it's very close to the Dark Souls style of gameplay, but it's different enough to stand out. It's just always fun and rewarding while also flowing nicely. I would also say that this game even on the harder difficulties is still a fair amount easier than any of the Dark Souls games. There are moments that will be very comparable in difficulty, but I would say 90 percent of the game is definitely easier to cruise through than the typical Souls game. Which is great for me, since the Souls games tend to piss me off pretty good.
Something really fun with this game is that because you're in the role of a Jedi, you get a lot of cool little abilities to help you turn shit around in combat. It also allows you to come up with some pretty creative solutions to mob attacks, which is goofy fun. The one on one combat is really great as well, as the parrying system works fantastically with a lightsaber and there's a rhythm to the combat, and once you find it it's just a shit ton of fun. There's also different saber forms, and you can swap to a double bladed lightsaber to cosplay being Darth Maul if you'd like. There's just a lot of different ways to fight in this game, and it's all good. And, if you're curious how often you'll be fighting, it's a fucking lot, so get ready for lots of high octane action of spreading storm trooper cheeks.
Another element of the game that is pretty good are the puzzle sections, some of which are optional while others are not. There's different ways of approaching them, and there are lots that will have you scratching your ass in confusion for a bit before it finally clicks and you figure it out. They're for sure challenging, but not too insane where you'll just want to give up and go back to playing your Minecraft sex mod. And, if you want to 100 percent the game you'll have to really dig into them. They're involved not only in progressing the game, but, also in finding secrets/upgrades/collectibles. So, if you really hate puzzles then that part of the game probably won't be making you just jizz all over your pants.
The map and world design in the game is done pretty well. There's tons of lore to be found in the world for actual worldbuilding, and the worlds are very much what you'd expect in a Star Wars game which fits just fine since all you need is sci-fi and space. The map design is made in such a way where it's almost instinctual for you to find your way and not really get lost, especially thanks to the map system they've put in place. I always worry with Star Wars games that they'll just fall into the same trap of spoon feeding you nostalgia, with only using previously shown worlds/towns from previous movies and games. Thankfully this game doesn't do that for the most part, only using one previously shown/established world. The rest are new and fresh, and that's just a small thing I was thankful of. How many fucking times do I need to go to Tatooine and deal with the sand people and crime organizations, seriously?
The enemy variety in the game is pretty copious, which is nice. Outside of the boss fights, you'll find yourself fighting a bunch of different alien animals depending on which world you're on. Each of those has their own attack patterns and weaknesses to figure out. Beyond those, there's also a bunch of different types of Stormtroopers you'll run into with the same deal, there are quite a few different types of purge troopers using unique types of weaponry. Often involving electricity to zap your asshole. So, just a good variety of enemies to encounter, unlike Dark Souls where it's just a bunch of fucking skeletons.
Something else that really stood out in this game was the soundtrack. It's not my favorite soundtrack ever or anything, but it's pretty good. That's one thing that Star Wars media in general gets right, even if the movie or game sucks. The soundtracks are always great, and I just find them very immersive and relaxing more often than not. The composer is the same person who has done work for Apex's music as well as Titanfalls, which never really jumped out and milked my nipples or anything. So, I was even a bit more impressed here with the great job he did to capture the style of Star Wars.
Narrative wise, the story we got is good. Not the best by any means, but serviceable and enjoyable enough where I can say it's fairly good. The comedy aspects thrown into the narrative/dialogue aren't the best and don't really land, and some parts of the story are honestly very goofy. It takes place in between the 3rd and 4th movie, which is a cool place to set it since there's so much story that can happen there. So, while things aren't perfect it's told well enough where you'll be happy with it. The voice acting is also really well done for pretty much every character in the game, so that helps add onto the immersion and interest of the story.
There are a couple negative things I can touch on. One is that a lot of the mini bosses in the game are just reskins of other enemies you've already faced, which seems a bit lazy. Especially since you do have to face off against these mini bosses fairly often for upgrades. The camera can also be clunky while doing certain animations or if you move a certain way, leading to things like camera lock where you can't even see what's happening and end up getting your ass blasted and having to restart. The final thing I'll mention is the animations for the characters are not great, most are very weird/goofy looking and I think they could have done a much, much better job here. The running animation especially looks like your character has mudbutt and is sprinting to the nearest toilet before he shits his pants. Not sure who was in charge of that, but, you done fucked up. Otherwise, there's not much else negative I can point out in the game.
Overall, I would very much recommend Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order to anyone interested in checking it out. It will work for people who are and aren't Star Wars fans. While I am a decent star wars fan, I'm not the biggest, and I was definitely worried that this game would turn me off by being tailored to hardcore nerds who jerk off onto their Obi-wan figures daily. Instead, it's just super enjoyable for everyone. Great gameplay, an awesome soundtrack, tons of cool lore, a good story and tons of area to explore. There is a lot to love in this game, so I'd definitely say check it out if you haven't already.
Until next time doods.
Later!
Is this the game where a lot of people were complaining about the lack of fast travel? I am a star wars nerd, hell, i'm sitting at my desk wearing a Star Wars shirt right now, but I never bought this because it didn't seem RPG enough for me. That and the fact that PS just dropped 10 free games on us and I still haven't finished Ratchet and Clank is a solid reason for me to not get involved in this one either.
Yeah it was, which doesn't make any sense, to be honest. When you're fighting your way backwards there's a point to it, so you can finish unlocking all the skills you'll want/need. And, with this game having Souls style combat I dunno why anyone would be expecting it to have fast travel, that's dumb as shit.
Ratchet and Clank is a good choice for a game to play though, definitely one of my favorite Playstation exclusive series.
I loved this game. I was putting it off for a great while simply because it was from EA. They've really taken a hit to their reputation. I hope this game can be a redeemer for them.
The combat and level design was by far my favorite parts of the game. As you mentioned I was never once bored with the combat. I did find the tuning of the difficulties a little off though. The hardest was just to hard and there's no fun in dying in one hit. The second hardest was ok but just a little bit to easy. Should have had something in between. The bosses were also a bummer. Their moves were to easy to read, especially with the flashing red that you just knew you had to roll away from. I died no more than once to every boss and a couple of times to the last one. Maybe I should have put up the difficulty to max for the bosses.