this game improves on the original in like every way, not all of it is super drastic but it's almost all universally better. the gameplay is still perfect and my dream of what a star wars game can truly be. the planets are still exciting to explore, koboh especially being as open as it is with so many exciting side paths with incredibly fun things to do. the rest are more linear but still provide insanely good platforming, combat, and set pieces. i will say i'm not gonna talk about performance here, i know it's bad on some platforms, but from personal experience on ps5 i had zero crashes and at worst some lighting issues and small frame drops. i'm not great at noticing those so i really couldn't point them out to you. i think it's a shame they let the game release in that state on pc, and even on other consoles people are having problems because this is genuinely a masterpiece beyond that.

the gameplay is my biggest standout, combat feels better than ever. all the new stances each feel useful and fun in their own ways, but the standard single saber still is one of the most satisfying weapons ever and truly the only series of star wars games to nail the feeling of mowing down bad guys with a light saber. the finishers are all so badass, on top of new force abilities and upgrades to former ones. my particular favorite force upgrade being the one where you can pick up stormtroopers and shoot their weapons at other enemies. it felt very fun to use and was incredibly useful. i don't wanna spoil anything but there's a good selection of new abilities and they make movement and traversal incredibly fun. i was not expecting the platforming at some sections to be as absurdly fun and satisfying as they were but it's genuinely some of the greatest platforming/action sequences i've experienced in a third person game. there were also some pretty fun and satisfying puzzles throughout. it's not a focus by any means, and none of them are gonna leave you super stumped for hours on end but the ones that are there are good!

graphically this game is insanely beautiful. star wars lends itself to have some very interesting locations, whether it's lush grassy fields, or very polished imperial bases they're a joy to look at. koboh in particular is very pretty and full of so many silly little aliens i love them so much. turgle being my new favorite star wars lil guy ever i think he's just so awesome. i've mentioned it a few times but koboh is essentially the main planet in this game, it's the largest by a lot and you return to it periodically exploring new parts for the story. there's also a ton of fulfilling side areas and paths to explore. not only is it full of fun things to do, but it also has a lot of fun NPCs to meet and interact with. the planet feels very lived on and there's a ton of really good interactions to have with various characters whether it's in the main town area or on a random side path. the characters faces and animations are way better too, cal in particular looks so extremely lifelike at points it's insane.

the story is surprisingly a high point for me here as well! i found the story to be solid in the original, but nothing too great. i was feeling the same for this game initially, and it does take a while for the story to truly start getting great, but once it does it's one of the best star wars stories ever imo! that might not be saying a lot to some people LOL but i do think it stands on its own as well. obviously don't wanna get into spoiler territory but there's some moments where i alone in my room audibly reacted and freaked out. the writing is overall solid, and the characters are done very well. not only in writing but in voice acting as well. the main team in this game has become arguably my favorite team in star wars and i like all of them a lot! bode was a great addition as well. i'm sure it's helped by me already liking cameron monaghan but he's such a great protagonist for star wars and cal has become one of my favorite jedi easily.

boss fights obviously are gonna be a highlight but i enjoyed them overall in this game more than the original. i think they're all genuinely very well designed but also a lot of my enjoyment came from playing on grand master difficulty. i played on normal in the original game and found it a bit too easy, especially once i got off the first planet and really found my groove. playing on grand master kept me on my toes throughout the entire game but especially with boss fights made them insanely more interesting and engaging. i had multiple big pop offs and i don't think there's a boss (at least main story) that i didn't enjoy.

i went into this game knowing i'd love it, but i wasn't expecting it to feel like this big a step above the original. i was so engaged the entire time playing and i truly fell in love with it. i'm not as die hard a star wars fan as some people but i do love the franchise and the games were always something i wanted to love but could never quite get into. this series has completely changed that and i hope we get similar games for a very long time. they've truly perfected what makes a star wars game great.

I loved the first game, and tbh I'm a massive star wars fan so I was really excited for this game, so excited I pre order it on steam. That was a mistake. I never got above 40 fps normally around 20-30 and the cuts scenes where awful.
So I refunded it and got it on PS5. It ran well got around 60 apart from some cut scene with lightsabre fighting in it were it would drop to maybe 30.
The game it self it great, it feels like an amazing sequel rewarding you for playing the first game both in story and gameplay. It takes the core of the fallen order gameplay and improves on it. The uncharted like parkour feels smoother. The Sekiro inspired combat feels like it has more weight behind every swing .
The boss battle were kinda easy but still enjoyable. Something that wasn't enjoyable was the arena wave based shooting galleries. The farther through the game you got the more there were and they were insufferable.
The exploration in the open world segments are some of the best ive played since elden ring.

It sucks that any and all discussion surrounding this game will be marred by performance issues. Not because it's an amazing game except for that, but because I think there is a lot of room for discussion. This team had the challenge of taking the first game and expanding the scope, as that was what everyone's feedback was: "be bolder, bigger, grander." They did that, and we end up with a game that tries to be bigger, grander, and bolder, and succeeds in some areas but not others. but none of that matters because it runs so poorly that it will dominate any conversation where this game gets brought up for the foreseeable future. Wait for it to be fully and truly fixed before picking it up, but once that's the case, you'll find a very fun, if flawed, star wars game.

really doesnt do anything to improve the original's gameplay (i.e. the combat still feels muddy, especially compared to Sekiro) and also really fails under scrutiny when later sections resort to hardcore aggressive enemy spam that tests the player on how efficiently they can use their force currency to insta-kill enemies rather than actually engage with combat. it adds stuff, but its more facetious fluff than meaningful evolutions of the gameplay.

the metroidvania structure of the original is mostly thrown aside in favor of a more generic open world with side quests and fewer key abilities. it still maintains the facade, but the focus is definitely on being "big," the opposite of where the genre thrives.

story-wise its about as schlocky as the original, although somehow feels more self-serious. the drama still falls completely flat and includes more of it thanks to the naughty-dog-esque "slowly follow behind somebody while they mumble at you" sections during the massive walks between objectives. however, to a lesser extent than the original granted, it still is very much capable of that star wars shlock with insane plot twists and cool displays of force abilities. watching cal use sith abilities on someone because hes pissed about a recent plot twist is awesome, listening to him mumble to his girlfriend about nothing is not. one of those is much more prevalent than the other.

the reason im being so harsh, even though i do ultimately like the game, is because its a sequel to a star wars game. i dont feel like any leeway is granted in something so safe as that, and for it to take so few risks or even improve in any meaningful way makes me inclined to treat it a little more harshly. honestly, as an aside, so much about this game reminds of God of War Ragnarok which i had damn near the exact same feelings about.

heres the review: if you liked fallen order, youll like this. just dont expect to be excited by it.

that extends to the fact there are still ZERO circle wipes in a DAMN STAR WARS GAME