The Definitive STAR WARS Power Fantasy Game | Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Review
I Really Wish Starkiller Was Still Canon
I Really Wish Starkiller Was Still Canon
A somewhat generic hack ’n’ slash, where the redeeming quality is that you feel like a Stormtrooper slaying, lightsaber wielding god, something that, in my opinion, could not exist in a post-Disney world. NameBrand
When Star Wars: The Force Unleashed originally released, I owned two copies. One on Wii, and another for PSP. The hype cycle was real. All the marketing was telling me that I would actually FEEL like I was slashing a lightsaber with the Wii-mote! On top of that, I could manipulate objects with the force using the Wii-Nunchuk! Any Star Wars kids dream… Of course, I was slightly disappointed with that when I finally got my hands on it. But what was perhaps more disappointing for someone who already owned two copies, what I learned, was that the Wii version was different from the other console counterparts. So, when I saw it on sale over Star Wars day, I figured, it’s time for me to own that third copy.
As a game? This is pretty middling. Lots of mindless hack ’n’ slashing through hordes of enemies, with some light RPG mechanics that see you leveling up and choosing which skills to upgrade. I enjoyed picking out new button combos to do, which expanded my button mashing and broke the gameplay up a bit. I thought there was a nice ‘illusion’ of progression there, where I would master combos before unlocking the next one, and that helped keep the game feeling fresh for the duration of its run time.
While the upgrades to Starkiller sound nice as you read them in the menu, when I was playing the DLC content, which has you playing as Starkiller at his maximum level, I disappointingly did not notice any difference in gameplay! Maybe this is because it’s more of a boss gauntlet, or perhaps even it could be a visual glitch, but I certainly would have liked more flair to the ultimate skill upgrades.
There’s something about this version of the game that I dislike over the other two versions I’ve played, and I can’t quite put my finger on it. I know they’re supposed to be ‘different’, but I remember in other versions the menu’s had a cleaner UI, with a little hub area on the ship. I also distinctly remember being able to slice some objects into sections with the sabers, it wasn’t Metal Gear Rising quality, but it was there, and I couldn’t replicate it in this version. I’d have to do some research, but it’s very surprising that the Wii version is (to my memory) more mechanically deep. So, perhaps the Nintendo version is the definitive experience. I’m pretty sure that’s the recent Switch version as well. Looks like I’ll have to pick up another copy of the game soon…
The voice acting and motion capture don’t really hold up, and the writing being corny does not help with that either. But despite that, I couldn’t help but smile from ear to ear when I was playing because of how ludicrously powerful Starkiller is as a character in the Star Wars universe. This game was created in a pre-Disney acquisition world, where being a force wielder meant something! Where becoming powerful actually took a lot of time and training, and positioned you to, I don’t know, participate in the Star Wars as a specialized military unit. We got force-healing in the sequel trilogy, which is very cute. But here? Starkiller pulls a Star Destroyer out of low orbit with the force. You just can’t compete with the spectacle of it. There are so many cool moments like that in here, and I can’t help but praise the crazy people at LucasArts for pushing the boundaries like this back then. It makes for a wildly entertaining game.
As a brief aside, I played through the entire game flawlessly on SteamDeck, after doing a bit of setup outlined on Proton DB.
Overall, as entertaining as it is, it can still be a bit rough around the edges with its controls, and moment to moment is pretty a middling hack ’n’ slash… but if you’re a Star Wars fan, and want to control perhaps the most powerful ret conned Jedi to ever exist… then it’s going to be 8 hours of your time well spent. To you, I recommend it.
Originally published at https://backloggd.com.