Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order | PS4 Review.

Publisher: Electronic Arts

Developer: Respawn Entertainment

PS4 Review

This review was never meant to happen as I never planned on playing Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order and then I kept coming across mixed opinions on twitter so I knew I had to try it out, I was so sure I wouldn't end up liking it and was beyond pleased when I get hooked on it. I want to start off by saying if you don't agree with my opinion that's find this is just my own personal thoughts on the game as a whole. So let's get right too it shall we! As soon as the game started I was thrown into Cal's life, I didn't know much about him just that he was a Jedi and the main protagonist played by Cameron Monaghan who is not only fellow ginger but also a great actor. The game takes place 5 years after Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, it centers around a young Jedi Padawan called Cal Kestis, Cal has had to go into hiding after the great Jedi purge and rise of the galactic empire took place. Cal works in a junkyard as a scrapper which involved salvaging different ships that were part of the clone wars era.

Something takes place (I don't want to ruin it for you all) which ends up putting Cal in great danger, as he is a Jedi the Empire want him dead and sends two inquisitors to kill him, I found them pretty cool as they were both badass women, we first meet the second sister who has her own back story (so it's not just about Cal) and the second inquisitor is the ninth sister who could take on anyone any given day that's for sure! Whilst being pursued by these inquisitors Cal takes it upon himself to rebuild the order which isn't an easy task. Along the way he makes several friends who help him as best as they can, one, in particular, was a little droid called BD-1, if you have been reading my tweets you will know how much I loved this little droid.

BD-1 is a big slice of the story and journey that lies ahead from Cal, he obviously doesn't realise this at first but when he does he is even more protective of his droid friend, from the get-go you could tell how well they worked together and that there was a bond between them that couldn't and wouldn't be destroyed, I didn't think I would end up caring so dearly for another droid from Star Wars but here we are again and I love BD-1 just as much as R2D2 and BB-8. One thing that stood out a lot to me was how they made BD-1 into the perfect little sidekick who not only helped Cal open doors but also helped him when it came to fighting.

Talking of problem-solving this game heavily uses puzzles, once you work out how they are done the rest of the game is a breeze as they tend to use the same kind of puzzles throughout Jedi Fallen Order which isn't a bad thing in the slightest, it helps make everything connect within the story. If you do struggle with puzzle there is an easy option known as story mode to play on, in fact, the game comes with 4 different modes that make your gameplay a different experience. I'm all for these settings, there are different kinds of players all over the world and we aren't all going to enjoy playing on a harder setting, it can take the enjoyment out of a game if you just end up getting frustrated and annoyed. The settings which you can choose are shown below:

• Story: This is for players who want to focus more on the story and desire a minimal combat challenge
• Jedi Knight: For players who are new to Melee action games and desire a forgiving combat challenge.
• Jedi Master: players who are familiar with Melee action games and desire a challenge 
• Jedi Grand Master: Players who want an intense and demanding experience.

Cal is a very laid back character considering what he has been through, being part of his journey where he is discovering his Jedi skills again was fun as we got to learn them with him whilst also picking up skills along the way. Battling enemies helps a lot with collecting skill points but I found the best way to level up and get a new skill point was to find echo's along the way. These echo's helped tell the story of those who have either been on the planet or those who have died so they build a picture of what has actually occurred on different planets whilst also helping to boost your skills.

Traveling to different planets was a joy, not only was the ship Mantis a cool looking ship it was also very handy for saving, upgrading my skills and upgrading my lightsaber which is one of the main upgrades I was constantly doing as I wanted it to look as unique as possible. Being able to customise Cal, BD-1 and the Mantis was a nice touch, although Cal could own a lot of poncho's which weren't the best looking outfits they do well in keeping Cal warm in the cold. There is a PS trophy called The Full Glow-Up which I found hilarious, you could get this by customising the look of Cal, BD-1 and the Mantis.

It's pretty easy to see that Jedi Fallen Order has taken inspiration from several other games but honestly this isn't a bad thing as it makes the game work, for example, a lot of the action that takes place reminded me a lot of Uncharted and Tomb Raider which is never a bad thing. Exploring caves, fighting off enemies and solving puzzles all work well together but Cal was able to bring something unique to the table because of his back story and his plight throughout the game. 

One main thing I need to mention in this review is that the game does have glitches, I have experienced a few now but it didn't make the game unplayable or less enjoyable, I ended up laughing at the glitches most of the time, to be honest. The main thing that I felt was a let down was Cal's face in gameplay mode, it didn't look finished and when the game went to a cutscene you could tell and it would bug me as his gameplay mode character looked like a badly constructed version. The same goes for the Chewbacca's, their fur looked awful at times, they stood out like a sore thumb. There is one thing we have to take into account though, their slimmer looking builds I've seen people complaining about could also be because of the environment they had been kept in.

Combat wasn't my favourite part of the game, at times it could feel slow when attacking but I found dodging than attacking worked better in my favour but thanks to upgrading my skills I was able to make the most of my lightsaber and to eventually split it in two making it quicker and easier to defeat enemies. My preferred enemies to go up against were the Nightbrother warriors and a boss on the planet Dathomir, fighting against the stormtroopers was something I knew I was going to do and I didn't feel that excited to do it, I wanted to discover what other kinds of enemies the game had to offer.

The story as a whole is what I found to be the biggest strength of the game, introducing a new character in the Star Wars franchise can always be difficult as people will pick it apart no matter the story they choose to do and including more than one persons story into the mix was a wise move especially as Jedi Fallen Order didn't just revolve around Cal it also included strong women which I always love to see. The beautiful surroundings and immersive planets make it easy to lose yourself in exploring and finding what is right around the corner, I spent over 12 hours playing this game and would happily go back and play it all over again now I have finished it. Personally, I would love to see a second game come from this, I want to see where Cal and his gang on the Mantis end up going next and I NEED to see more BD-1!