Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order brought back to the Star Wars brand a big single-player story game, and it did so surprisingly confidently. The player takes on the role of Cal Kestis, one of the few padawans who survived Order 66, and together with the crew of the ship Mantis and the droid BD-1, searches for a holocron containing a list of children sensitive to the Force. Opposing him are the Inquisitors, dark Force users trained to hunt down surviving Jedi, and above all his own trauma from the moment the Order collapsed. The narrative is serious but doesn't forget the adventurous tone that belongs to this brand.

The game's structure blends two influences. Exploring planets like Zeffo, Kashyyyk, or Dathomir works in metroidvania style: sprawling interconnected maps, shortcuts, and new abilities that let the player reach previously inaccessible areas. Combat, on the other hand, draws on the soulslike school of games, where the key is reading enemies, correctly timed blocks, and stamina management; the lightsaber is deadly, but the player is just as vulnerable, and resting at a meditation point respawns enemies. There's also climbing, sliding, and simple physics puzzles using the Force. Collectible extras are purely cosmetic, so the reward for a detour is a lightsaber or poncho appearance, not better stats.

On Xbox One, this was a good-looking game with convincing vistas and carefully crafted design that respects the films' visual tradition; at launch there were glitches with texture pop-in and framerate that later updates alleviated. The music sticks to the series' orchestral language but doesn't try to be a mere imitation of familiar themes. Reception was very good, and the game proved there's demand for a proper single-player Star Wars title. Today it feels like a solid foundation for the later series: smaller and tighter than its sequel, but with a strong pace and several fights players still remember today. It's helped by the fact that it doesn't try to be an open world and treats each planet as a clearly bounded, hand-designed playground full of shortcuts.