Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order - PlayStation 4

I’m happy that I was able to purchase this game for $40. I have been anxious to play this game, but I didn’t want to spend $60 at launch. The game has a great story and expands on each characters own character arc. My only complaint is that it was difficult to master the double jump. I watched a couple of YouTube videos that helped me figure out how to jump further. I wasn’t expecting to jump once and again in the air. Maybe I missed something in the tutorial as a Padawan. The planets are massive enough that you can spend hours searching for crates. I wasn’t a big fan of the ponchos. I found myself mostly roaming around without the poncho. The lightsaber builds are fun. I wish there were more options for cosmetics. I can’t wait to see a DLC in the future. So, I’ve been playing Star Wars games for years. I can’t possibly list all of the Star Wars games that I have played. For the longest time, I think the Force Unleashed was my favorite. The game has a great story and an awesome throwback to the older movies. The Force Unleashed II was okay but it failed to present a good story. This game is not like the Force Unleashed. The character is not a sith and does not posses a lot of power. It takes time for Cal to develop his force abilities. Even after he develops his powers he is still no match against the most iconic character in Star Wars. The game has more challenges and puzzles.

At first the game gave me a very Uncharted vibe -- you start out with less "the Force" and "lightsaber duels" and more just climbing stuff in a set piece, but it quickly grew into exactly what was promised. The combat is very "counter-and-attack" as you'd expect from lightsaber-focused battle, and the comparisons to Dark Souls are (for once) quite warranted, and as time goes on, movement itself becomes less "climb the thing for a couple minutes" and more "force push debris out of your way, run across and jump between walls to the other side, force pull the rope to you to make the final leap" in more seamless sequences, no quick-time events required. The puzzles are neat and not too tedious, there's hundreds of collectibles to find, lightsaber customization has a surprising depth to it, and the (canon!) story kept me wanting more. Only real gripe I had with it is a lack of quick travel through a planet's many save points that could have made the trek a little less monotonous, but considering I found several missed hidden collectibles during my backtracking, overall I can't say I mind it. EA finally delivered a quality Star Wars game. (Can't wait to see how they ruin it with DLC!)

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order does not hide its various inspirations. The combat is Dark Souls- and God of War (2018)-inspired. The exploration segments have puzzles and maze-like qualities that would feel right at home in a Metroid Prime game. There are various story and exploration segments that are clear nods to Uncharted. There are also moments that come straight from Shadow of the Colossus. The thing about all of these different elements is that they all come together reasonably well and competently, but as a result, Jedi: Fallen Order lacks focus. STORY Jedi: Fallen Order should wear the moniker of "A Star Wars Story," much like the movie "Rogue One." It feels distinctly Star Wars, with familiar locations and a wide variety of alien designs. However, something's ever so slightly off-brand about it. The game takes place after Episode III and follows Cal, a secret Jedi who is in hiding to avoid the Order 66 purge initiated by Palpatine. He winds up getting wrapped up in a quest where he essentially re-learns how to use the Force and the powers stemming therefrom. The best way to explain the feeling without divulging any story spoilers is to point out that the story seems to be more in service of the gameplay than the gameplay is in service of the story. This being a video game, that's to be expected, but the quest the hero undertakes feels very "gamey" compared to the hero's journey arc that is explored in something like Episodes IV-VI. It's not a bad story; it just lacks the cohesion and depth of more story-focused games. GAMEPLAY As noted at the outset of this review, Jedi: Fallen Order tries to emulate a lot of other games' highlights. Early-on, there's a segment that is practically straight out of Uncharted 2. If you remap the controls to be closer to the Souls series, the game plays like a quicker, albeit a bit clunkier version of those games. There's a sequence a little later that's straight out of Shadow of the Colossus, but with a neat little Star Wars twist. That's exactly how this game works throughout its roughly 15 hour runtime: very familiar concepts with a Star Wars-inspired twist. That puzzle segment you saw in Metroid Prime? Use the Force instead of your different arm cannon powers. See those special areas you can climb? Just Nathan Drake your way around them. The one element where this game succeeds in a very significant way is that the combat is a lot of fun. I'm not sure I've ever played a Star Wars game before where you feel like a Jedi in the way you do here. The movement and attacks include new, unique moves plus lots of lightsaber choreography from the prequels. Somewhat ironically, turning the difficulty way down feels more "right" because it makes most of the fights feel like they play out the way that they would in a movie, with Cal tearing through Stormtroopers relatively effortlessly. I played on a standard PS4, not a Pro. I definitely encountered some technical hiccups. Areas just stalling while loading, one area where enemies literally stood there and didn't move even when attacked because their AI just froze, and areas where it feels like the game didn't expect me to go to the next section, so it was desperately trying to load the geometry as I was frozen, standing there watching the logo swirl. The game also had some pretty bad load times in going from the main menu or a death back to the game. Curiously, planet-hopping is a very quick process (you can freely move around your ship while doing it, so the next planet is loaded in the background and the game alerts you when it's ready). As a quick note for trophy hunters, this game is a relatively easy platinum. There are not any difficulty-related trophies, so you can play however you want, and nothing is missable. The platinum is about 25 hours, with a single playthrough plus lots of collectibles. I have a lot of nitpicks, but to Jedi: Fallen Order's credit, none of them make me walk away with anything but a smile after each play session. It doesn't excel at any single thing other than emulating prequel trilogy-level combat, but maybe that's enough. It feels like a very gamey video game with a Star Wars coat of paint, but as a long-term Star Wars fan, it's somehow very satisfying despite its flaws. GRAPHICS The visuals on a standard PS4 are pretty solid. The environments look great, and the Stormtroopers look like they just came out of the movies. Each of the game's planets look cool and distinct, and it's fun to explore them just to see what's around the corner. However, some of the character models feel a bit off. Cere, your navigator throughout the journey, seems to have unusually large eyes. She looks a little bit like a Muppet at times due to the size of her eyes. There are wookies in the game, and they look terrible, like nobody knew how to render fur (something which has been very convincingly done in other games). I'm not a huge fan of how Cal looks either, though that's just personal preference. It's a weird, uncanny valley kind of thing. This isn't on the level of bad that something like Mass Effect Andromeda achieved, but it's several steps removed from the character animation of a Naughty Dog effort like Uncharted. SOUND The game sounds exactly as you'd expect. All of the standard Star Wars sound effects are there, and the music brings you in and has a Star Wars space odyssey vibe. The original compositions aren't up to John Williams' level of quality, but they work within the context of the game. The lightsaber sound effects never get old. The game can be a bit too cheeky for its own good at times. One of the Stormtroopers literally comments, "We have the high ground" at one point, a little too meta/on-the-nose referential humor for my taste, like something that would be in a parody story rather than a canonical product. It doesn't necessarily take the player out of the experience, but it's noticeable at times. The voice acting in general is pretty good all around. While I criticized Cere's character design, I'll give props to her voice actress, who does a superb job. SUMMARY Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is a greatest hits package of the last decade's AAA games. It's almost fitting that it released in 2019 and succinctly summarized many of the elements of AAA game design since 2010 (aside from a full-fledged open world, which this game definitively is not). It does everything well, while not standing out in any area besides finally delivering combat that feels like the lightsaber battles some fans (myself included) have wanted since seeing the carefully choreographed battles of the prequel trilogy. For its various flaws and missteps, Jedi: Fallen Order is a success overall. It gets a strong recommendation for Star Wars fans, but even non-fans can probably find something to enjoy about the game.

TL;DR - awesome game, I received my pre-order code via email shortly after the order, super fun to play. There are some reviews complaining about the game being a gigantic maze or difficult to navigate, no fast travel, etc. 1. the maps are huge, and you should take the time to understand the maps and learn how to navigate them. You can’t really get by without understanding that. 2. Show me a Star Wars scene where someone fast travels/teleports. Star Wars, not Star Trek. I appreciated them not adding b.s. like that, especially if it’s meant to be canonical, they can’t add crap like that. Star Wars diehards would rip them apart. This is a tough game on the upper difficulties. Timing is huge, and you cannot hope to beat this game on anything but the easiest “story” difficulty if you do not take the time to figure out how to Parry and Dodge. Once you get the hang of it though and unlock some additional skills, it is an absolute blast. You can sprint through and absolutely wreck enemies with your abilities. There are tons of cool animations and cinematic effects that just really make you feel like a Jedi badass. Star Wars fan aside, it’s a great game with lots of control and a bit of a learning curve. Think Assassin’s Creed meets Star Wars with a little bit of God of War (2018) open-worldness, and you have the Fallen Order.

If you are looking for a challenging and fun action/adventure game set in the Star Wars universe, this game is for you. The thing I like most about Fallen Order is that it's not a hack n slash game and it has a great story. The combat is designed based on how an actual Jedi would fight, which is by using parrying and dodging with the lightsaber and using the force. The game forces you to think in combat which is what a Jedi would do. A Jedi wouldn't go into a fight just swinging the lightsaber all crazy. The game is decent length, I put in about 23+ hrs to finish the game, but I didn't collect everything or explore each planet 100%. Some will think the game is short, but I think it's a great length for this type of game without all the fluff of fetch quest and pointless quest other semi-open world games put in games just to pad the gameplay hours. Story can be done in like 15 hrs depending on how you play and easily 20+ hours if you take the time to explore the planets (collectables with lore, lightsaber customization, BD-1 and Cal appearance customization, and mini bosses). So they are things to do outside of main path story missions if you want it. This game length is comparable to Batman Arkham City. Great game. One of the best of 2019. Can't wait to see what they do for the sequel... Also don't listen to these 1, 2, or 3 star reviews ratings just because they didn't get a pre-order bonus. The game itself is atleast 4 stars. 5 stars in my book.

It all started out well enough, I got this as a 3rd anniversary present for my husband as it is the "crystal anniversary ." "Happy anniversary" I said, "I got you a kyber crystal" I joke and he accepted his gift with glee. When selecting his level, he was about to pick Jedi Knight (medium) and I jokingly referred to him as a derogatory term for female genitalia. Enraged, he selected the hard level, Jedi Master. He struggled through the game for a month before I got a chance to play. This is where things started to get ugly. I selected the Jedi Knight level for my playthrough. On the second day, my husband watched me make my way through the base where I came upon an electrostaff purge trooper. He started to give me the "oh man, this will take you a few tries. You're going to die." When I took one swipe at the enemy and force pushed them off the bridge. Literally a 2 second fight. " You cant do that!" He exclaimed indignantly "it's because you're on story mode!." But I'm not on story mode. "Well you cant do that on the level I'm on!" Maybe you can, you just didn't think to do it. He sat there stewing for a half hour before I paused the game to go to the bathroom. When I returned, the game controller was in his hands. What did you do? "Nothing" he shrugs "maybe you should go fight that Jotaz though." I attempt to fight the beast several times, and though always just shy of killing it, I am never successful. I check my level settings and they have been changed to Grand Jedi Master, the max difficulty, well beyond both our skill level. Such pettiness, such deceit, from the man I married. The next day as he plays, he fights a bounty hunter and a droid on Dathomir. As he is slain, the droid looms over his corpse and spits "ha, some jedi". Enraged, he quits for the day. I see this opportunity for my revenge. Randmonly throughout the day, be it passing by each other, while he's grabbing the mail, when he's on the toilet I say "ha, some jedi" with the same disdain as the droid. It hits him where it hurts. I spread the magic phrase at work to our coworkers in secret. One day, while at the copier, my husband drops a paper. As he reaches down, a pair of shoes appears and when he looks up, he sees one of his coworkers looming over him. "Ha, some jedi." Anyway, now were getting a divorce. Great game, 5/5, would recommend.

This game, I was a little wary about when it came to fighting with complicated controls and the game sounding a lot like mortal kombat which is the hardest game I have ever played. When I received the game, I was excited to play it and very hopeful that the game was great since I preordered it 3 weeks earlier. When I got around to playing the game itself, it was so much fun, I loved the fighting styles, the actual intensity of every fight which put you in the characters shoes, the timing to parry the AI's attacks was absolutely amazing, it made you really feel like you were playing the character. Basically, this game is so fun to play, I really like the fighting mechanics, the story itself is amazing and the fact that there is no "play to win" mechanics, or just multiplayer in general is great too since I live in a location that doesn't allow me to play online with others, but anyways the fact that I thought this game was a total reck changed in a matter of two minutes. I would definitely recommend this game, and don't get mad at the game just because you keep dying, practice makes perfect I always say. The only downside to this game that I didn't like is the loading screen, it takes almost a minute to revive your character which I think is unfair because in order for you to be in-depth with a video game, you have to keep playing it and the fact to wait for you to revive when you die is definitely not a good trait in a video game so that is the only advice I have for the developers, but other than that this game was the best, I would give it a 10/10 even for that downside. I hope you liked my review and If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.

Awesome game with a great story! The lightsaber combat takes a little getting used to. You have to block a lot and time your parries, so it's not just button mashing. There is a lot of platforming and exploration. A pretty decent variety of enemies to fight. The force skills are cool. Not super long, but long enough to feel satisfied when you finish it. The only downside is that you often return to places you've been before, and while you are able to access new places when you get new skills, and you unlock some shortcuts, there is no fast travel so going through the levels all over again can get very tedious. I found myself trekking through an entire level only to get a new poncho color or something cosmetic like that. Because of this, once I beat the game, I didn't get much enjoyment from continuing to play. All that aside, the characters are good, the story is engaging, and the gameplay is fun. I'd definitely recommend it.