Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy

Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy is a 2003 action game developed for PC by Raven Software on a modified version of the id Tech 3 engine and published by LucasArts as a sequel to Jedi Outcast. The player takes on the role of a new padawan, Jaden Korr, who, under the guidance of Kyle Katarn from previous entries in the series, learns to wield a lightsaber and the Force at Luke Skywalker's Jedi academy, choosing the order of missions during the campaign as well as which side of the Force their character ultimately leans toward. The core of the game is a lightsaber combat system with three fighting styles — fast, medium, and powerful, each with a different balance between strike speed and hit power — along with a wide range of offensive and support Force powers such as jump, sense, mind trick, or lightning, which can be combined to suit the player's style, including the option to fight with two lightsabers at once or with a double-bladed saber in the style of Darth Maul.

The PC version was built from the start to support mods and custom content — the game includes a character editor and is compatible with thousands of community-made modifications, maps, character models, and sound packs created for a long time after release, including conversions of characters and locations from other films and shows. Mouse and keyboard controls allow for smooth ranged aiming of Force powers as well as precise blocking with the lightsaber according to the direction of an attack, which is noticeably less precise on a gamepad, and online lightsaber multiplayer duels remained active on PC for many years after release thanks to community-run servers, including tournament modes and one-on-one duels where the differences between fighting styles come through in full.

Why play: The PC version is aimed at players who want, in addition to the campaign as Jaden Korr, to experience the rich modding scene and online lightsaber duels with community-made content missing from the console versions, and to control Force powers and combat with the precision that mouse and keyboard offer better than a gamepad.