Respawn and EA have created a next-level Star Wars video game. It finally released on the 15th and it is everything that we, at The Sandcrawler, hoped it would be. The gameplay is interactive, the worlds are beautiful, and it’s full of monsters and imperial troopers to fight and practice your Jedi skills. 

The game is a single-player action game that allows you to play as Cal Kestis, a young Padawan who escaped Order 66. The majority of Jedi are dead in the galaxy and the few that remain are hunted down by the Inquisitors, Vader’s Jedi assassins. Their sole purpose is to eliminate every remaining Jedi. Cal must search the galaxy and find clues left behind by Eno Cordova, who left a Holocron of young Force-sensitives after having a vision of order 66 and the destruction of the Jedi.

Interactive Gameplay and open worlds

The gameplay is extremely interactive and each world is different, with labyrinths to explore and uncover secrets, Jedi artifacts, and master your way with the force. Cal must search each world and use his Jedi skills to get past obstacles, fight Imperial troopers, monsters, and the deadly Inquisitors. After they discover who Cal is, his saviors and new friends, Cere Junda and Greez Dritus, will help Cal fly all over the galaxy, in the Mantis, and visit familiar worlds and brand new ones.

The labyrinths will depend on not only Cal’s Jedi skills but also on BD-1’s abilities too. He’s his robot companion for the game and will help Cal with machinery, zip-lines, and other sorts of obstacles. He’ll also be the one who opens the trunks you encounter in the worlds to get different lightsaber hilts, ship colors, and BD-1 colors.

The monsters and the Imperials that you fight will rely heavily on your interaction and patience. Don’t expect to run in and wipe everyone out in one or two swings, but also don’t worry about having to sneak around and stay in the shadows, like in Assassin’s Creed. The lightsaber and force abilities are meant for Cal to be able to run in and fight off whoever is there. Don’t forget to block and parry, those will be effective in taking out the bigger monsters and heavier troopers.

Lightsaber Combat

The best way to describe the lightsaber combat is, wow! The graphics are insane and the movements are, too. As Cal takes out Stormtroopers and monsters he slices through them, blocks lasers, and allows the player to get the feel of using a lightsaber. He has different abilities to unlock with the lightsaber and each one has its special use in defeating enemies.

When you’re not taking out the Stormtroopers, that actually have good aim, you’ll be fighting one’s with Gatling guns, and electro staffs, and the Inquisitors who wield lightsabers. When fighting these enemies we recommend being patient and blocking their attacks or dodging them and waiting for an open attack (especially against the Inquisitors).

When blocking and fighting it feels almost too real. It’s hard to hold yourself back from getting too into it. The game fully pushes the use of the lightsaber and when fighting the Inquisitors you feel like Luke fighting Vader in the throne room (probably because I’m rocking the green blade right now) and it’s intense! I love the feeling of successfully blocking a combination of attacks and then coming back with a few blows of my own.

The force

The force in the game is great, you’ll have the abilities of force freeze, push, and pull. You’ll begin with the ability to freeze and you’ll need to learn the other abilities as you go. *Small spoiler* As you go Cal will have flashbacks of his previous Jedi training with his Master and that’s when you’ll pick up new skills.

There is a skill tree that will contain ways to strengthen your abilities and become a Jedi Master. The abilities are fun to use and I’ve gotten pretty addicted to force pushing stormtroopers off cliffs. Sadistic? Maybe. But once you try it you won’t be able to stop either.

Cal’s force abilities will help you uncover secret pathways to Jedi artifacts, collectibles and create shortcuts for when you need to go back to that world. One of the worlds, Zeffo, will require you to go back several times as the story progresses and this world is the most difficult of labyrinths.

BD-1 and Upgrades

BD-1, who you pick up soon after Cere and Greez get you, will need upgrades throughout the game to get new abilities. His abilities will help create shortcuts and get you through the labyrinths when the force can’t. He’s a helpful little guy and you’ll depend on him a lot.

He, like the ship, has a bunch of different colors to pick, so you get to customize him to your liking. You’ll find different colors in the boxes he unlocks for you along with lightsaber hilts. BD-1 is a nice companion as you wander the worlds and encounter enemies and challenges.

Tips for Fighting the Second Sister

When you encounter the Second Sister on Zeffo, she puts up a serious fight. She’s much stronger than you in the force and with her lightsaber skills, so we recommend playing on the defense. Don’t expect to run in and slice her up like your average stormtrooper.

The Second Sister is Darth Vader’s assassin who hunts down Jedi. She’s killed a number of them and she’d love for you to be her next, I don’t think she collects lightsabers like Grievous though.

Block, parry, and block some more, then attack… twice. That was the key to defeating her. She has a couple of moves that drain health like nothing and you’ll need to watch out for those, most notably the spin move and her leap attack. Block the spin move and dodge the leaps and she’ll be stuck in the ground, that’s when you come in and land two blows. Any more she blocks and attacks. 

Her attack’s usually come in blows of three or four and then you’ll be good to attack. Remember, two blows and then leap back give yourself a little distance. Once we finally decided to remember our training and have patience, we were able to overcome her first try.

The lightsaber duel with her is great and this one feels like Star Wars. The graphics will blow your mind.

Overall, This Game is Great

This game is by far the best Star Wars game that’s hit the market in a long, long time. It is a nice break from Battlefront I and II and allows you to submerge yourself in the Star Wars galaxy and become a Jedi. I think just about every one of us has had that dream before and this will finally give you a taste of what it’s like. The most advanced game in terms of graphics, gameplay, and combat it stands out from Assassin’s Creed, Call of Duty, and Red Dead 2.

The best part in the game for us was dropping into Kashyyyk and hijacking an AT-AT and blowing up some Imperials. It’s one of the best games we’ve ever played and it will keep our Jawa clan entertained for a while.

We would highly recommend checking it out and getting it. Unfortunately, we heard rumors that it won’t go up for sale for black Friday, but you never know and there’s always a Christmas sale if you don’t want to shell out $60 for the game. In our opinion, it was worth every penny. Good luck to you and your journey of becoming a Jedi Master in a world that’s trying to erase every last one. 

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