A blast that just misses the target
THERE are moments in Fallen Order when everything feels delightfully Star Wars-y. Spaceship corridors blind with analogue buttons, lightsabers crisply rebound laser blasts and Wookiees sound as though they’ve caught a paw in the fridge door. Yet if these moments channel the original movies, the overall design of the game owes far more to a modern hit parade of must-play video games. If Fallen Order is guilty of anything, it’s of trying to be all things to all people.
Set just after Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith, this outing sees the Empire firmly on top, having eradicated the Jedi order. You play Cal Kestis, a ballsy if vanilla Padawan relearning the art of the Jedi, who teams up with a retired Jedi master and her quirky pilot pal – the game’s welcome comic relief – on a mission to rebalance the shift of power. Developer Respawn should be applauded for introducing new players to the canon. They’re a likeable motley crew who more than make up for the slightly humourless, expositionpacked dialogue.
Thankfully, the world of Fallen Order is as epic as the one of Hollywood, traversing planets and electrifying set pieces. One minute you’re using the Force to slow pistons on the edge of a cliff in Zeffo, the next you’re battling a giant forest spider in the evergreen land of Kashyyyk. You’ll also pilot Walkers and overcharge power grids, all the while accompanied by the game’s best character: the adorable droid BD-1, who acts as medic, navigator and hint-giver.
While exploring these worlds, clambering up vines and hacking into short cuts, the influence of Naughty Dog’s seminal Uncharted series is evident. There’s added flavour in every encounter, and delicious, noggin-scratching puzzles to overcome (one marble run-infused puzzle is an absolute joy to crack). Less successful is the Metroidvania-style backtracking, which means you’ll retread your footsteps way too often – and with no fast travel, things go Groundhog Day quick.
As for combat, Fallen Order’s Dark Souls-like reliance on patience, pattern-spotting and parrying leads to a lack of fluidity that will jar if you want to play as a butt-kicking Jedi with a sword that can slice a droid in half with aplomb.
Then there are the save points. When Cal comes across a respawn point, he can save his process and revitalise his health. However, enemies will reappear if he does the latter so when backtracking, any tricky bouts of gruelling combat must be overcome again ad nauseam.
The other combat gripe comes with the Force. The touch-feel of pushing Stormtroopers off cliff edges and pulling objects towards you is incredibly tactile but it’s not as good as the telekinesis mechanic in Remedy’s Control, released in August.
Fallen Order is a thoroughly enjoyable romp and the best Star Wars game of the generation by far. It’s just a shame that in borrowing so much, developers have denied themselves the chance of creating something original, on a par with last year’s God Of War or Spider-Man. As a result, the Force is strong – just not strong enough.
THE VERDICT
A fun space romp that borrows a bit too much to truly be considered a modern-day classic