Star Wars video games were pretty big back in the 90s, with LucasArts producing hits upon hits on many genres, from shooters to RPGs and even simulation. In this article, Gurugamer is going to showcase the 6 best Star Wars games to play on PC in 2022.
1. STAR WARS: The Old Republic
One of the best single-player story MMOs out there. FYI, this is a review from a mostly solo player viewpoint. I've been playing this game very on and off since day 1, so I've seen how it's changed and progressed over the years. Unlike other MMOs, this one has only gotten better with age. There are literally hundreds of hours of single-player story content, with solo dungeons and raids for you to do in case you're like me and enjoy playing solo. If you're like me and stopped playing WoW bc of various reasons, I can recommend this game very much.
Combat is your standard tab target MMO, but there is an emphasis on player control. By that I mean, you can have a handful of companions that join you and be your tank, DPS, or heals. You also can heal yourself at any time, which makes solo content fun. I'm still shocked at how all the non-force classes play so well and fit into this SW story so well. I personally like the Smuggler and Bounty Hunter classes the most. You get your own ship, base, and crew that you can deck out how you like.
The story is the best part of this game. You have 8 classes (4 Republic, 4 Empire), and all have their own 20 to 30-hour story, depending on how much side content you do. Choices matter and can affect the game in smaller ways. The game makes you feel like you're the champion of each class. You start small then get bigger and bigger in the story. If you're wanting KOTOR 3, then this is what you need to play. The story is a sequel to KOTOR 2 (loosely), so you'll see certain characters reappearing or being mentioned.
2. Jedi: Fallen Order
Jedi Fallen Order (SWJFO) is a hybrid action-adventure title that combines gameplay elements from various popular genres, ultimately creating its own custom blend of mechanics. In this game, players impersonate Cal Kestis, a former Jedi apprentice now gone into hiding after the infamous Order 66 was executed. Soon he has to abandon a cover-up job, after an accident puts Inquisition agents on his tracks, from here his journey begins to discover not only ancient mysteries, but also his own true nature.
SWJFO plays out as a blend of mechanics from mostly Souls-like and Metroidvania genres: combat heavily inspired by the former, putting great emphasis on learning enemy attack patterns, dodging at the right times, and parrying enemy attacks just before they land in order to stun them (as seen in Sekiro), plus also using Force Powers preferably in clever manners to gain the upper hand. The Metroidvania part becomes prominent in exploration, with platforming/jumping sections and also with several areas of each planet being gated off until Cal acquires more powers or technologies - this encourages backtracking in a good way, to find secrets, items, and even whole optional areas or bosses.
Overall, Jedi Fallen Order is a really solid action-adventure game that faithfully recreates the Star Wars universe with incredible visuals, consistent fun gameplay mechanics, a decent story, and extreme challenges on the highest difficulty setting for those seeking a punishing experience.
3. Knights of the Old Republic
What can I say about Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic that hasn't already been said. It is a wonderfully made RPG set within the rich, well-loved universe of Star Wars. This game has it all for both Star Wars fans and RPG fans.
Playing through KotOR made me realize just how underwhelming the sequel trilogy really is. When writers are able to put together a story with so many interesting characters, so much philosophical discussion, and actual literary themes, it absolutely boggles the mind that a massive studio like Disney cannot accomplish the same thing.
Every character you encounter is interesting. Every planet you travel to has a well-defined political structure and unique problems that must be solved, without ever making things feel like busywork. Most can be accomplished in various ways, whether trying for a peaceful resolution or just bursting in, guns and lightsabers blazing. You can hack computers, reprogram robots, and blow up power conduits to kill enemies, all while balancing light and dark-side leanings based on your choices in the story.
Combat is based on a Dungeons & Dragons-like system involving attack rolls, saving throws, DC ratings, etc. It is turn-based at its core, pausing every 3 seconds to let you input actions, but you can disable this feature or manually pause at any time to adjust your strategy.
4. STAR WARS Empire at War
Star Wars: Empire at War is a real-time strategy game from Petroglyph and published by LucasArts, the best strategy game in the Star Wars franchise.
Overall, it is plenty of bang for your buck, with three campaigns, about a dozen turn-based conquest modes, and classic skirmish battles. However, if you're an experienced RTS fan, you might find the ground battles lacking. The unit controls are imprecise, the balance questionable, and the pop limit placed painfully low. That said, the space battles are magnificent. Each class of ship has its place, and the pop limit gives you far more breathing room. The game just shines here.
And when vanilla bores you, check out some of the mods on moddb. I personally recommend the Revenge of Thrawn and Republic at War projects, both of which introduce a plethora of new units familiar to longtime Star Wars fans.
5. STAR WARS Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy
This game is still, after 16 years, the superlative Jedi experience. You create your own Jedi, choose your lightsaber hilt and blade color, and train under Grandmaster Luke Skywalker as an ancient cult of dark side users surfaces. The story is pretty basic honestly, with plot twists you'll see coming miles away, but that's not the main focus of this game. The main focus is fulfilling the fantasy of being a Jedi.
I promise the combat is like nothing you've ever played before (aside from Jedi Outcast), your angle of attack is based on which of 8 directions you move, and how long you hold the attack button. You can also (once you unlock them) switch between the 3 Styles (fast, medium, and heavy) at any point, all with different animations, damage, and timing.
Just from that, you have 53 unique attack animations that you can chain together however you see fit. If that sounds too complex don't worry - it's remarkably intuitive and really easy to pick up and play. There's also wall running, jump flips, Force powers both Light and Dark, blasters, hand-to-hand, etc. Basically anything you think Jedi should be able to do, you can do it. If you want to feel like a Jedi and you haven't played this game, you owe it to yourself to try it out.
>>> Read more: Top 5 Best World War 2 Games On PC In 2022
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