Star Wars is one of the most beloved and iconic franchises in modern pop culture, and has been for decades. Throughout the years, several great games have been developed, adding to the literature established in the movies. Although some of them are no longer considered canon, (thanks to Disney buying Star Wars from George Lucas in 2012), they took a huge risk with the Star Wars franchise when they were released.
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The vast and diverse world of Star Wars has always been built upon certain pillars that everything else is built around. Things like the Force, the Skywalker bloodline, and the never-ending struggle between the Jedi and the Sith are essential to any great Star Wars story. However, even these precious elements have not always been safe in some of the video game franchise situations; whether that means Darth Vader has a secret apprentice, or Anakin winning the battle of Mustafar.
Beware of spoilers for upcoming games!
10
Star Wars: Battlefront II
Telling the Star Wars Story from an Imperial Perspective
Star Wars Battlefront II has had an interesting life cycle. Almost ten years since its release, most Star Wars fans now look at this game with great pleasure, citing the authenticity that DICE brought to the epic battles that take place in iconic locations across the states. It wasn’t always like that though. When Battlefront II first launched, its online portion was filled with loot boxes and excessive grinding. However, one part during the launch that was worth it was the campaign.
The narrative puts players in the shoes of an Imperial commander named Iden Versio. For years until now, most Star Wars stories told things from a “hero” perspective. Battlefront II chose to investigate that and tell the story from the Empire’s perspective. While the Iden Versio ultimately failed to go to the other side, seeing the Empire from the inside post Return of the Jedi was interesting and allowed us to see the mind of the “bad guys” following their great loss.
9
Star Wars: Squadrons/Episode I: The Race
No Lightsabers Here
It’s not always the narrative element that poses a risk when creating a Star Wars game. Sometimes the danger lies in the gameplay loop that developers choose to focus on. Star Wars: Squadrons focuses on first-person space combat, putting players in the role of a pilot for either the Galactic Empire or the New Republic.
Rather than trying to cast a wide net, it committed itself to a specific aspect of Star Wars. The same applies to Star Wars Episode I: Racer, which was entirely focused on podracing, which was a small part of the movie The Phantom Menace.
8
Star Wars: The Bounty Hunter
Expansion Dies for a Good Actor
After seeing his disturbing end at the hands of Mace Windu in Attack of the Clones, it’s easy to wonder why Jango Fett was chosen by Count Dooku as the genetic template for the Clone Army. Star Wars: Bounty Hunter answered that question by showing off his skills in the heat of battle and establishing a reputation for these skills that earned him a place among the criminal underworld as one of the most feared soldiers in the galaxy.
Choosing to create a game based on the gray man in terms of behavior and expansion of his character was a bold move by the developers and, sadly, Star Wars Bounty Hunter is a game that would not exist in the modern gaming world.
7
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
Dew!
Order 66 is one of the most brutal and cruel events ever depicted in Star Wars. Choosing to depict genocide against the Jedi in a video game is inherently risky, but Respawn Entertainment has not been shy about showing the trauma that Order 66 caused on the minds of the broken few Jedi who survived the planned attack.
We’ve seen Order 66 revealed before, but Jedi: Fallen Order chooses to take a different approach by shifting the focus away from the genocide itself and instead explore what happened immediately after. Rather than portraying the Jedi as mighty defenders of the galaxy, the game portrays them as scattered survivors stripped of their former authority and forced into hiding.
6
Star Wars: The Dark Forces
Giving Andor a run for its money
Rogue One famously reveals the Rebel Alliance plotting to obtain the plans for the Death Star, leading directly to the events of A New Hope. Long before Gareth Edwards brought that story to Disney’s Star Wars franchise, Star Wars: The Dark Forces was a vivid screen version of the Rebels’ acquisition of the Death Star plans.
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Kyle Katarn was a former Imperial officer who helped the Rebels find another in the Empire’s plans and went on to become an icon within the Star Wars Expanded Universe. Showing a causal event that directly led to everything we saw in the original trilogy was a risky move; thankfully, it was the one that succeeded, with the Dark Forces cementing themselves as an integral part of Star Wars video game lore.
5
Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy
It Was Said That You Will Destroy The Sith, Do Not Join Them
Jedi Academy allows players to live the dream of training as a Jedi under the legendary Luke Skywalker. On paper, it sounds like a pretty standard story that sees Jaden Korr go from apprentice to Jedi Knight, but thankfully there’s more depth than that.
If the player chooses, they can reject everything that Luke and the Jedi Order stand for, and instead embrace the Dark Side. If you choose, you can leave the Jedi way completely and bring the plot of the game to a very different conclusion.
4
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire
Before Your Time
Shadows of the Empire is an often overlooked Star Wars game that attempts something truly ambitious. It is set between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi and follows Dash Rendar, a smuggler who ends up fighting a criminal organization known as the Black Sun, led by Prince Xizor.
Shadows of the Empire proved that Star Wars games can introduce real characters into the established Star Wars timeline, without it feeling forced, or taking anything away from the movies.
3
Star Wars: KOTOR II
Use Power… Or Don’t
Knights of the Old Republic is one of the most iconic Star Wars video games for a reason, but its sequel challenged the core ideas of the franchise more forcefully than any Star Wars game we’d seen up to that point. KOTOR II questioned whether the Force is an undeniably good thing in the universe, or just a cosmic force that controls the fate of the galaxy’s inhabitants.
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It is suggested that the Jedi and Sith are more than willing participants in an endless cycle of conflict and encourage players to question everything they thought they knew about Star Wars. Even in the years since the release of KOTOR II, few Star Wars titles have dared to explore the philosophical underpinnings of the franchise itself the way this game did.
2
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
This Game Needs To Be Remade
The Force Unleashed takes place between episodes 3 and 4 and tells the story of Starkiller, who was Darth Vader’s secret apprentice. The events of the game saw Starkiller play an important role in the formation of the Rebel Alliance, which saw him team up with major characters such as Bail Organa, Mon Mothma, and Emperor Palpatine.
Some hardcore fans were actually enamored with The Force Unleashed when it first came out, arguing that it took too many liberties with how the Force was established in the previous Star Wars canon. That setback alone shows just how far the game was willing to go to tell an epic, memorable Star Wars story.
1
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
The Heights Can’t Save You Now
Most movie tie-in games follow their source material very closely, often only adding extra combat between story beats to keep players engaged. This is why Revenge of the Sith’s other fate is so remarkable. During the iconic final duel in Mustafar, players can play as Anakin and defeat Obi-Wan Kenobi. This leads to Anakin never suffering the injury that officially turned him into Darth Vader.
If that wasn’t diabolical enough, the alternate ending then sees Anakin return to Coruscant to report his victory to Palpatine, before promptly killing the Emperor and taking his place. The fact that the game allowed players to rewrite one of the most important turning points in the Star Wars canon is still absolutely impressive, as it completely changes the future of the saga.
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