Review: Jedi: Fallen Order has moments of brilliance but few original ideas

From the very start there was pressure on Jedi: Fallen Order, which is amazingly just the third Star Wars PC and console game that publisher Electronic Arts has put out since landing the license in May 2013.

Not only does it look to deliver on the promise of a ‘pure’ single-player title in the wake of projects from the likes of Visceral and Motive seemingly being cancelled, but it comes off the back of developer Respawn‘s breakout battle royale game Apex Legends too.

The result is a mixed affair that feels like it has some interesting ideas but none of them are original. At times it feels like a PlayStation 3/Xbox 360 era title with its combination of Uncharted-style exploration and platforming, as well as its combat, which is inspired by From Software’s Dark Souls franchise. While it handles both of these elements competently – with rare glimpses of brilliance – Jedi: Fallen Order fails to do either of these styles of gameplay better than the originals. 

Platforming rarely feels as tight as Uncharted, with what feels like imprecise prompts to grab onto ledges that are well within reach often failing to register. Meanwhile, combat is a simplified version of the Souls formula and when you’re facing off against humanoid enemies it works really well, providing some intense and thrilling encounters. 

However, fighting some of Jedi: Fallen Order’s larger foes – both mechanical and animal – brings some of the game’s combat shortcomings to the forefront. They are often more mobile which can test the title’s lock-on and frequently end with your character pounded into the ground before you’ve had a chance to recover from the first blow. There is, however, an undeniable pleasure in wielding a customisable lightsaber in combat with a combination of visual and audio effects that tap right into your inner seven-year-old. 

“Fallen Order’s world design borrows heavily from Dark Souls with interconnected levels that twist and turn back on each other via shortcuts. Rarely does this conjure the same feeling of elation and relief.”

Then there’s the story, the tale of an unremarkable blank slate of a main character in Cal Kestis, a Jedi in hiding in the wake of the Emperor’s purge of the Force-wielding good guys. Our hero makes the mistake of using his powers to save a friend, outing him to the Empire and forcing him to go on the run in order to rebuild the Jedi Order. The story is pretty forgettable, but it does take players to some interesting locations with some gorgeous skyboxes – at least early in the game. 

Much like combat, Fallen Order’s world design borrows heavily from Dark Souls with interconnected levels that twist and turn back on each other via shortcuts. Rarely does this conjure the same feeling of elation and relief like it does in From Software’s title, with the winding levels often feeling more confusing than anything else. 

While there’s no doubt that Jedi: Fallen Order has some interesting ideas, barely any of them are new and at times it feels like the developers didn’t really understand what worked about, for example, Dark Souls’ interconnected level design. The game’s inspirations are blindingly obvious and it sadly doesn’t really add anything to these pre-existing formulae. 

In the last few years, there has been a lot of pent up demand for a single-player centric game like this and hopefully, Respawn will be allowed to explore some of its better ideas in a future release.