(game review) - Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
Gameplay
The gameplay is decent. Although you can travel via a spaceship and travel to various different planets, the game is still very linear as the different worlds have set paths. So, you are able to explore, but not everywhere as you can only go where the game will allow you to. A lot of floating land where you can simply fall off the edge, all the time. I said this in my Guardians of the Galaxy review where I said: "I guess the worlds could not be too open due to the storytelling and structure of the plot, but maybe carrying out objectives to unlock areas within the world or complete puzzles/tasks would help with more exploration allowing more depth to the gameplay if the worlds we inhabit were denser like, dare I say it, Anthem." And I really feel like this comment applies to this game also as you only travel to a few of these planets. I believe it will let the planets feel lived in and rich with lore especially with activities, it just does not feel expansive enough. Mass Effect had different planets to explore and there were always people around making the world feel lived in. The characters are normal Star Wars fair, so you will likely see creatures you have seen before and some new ones. It's a pot of new and old, known and unknown fused into one. If you do follow Star Wars lore, comics, novels, films, TV shows and Cartoons such as Clone Wars, Rebels and Bad Batch, there are things you will recognise so easter egg spotting will be your thing. It is the type of world-building that helps with the world you are in and brings the player some familiarity. The gameplay generally speaking is great, but just leaves a lot to be desired if there would be a sequel, it would be nice for depth. The dialogue is not too bad either but there are no heavy themes at all. Yes, there might be loss here and there, but nothing to get you too emotional like the game demands your heart so it can play a tune with it. The writing is good and the game does throw out a couple of quick-time events which are ok, but I think one thing that got annoying quickly, was the boring backwards and forwards through the maps with no fast travel option, especially as enemies respawn. You are made to feel like a Jedi Padawan but you never really feel invincible which is neither here nor there as I think the fighting and the action need to be more compelling, but I feel you should be able to move a little more freely than formulaic. I am thinking Lara Croft in the Original Tomb Raider from 1996 than Lara Croft in the Tomb Raider Reboot in 2013. For example of great fighting and smoothness is God of War. You feel like a God when playing with Kratos, but the game does well to humble you. There are some great fighting moments and scenes, but the fighting on a whole is quite repetitive and not fun all the time, especially with the fodder you have to battle and limited move set. As this is Respawn, the developer behind Titan Fall and Apex Legends, I can only assume they are simply just getting started, especially as this game is not a first person shooter, something they are known for.
Graphics
The graphics are good, but not as great as Guardians of the Galaxy as everything visually looked amazing. This was simply standard, looked great, but could have been better. It makes you think, Anthem looked gorgeous, but the same studio cannot make Fallen Order look gorgeous too? With the entire Galaxy to choose from and all the lore that Star Wars has, the landscapes just seem pretty standard and it is not like they did not get it you know, Star Wars, they did, but maybe things should have been denser and richer with more detail and scenery. You only travel to a few planets so other than a few creatures jumping up and down and hardly any other life on these planets bar enemies you battle, more could have been done with the graphics. I think Horizon Zero Dawn and how rich the planet looks in that game or even the areas you traverse. The design of the creatures were just ok. I just found it weird that most creatures were simply there to attack you and the unblockable attacks were simply annoying than challenging in a lot of cases. On a great note though, I did not notice many, to any glitches which is good and the facial animations were ok. The storyas a whole was great and that is definitely something that will keep you coming back.
Music/Sound
The music, Star Wars, very Star Wars and I have no complaints as to the music, sound design etc as Star Wars has always been pretty great when it comes to music and sound in pretty much all their mediums, this here is no different.
Controls
The biggest issue with this game is the controls. Whilst the controls are great with the button mapping, what you can do etc, the handling of the character is very clunky, being that you only ever control one person, Cal, however, you can make him simply fall off a cliff due to his movement and the controls. You are constantly twisting and turning the camera around so you can figure out where you are to attack enemies or avoid being attacked. When something is lunging at you with an unblockable but you can not see where they are is "your fault" but also the game's fault as your character never feels quite 'centre of the screen', making it easier to manage your position in game unlike Kratos in God of War. Part of the gameplay but also the controls, you never really feel you are able to move fluidly because of the controls and you can often get cornered or pinned down without feeling like you can manoeuvre well. Being able to switch Lightsabres is great whilst some moves enable you to do so on the fly whilst battling. The range of moves are great too but to be able to chain combos would have been excellent. Parry, open with a hard hit then chain a bunch of light and hard hits together, sweet, but no, the game does not seem to allow you to do that, especially when everyone is attacking you at the same time. Maybe if you moved a little like Batman in the Arkham series, the controls and gameplay would work better. The controls do not help you in this game.
Playability
I played this game, and while I was actually enjoying it, I never felt I needed to play it over and over again or that some scenes or set-pieces deserved another playthrough. Nothing really felt like, "wow!". I was simply getting through the game as it was on GamePass, so it felt more like a necessity than anything. I am an avid Star Wars fan, so I am interested in Star Wars and all their mediums, so I will play, but with the repetitiveness of the back and forth through the planets, I could easily put the controller down as the challenges were just difficult enemies or easy enemies, plus some of the difficult enemies just felt unnecessarily difficult. At one stage, I actually put the controller down as I got stuck on a boss who was killing me left and right, but sometimes you do need a break and a change of scenery. I had to study the character and work on my attacks and moves which was great in retrospect. The save points do not help either as there is usually an enemy and these enemies can drain your energy with a simple few moves, especially the unblockable ones. I am hoping that the next game is fun and they fix some of the issues this game has especially with the amount of life the enemies can claw away from you.
Execution
In the end, with all its faults, I feel the faults were more quality of life than anything major and is simply the reason why I kept playing the game. Everything is pretty standard and weaving this into the cannon or non-cannon lore, like The Force Unleashed, it would be nice to know if this game will play a part in the franchise as a whole than simply just being a Star Wars game. The character is cool and playing as him as a young padawan is cool, especially seeing the people you bump into along the way. A decent and somewhat engaging story, with great Star Wars music, ok visuals and design, and decent dialogue but I feel we need a bit more story and heart in the sequel. I want to be able to feel like a Jedi and look like a Jedi while feeling impacted by the decisions I've made or the story as a whole. Throw in some traversal elements like starships or spacecraft where I can navigate myself. Even some dog-fights would be cool. Put me on a speeder or let the planets be fairly vast rather than feeling like baron worlds. The end boss was a nightmare but I got them in the end and it was an interesting challenge. I just hope they find a way to make the main battles and fodder feel, look and play out differently. Having played this now, I am not sure if I would have purchased it, may. I would have, maybe...but having played games like Horizon Zero Dawn, God of War and I guess you can throw in Anthem in there, I am not sure if EA is producing anything absolutely great all around. This game is good, but it just hurts me that it could have been soo much better, but let's hope a sequel, we get just that
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