Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Review - 5 Ups & 3 Downs

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order released late last week as the first single-player focused Star Wars game since the start of the decade.

For a franchise that has such a rich history with the gaming medium as Star Wars, that's a pretty depressing statement - especially so, once you consider that the series' current license holders, EA, have had the rights to produce games based in a galaxy far, far away since 2013, and have so far only produced three triple-A Star Wars titles in Battlefront, Battlefront II, and Respawn's new single-player experience.

With two cancelled single-player Star Wars games looming over production on Jedi: Fallen Order, to say that Star Wars fans have greeted its release with a sense of relief would be putting things lightly. It's a game they've been waiting for for over nine years, and while Respawn's acumen was never in doubt, before release, excitement for Fallen Order ranged between tepid and cautiously optimistic. It soon became clear that demos shown to the public weren't selling the true scale or focus of the title, and as its release approached, many were starting to consider that it may just be the real deal.

Is it? Well, yes - for the most part. I wasn't fortunate enough to procure a review code before release (mind-tricks evidently get you nowhere, these days), but I have spent the last weekend playing Fallen Order to completion and, while it isn't perfect, it's a more than worthy addition to Star Wars' illustrious gaming past. It's ambitious, impassioned and massively refreshing - even if it is let down by a lack of polish and other issues in a select few areas.

So, with all that said, let's get into the nitty-gritty of what works - and doesn't - with Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order...