Star Wars has been a fixture of video video games for many years, and spanned virtually each attainable style and platform you may fairly consider. There are sure ones which have resonated with audiences over time, like the present Jedi video games from Respawn Entertainment and the Knights of the Old Republic sequence from BioWare and Obsidian.
Among that pedigree of well-liked titles is the short-lived Force Unleashed video games. Its first installment is now 15 years outdated, and its massive promoting level was proper there within the title. Far from the primary sport within the franchise to let gamers wield the Force, its novelty got here from giving gamers the possibility to make use of it at what was then its fullest, most violent potential with telekinetic blasts, thoughts management, and simply straight up cooking dudes with Force lightning. Narratively, its intention was one thing a bit extra grander because it tried to tie the Prequel and Original trilogies collectively by an authentic story and model new character through Starkiller, who Vader kidnapped as a baby and groomed int changing into o his secret apprentice to seek out Jedi survivors of Order 66.
For a franchise with quite a few characters who really feel like somebody’s taking part in favorites for particularly them (typically to mentioned character’s detriment), Starkiller is essentially the most OC to ever OC in all of Star Wars. Over the course of the unique sport, he finally ends up brushing shoulders with quite a few Expanded Universe and mainline characters, helps kickstart the Rebel Alliance, and manages to outlive going through off towards each Vader and Palpatine regardless of each males being the most effective swordfighters of their time. Among his supporting solid are a love curiosity who serves because the pilot of his ship, and a droid who takes on the type of earlier lightsaber customers to coach his grasp within the methods of fight.
It’s all very foolish in the way in which that this franchise can typically be, even now, however it was additionally simply as endearing. At the time, Lucasfilm wished to essentially promote the concept Force Unleashed was an necessary piece of Star Wars media on par with the movies, therefore its opening crawl and transition wipes pulled proper from the movies. But it additionally wished to be its personal factor, which it did by placing a spin on the Force’s capabilities. The prologue set on Kashyyyk had Vader slaughter his method by so many Wookies like they’re mainly nothing because the Imperial March performs. Starkiller might blast enemies to the opposite aspect of the sector, catch TIE fighters mid-flight, and even carry down a Star Destroyer, the latter of which was a promoting level in its personal proper. As a 14 occurring 15-year-old again then, this was the right sort of energy fantasy sport: lightsabers, like all swords, are superior, and utilizing them in tandem with telekinesis and lightning to slice up monstrs and woefully underprepared troopers was the good factor ever.
The authentic Force Unleashed was only a bestseller on the time, and spawned a sequel in 2010 that wasn’t fairly as well-liked as its predecessor. Even with that, and after the video games have been subsequently declared non-canon, each titles made an necessary mark on Star Wars followers. For many, the Force Unleashed video games grew to become a semi-definitive textual content for a way they seen the franchise. If the Prequel trilogy made the Jedi into superheroes with their backflips and lightsaber twirls, Starkiller was the newcomer billed as massive sport changer who a writer would construct a whole occasion miniseries round earlier than he will get a stable run of solo books of fluctuating high quality. Still, followers love themselves some Starkiller, and have hoped he’ll make his strategy to the official canon as soon as once more in some type or one other. (Many put their hopes on Marrok, a current Inquisitor-looking character on Star Wars Ahsoka, being a brand new model of Starkiller, which…didn’t pan out.)
For the bigger Star Wars franchise, it wouldn’t be incorrect to say Lucasfilm paring down the Force’s capabilities was partially in response to Unleashed and completely damaged characters like Starkiller. In common, you possibly can see how the 2 video games have knowledgeable the franchise going ahead: Respawn’s Jedi video games have an identical dedication to feeling as Star Wars as attainable, fairly nice moments of energy fantasy, whereas additionally being significantly higher at when and the way it makes use of pre-existing characters. And with out the video games, Starkiller’s voice actor Sam Witwer in all probability wouldn’t have gone on to voice Darth Maul in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Rebels.
The Force Unleashed is completely ridiculous, however that provides it a sure appeal that’s clearly let it endure over the previous decade and a half. It’s the kind of sport that may’t actually get made anymore—video video games primarily based on necessary manufacturers like Star Wars both have to stick to bigger canon or have their very own sturdy sufficient spin on issues to face on their very own. But typically, you simply want a sport like Force Unleashed to exist, if solely as a result of the galaxy’s extra enjoyable when it breaks its personal guidelines in a gleefully silly method like these video games did.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is playable on the Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation Plus’ Premium tier, and Xbox Series X|S through backwards compatibility. At time of writing, The Force Unleashed II is not on the Switch, however it is on the 2 aforementioned platforms.
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