Star Wars games are like a fine wine – they only age better with time. But to be fair, the saga had its ups and downs throughout almost three decades of existence on the gaming market. Back in the mid-1990s and ‘00s, there have been more than two dozen Star Wars universe-themed games released explicitly for PC, and frankly, not every release fulfilled the developer expectations. Just like the movies, some games are remembered much more fondly than others. There’s even this common saying about the whole deal – for every beloved Star Wars game, there’s half-dozen of the ‘ehh’ ones.
But today is not about the dark side of the Star Wars games industry. Today’s all about those all-time classics, amongst which, there’s even a game that, by some fans, is considered as being better than the entire film saga! Is the force still strong with such a bold claim? We have polished our lightsabers and did some cutting-edge research to split the Star Wars franchise games into fine slices. Then we’ve scrupulously selected the TOP 5 treats! We wholeheartedly consider these as the utmost impactful Star Wars games in the franchise. Every single title in the list offers us a designated part of this vast and wonderful universe to re-experience time and time again what Star Wars is really all about!
Turn off your Star Wars fever meter off for it’s about to get way too nostalgic in here!
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
We just want to remind that this list goes in no particular numeric order, but if it would, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is the uncrowned King of the bunch. Honestly, it’s one of all-time best RPG’s whether in comparison to Star Wars games or to every game ever released. This single-player masterpiece launched in late 2003 for both PC and Xbox game systems and to this day it’s an example of what a well-made, well-polished, and then additionally fine-tuned game should look like.
Knights of the Old Republic story brings thousands of years into Star Wars past, long before the rise of the Galactic Empire. Create your character, gather allies, and learn the ways of the force. The game offers a captivating journey where you start as literally nobody and based upon your choices throughout the game, you either become the saviour of the Republic or an iron fist ruler. After all, BioWare has created it, and one thing about BioWare is certain – the developers sure know how to put some immense thought and structure into their game’s story.
Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces & Dark Forces II
Dark Forces is a Star Wars themed first-person shooter adventure game that was released way back in 1995 by the LucasArts developer. Inspired by the legendary DOOM release, Dark Forces to some extent even managed to outdo its inspiration! This old-school shooter allowed players to view the vertical landscape, jump and duck along with numerous other small improvements, these might sound weird now, but we’re talking about the 1995 so it was kind of a big deal! The game is a solid reminder of the brave footsteps that the developer decided to take in order to conquer even further gaming genres’ lands!
And then there’s the Dark Forces II sequel release that followed shortly after, in 1997! This corridor shooter instantly blew everyone away, why you ask? The sequel presented intense lightsaber action, kick-ass usage of the force, and a captivating Light/Dark progression system which basically meant that you could follow either of the two paths (keep in mind it’s 1997 we’re talking about)! The lightsaber and the force additions also helped for the Dark Forces II game to feel as if in its own league, furthering away from its inspirator DOOM and that time’s shooter juggernaut Quake II.
Star Wars: Republic Commando
LucasArts developer was into risk, some of those didn’t pay off, and some worked like a charm. Star Wars: Republic Commando was a brave step into the unknown – to take away The Force and the lightsaber from a player, and instead put him in a role of an elite clone commander was quite an idea indeed. But fans of the serious loved it and the 2005 released tactical FPS shooter was met with a bang! More than a decade later, there’s still but a few tactical FPS that are as innovative or fun as the legendary Republic Commando.
The action in this game is set during the events of the Clone Wars also depicted in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones! You are a Delta’s 4-man (or rather clone) squad commander, each of the guys has unique personalities, voiceovers, traits and even their preferred positions and even though a neat AI is behind them, you can assume control of each at any given time. The campaign is fairly short, and the levels are quite linear, however, the game has real depth, a depth you honestly wouldn’t expect from a corridor shooter. Add some clever design decisions, some destructible environments, quality visuals, soak it all up in humour (e.g. windshield cleaner) and you have a one of a kind Star Wars experience.
Star Wars: X-Wings vs TIE Fighter
It’s the third entry in the X-Wing/TIE Fighter series that we have (after a fair discussion) decided to include into our list. At the very first glance, the game might look quite simplistic, with its retro HUD and rather simple polygons, however, even after more than two decades Star Wars: X-Wings vs TIE Fighter stands as a major move towards capturing the feeling of piloting a starfighter ship. Rogue Squadron and even the rebooted Battlefront series are both built upon this thrilling title’s features.
Back in the day, the game was considered as one of the coolest space flight simulators the money could buy. The game had plenty of control options to impact your ship, these actually covered the bigger part of the keyboard back then, and its multiplayer shenanigans were unprecedented and are still remembered with nostalgy by the elder generation’s Star Wars fans. So, if you’re up for a good ol’ retro arcade challenge, this Star Wars beast can still provide!
Star Wars: Battlefront
Star Wars: Battlefront II shot itself in the knee with the stained loot boxes system, however, that’s far from the case with its prequel. If you really want to feel like you’re actually fighting an all-out war in a galaxy far, far away – the original Star Wars: Battlefront is your go-to game! Its gameplay has been gracefully compared to the classic multiplayer shooters such as Battlefield, and the game itself focuses on battles between four distinct factions, the Galactic Empire, Galactic Republic, Confederacy of Independent Systems and of course, the Rebel Alliance.
The graceful return of the Battlefront has provided the fans with extensively awesome multiplayer battles with numerous beloved Star Wars characters to play as and against, and experience so authentic to Star Wars that some say, even surpasses that of the movies themselves! A bold claim indeed and if you yourself are opposed to such an opinion, enter the Battlefront grounds and see it with your own two eyes. Just don’t forget to bring your top-notch skills as well, the action is intense, and the competition is ever-so-fierce in this one!