Home Gaming Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order reviews round-up

Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order reviews round-up

4 min read
45

Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order is the latest Star Wars game to come out of the licencing deal between Disney and the game publisher. Given the generally lacklustre games that we’ve seen make use of the licence to date, this one, from Titanfall and Apex Legends developer Respawn.

Taking inspiration from games like Dark Souls and Sekiro, it’s a single-player action game with a lot of focus on lighstaber battles. It tells an original Star Wars story about Cal Kestis, a Padawan who survived the events of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. As one of the last remaining Jedi, Cal will have to complete his Jedi training before Inquisitors discover his plans to rebuild the Jedi Order.

Given the game’s late embargo, the relative lack of review copies and the missing EA game trial, many were worried that the game’s coverage was being buried by EA so they could sell copies before people realised the game was bad. Was that worry necessary?. Here’s what critics think of Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order.

Polygon – Unscored

Jedi: Fallen Order is a flawed, sometimes messy game, but it’s a Star Wars experience I didn’t know I wanted. And after finishing it, I definitely want more.

Eurogamer – Unscored

SWJFO_1

When I reached the end of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, I didn’t feel like I’d had a rewarding experience. I was relieved it was over. With some side-meandering, it took around 30 hours, and I didn’t enjoy a lot of them. I’ll admit crunching a Souls-like in less than four days is an unnatural and gruelling experience: I imagine if I’d played Fallen Order over several months, I would have been less frustrated, but probably still bored. It’s such a shame, as Fallen Order has an incredible gameplay experience at its core, with fantastic environments and well-directed action sequences. Yet it’s unable to sustain this thanks to some fundamental design problems.

As for the story? Well, it never gets off the ground.

Stevivor – 9/10

SWJFO_2

Challenging combat is broken up by platforming and exploration, and it’s all held together by a narrative I genuinely cared about. On their own, none of these elements are going to win awards and are all done better elsewhere, but as a package they form something exciting — much like the Star Wars films.

Game Informer – 8.75/10

SWJFO_3

Respawn’s maiden voyage with Star Wars is largely a success. I couldn’t put this game down, both for the thrill of exploring and wanting to see where the story took me next. The inspirations taken from Dark Souls, Uncharted, and Metroid Prime unite to create something unique that just happens to work incredibly well for this beloved license. Like most starships in this universe, Jedi: Fallen Order could use a little polish, but the rust doesn’t hold it back from roaring with excitement.

Gaming Trend – 95/100

SWJFO_4

In all, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order clocks in at roughly 20 hours to complete, but when I finished the main campaign I still had large swaths of planets to further explore. The only thing I knew is that wanted more. Not unlike their work with Titanfall 2, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order stands as one of my favorite games of 2019, and easily a front runner for Game of the Year. The force is very, very strong with this one.

US Gamer – 3.5/5

SWJFO_5

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order comes painfully close to being the best action game of the year, but it ultimately falls short due to pacing problems and a host of technical issues. Still, this is the first step into a larger world for a franchise that has persistently struggled since its acquisition by EA.

IGN – 9/10

SWJFO_6

It’s been ages since we got a great single-player Star Wars action game, but Jedi: Fallen Order makes up for a lot of lost time. A strong cast sells a dark story while keeping things fun and loyal to Star Wars lore, and fast, challenging combat mixes with energetic platforming, decent puzzles, and diverse locations to explore for an all-around amazing game.

Power Up Gaming – 6/10

SWJFO_7

With the noteworthy exception of its aesthetics, no single element of Fallen Order feels fully realised. Combat rests too often on bland, unbalanced encounters while ignoring the potential depths of its duels, and exploration feels good but the worlds themselves emerge underdeveloped and disjointed. Both of which are issues I could easily overlook in service of a good Star Wars story but Fallen Order fails to deliver anything we haven’t seen before, only now slightly worse thanks to an unfocused script.

There are pockets of joy and engagement in Fallen Order, but ultimately it feels like a game developed a long time ago, before Star Wars moved on to brighter galaxies far, far away from this.

Last Updated: November 15, 2019

45 Comments

  1. Pariah

    November 15, 2019 at 07:51

    So generally really positive with a few saying it’s middling. Wonder why the stark divide between them?

    Reply

    • G8crasha

      November 15, 2019 at 07:51

      As long as the majority are happy with it, I am willing to be as a sheep, and follow the flock! So, I best start my subscription to EA Access Premier!

      Reply

      • Pariah

        November 15, 2019 at 08:15

        Honestly, the Premier sub is a good way to pay much less to try it out. I did that with Anthem and only paid R200 in the end to play it before I stopped the subscription.

        Reply

    • Alien Emperor Trevor

      November 15, 2019 at 07:58

      That’s what I find tricky to sort through, especially for a game like this. It’s Star Wars, so how much did Star Wars fanboyism play into it? It’s single player game so the story is important, who got the story & who didn’t, and would it appeal to me anyway? Game play in the trailer looked nothing special but you can watch more now and judge for yourself, but then that might spoil story.

      At least they’re clear it’s Souls-like. So it’s a pass.

      Reply

      • Pariah

        November 15, 2019 at 08:15

        Yeah the souls-like is a major turn-off for me as well. And I personally am not a fan of the main Star Wars story arc, because it’s old and tired at this point. I’ll probably watch it on Twitch, Ellajaz will likely play it since it’s a souls-like, so I’ll see what the story’s like and stuff at least.

        Reply

    • Quentin Huggett

      November 15, 2019 at 18:25

      IGN and Game Informer are notorious sell out reviewers so you can dump their scores, then its easier to see whats what

      Reply

  2. Yozzie

    November 15, 2019 at 08:15

    Damn it’s early in the morning… I came in here wondering why the fluff are game sites reviewing a Star Wars movie.

    Reply

  3. Son of Banana Jim

    November 15, 2019 at 08:18

    I wonder if the guy at Power Up Gaming just had very low blood sugar…?

    Reply

  4. Son of Banana Jim

    November 15, 2019 at 08:48

    R999 for a star wars game from EA!? Wallet says “No” ?

    Reply

    • Pariah

      November 15, 2019 at 08:48

      Wait did you expect it to be any cheaper? O_o

      Reply

    • Yozzie

      November 15, 2019 at 08:58

      Pokemon is only R900. Just saying

      Reply

      • Son of Banana Jim

        November 15, 2019 at 08:58

        I identify as a poor man now…. ?

        Reply

        • Yozzie

          November 15, 2019 at 08:58

          galileo! galileo!

          Reply

      • Son of Banana Jim

        November 15, 2019 at 09:05

        But if you own Pokemon Red on your gameboy. Do you really need another? it was and is the only Pokemon game I’ll ever need.

        Reply

      • Pariah

        November 15, 2019 at 08:58

        I’m so hyped for that.

        Reply

        • Yozzie

          November 15, 2019 at 11:14

          Picked up my copy this morning. Now I just got to get out of this escape room called work.

          Reply

          • Admiral Chief

            November 15, 2019 at 11:14

            I can organize a doctor’s note, but if they check up on the doctor, he’d be long dead. Our surnames match though

          • Yozzie

            November 15, 2019 at 14:22

            Getting out at 3pm (2pm) if i dont get caught anyway. So I’ll wait a bit. I do have a tower of work in front of me that will make time pass quicker.

          • Pariah

            November 15, 2019 at 14:22

            Enjoy!!! Looks like a fun weekend for you!

  5. Jonah Cash

    November 15, 2019 at 10:10

    That is all over the place. So disappointed…

    Reply

  6. Yozzie

    November 15, 2019 at 08:15

    Damn it’s early in the morning… I came in here wondering why the fluff are game sites reviewing a Star Wars movie.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Check Also

FIFA and EA Split? How Did it Happen and What Now for the Future of the Franchise?

In life, there are many staples, peanut butter and jam, bread and a toaster, and in gaming…