Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, the action-adventure title from Respawn Entertainment and EA, launched in November 2019. Set five years after the fall of the Galactic Republic, the story follows a young Padawan as he attempts to avoid the Empire’s hunters. TheFallen Ordersubtitle refers to the Jedi themselves, who are now wanted criminals following Order 66.
Jedi: Fallen Orderwas a success, having the fastest-selling digital launch of anyStar Warsgame. There were some that doubted it could be, given EA’s recent focus on multiplayerStar Warstitles. There were even some who thought that the age of thestory-drivenStar Warsgamewas over. The success ofFallen Orderproves otherwise, and in that success, it has re-opened a question that manyStar Warsfans have been asking for years. Could this mean the return of theStar Wars: Knights of the Old Republicseries?
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Knights of the Old Republic
TheStar Wars: Knights of the Old Republicseries, most often abbreviated as KotOR, contains some of the most influentialStar Warsvideo games. Beginning withKotOR 1in 2003, the series is set four-thousand years prior to theStar Warsfilms, and takes place in a time of galactic conflict.The Sith Empire battle the Old Republicand their Jedi Knight allies across dozens of star systems.
In the games, players take the role of a lone force-sensitive character thrown into the middle of this conflict. Many of the systems first popularized inKotORhave since become mainstays of the RPG genre; any fans ofMass EffectorDragon Agecouldn’t fail to see the similarities. The fully-voiced branching conversations, theroster of colorful video game companions, any two of which can accompany the player while they explore, and of course the morality system.
Though considered a staple now, the game’s morality system was almost unprecedented at the time. Players' decisions would see them lean toward either theDark or Light side of the Force. Committing to one of these paths unlocked special powers related to it, as did maintaining balance as a Grey Jedi.
No More Knights
Despite the success of its predecessors, the third single-playerKotORgame never saw the light of day.Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 3was cancelled in 2004 due to cuts at the LucasArts studio. However, theKotORstory didn’t end there; in 2008, EA confirmed that it was developing a new MMO set300 years after the end ofKotOR 2.
Despite a rocky start,Star Wars: The Old Republicproved to be big success with MMO fans. The game brought many of the features of the KotOR series into a Massively Multiplayer landscape, though some critics complained that story nuance and emotional connection were lost along the way. Nevertheless, the game has received numerous major expansions and was reported to have generated almost $1 billion by October 2019.
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A New Hope
Among some fans of the originalKotOR, the popularity ofThe Old Republicis considered a negative for the series. This is because it left EA with no incentive to return theKotORseries to its single-player roots. However,the success ofStar Wars Jedi: Fallen Ordermay well mark the return of that incentive.Fallen Orderhas proven that a single-player, story-drivenStar Warsgame can still be a lucrative option.
It’s been almost a year sinceJedi: Fallen Orderreignited these hopes of a return to the classic KoTOR series, and thenext EAStar Warsgameis already on the horizon. While it may not share many gameplay similarities,Star Wars: Squadronsdoes feature a story-driven campaign. Now fans must wait once again, until EA announces its next foray into theStar Warsuniverse, and hopefully it considers the return of this fan-favorite subfranchise.
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Orderis out now for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One with a release for Google Stadia planned later this year.
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