A game that promised me nothing, yet delivered me back to my childhood.
In our modern capitalistic worldview of franchises even Star-Wars has fallen victim to what I what I will call "content soup syndrome". There is just simply too much content to follow and to be aware of to fully enjoy the big whole now without serious caveats. This used to be different, this used to simpler. I guess we could say Jedi: Fallen Order is a game made by the standards of a more civilized time. A story not told in a vacuum yet not requiring much more than the main movies (perhaps the Clone Wars show) to grasp.
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Cal Kestis is a "survivor" of a "fallen order" living in hiding from the newly formed empire but also himself. Harboring guilt, issues with self-worth and deep seated insecurities, when he is is forced to reveal himself and flee once again, the path he must take will confront the young warrior with his inner demons, while also blossoming in his mind the idealistic, romanticized teaching of the Jedi.
A story that have been told a countless times before and will be told countless times, yet the respect, the timidness and the emotional maturity of the writing brings something special to the table. The cast here feel like they are real characters, flawed and layered people learning and growing by each other. A grand but intimate story all expertly built around a few key themes reverberating throughout the game.
I did not expect Cal Kestis ending up as one of my favourite jedi next to Obi-wan Kenobi but Respawn Entertainment did their due diligence.
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Along with the story, probably the strongest selling point of the game is it's Metroidvania influenced level design philosophy, which makes replaying past levels immensely satisfying as you constantly discover new secrets, pathways, upgrades and customisation options dotted around the maps.
The combat is inspired by Darks Souls but is more focused in on parrying and whittling down the opponent's defenses until you can strike. Dances like this with powerful foes can be difficult to master on the harder difficulties but is absolutely recommended if one wishes to entirely feel like a remnant of a powerful knightly order. It is a bit weird how all the enemies reappear if you rest at meditation points but let's be honest, there are games out there with far more agreedious dissonance between gameplay reality and in-lore reality and the Darks Souls formula provides a constant challenge in order to keep your combat abilities in check and polished for another fight.
In our modern capitalistic worldview of franchises even Star-Wars has fallen victim to what I what I will call "content soup syndrome". There is just simply too much content to follow and to be aware of to fully enjoy the big whole now without serious caveats. This used to be different, this used to simpler. I guess we could say Jedi: Fallen Order is a game made by the standards of a more civilized time. A story not told in a vacuum yet not requiring much more than the main movies (perhaps the Clone Wars show) to grasp.
-
Cal Kestis is a "survivor" of a "fallen order" living in hiding from the newly formed empire but also himself. Harboring guilt, issues with self-worth and deep seated insecurities, when he is is forced to reveal himself and flee once again, the path he must take will confront the young warrior with his inner demons, while also blossoming in his mind the idealistic, romanticized teaching of the Jedi.
A story that have been told a countless times before and will be told countless times, yet the respect, the timidness and the emotional maturity of the writing brings something special to the table. The cast here feel like they are real characters, flawed and layered people learning and growing by each other. A grand but intimate story all expertly built around a few key themes reverberating throughout the game.
I did not expect Cal Kestis ending up as one of my favourite jedi next to Obi-wan Kenobi but Respawn Entertainment did their due diligence.
-
Along with the story, probably the strongest selling point of the game is it's Metroidvania influenced level design philosophy, which makes replaying past levels immensely satisfying as you constantly discover new secrets, pathways, upgrades and customisation options dotted around the maps.
The combat is inspired by Darks Souls but is more focused in on parrying and whittling down the opponent's defenses until you can strike. Dances like this with powerful foes can be difficult to master on the harder difficulties but is absolutely recommended if one wishes to entirely feel like a remnant of a powerful knightly order. It is a bit weird how all the enemies reappear if you rest at meditation points but let's be honest, there are games out there with far more agreedious dissonance between gameplay reality and in-lore reality and the Darks Souls formula provides a constant challenge in order to keep your combat abilities in check and polished for another fight.