I am not typically one to celebrate Star Wars Day, partly because dedicating a day of the year to a fictional universe is the highest form of corporate nonsense, but also because being a Star Wars fan always comes with the risk of being blown up by the proton torpedo of disappointment.
This year, though, even I must admit things are looking pretty great in that galaxy far, far away. The Andor TV show is preposterously good, to the point where I wonder what Star Wars did to deserve Tony Gilroy, while we recently saw the announcement of Star Wars Zero Company, Bit Reactor’s snazzy-looking Star Wars take on X-Com. On top of all that, EA is currently offering its more recent catalogue of Star Wars games for up to 85% off on Steam.
The highlight of these discounts is probably the Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and its sequel, Jedi Survivor. Of the two, Fallen Order has the slightly better discount of the two, down 85% to $5.99 (£5.24). Personally, I think Fallen Order is a bit of a muddled experience, but it has some great moments, like the opening level and that bit where you climb the AT-ATs in the swamps of Kashyyyk. In any case, it’s well worth a fiver.
Respawn vastly improved its work with Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, which is currently 80% off at $13.99 (£11.99). Yes, the whole beards in boxes thing remains extremely silly. But Survivor makes up for it with the best third-person action sequences this side of Uncharted 4. The middle act of this game is just gold standard Star Wars fare, from that bit with the giant drill to the amazing assault on a floating observatory. Unfortunately, many Steam reviews report that Survivor is still a choppy experience on PC, almost two years on since launch. So while the game is absolutely worth the price EA is currently asking for it, you should nonetheless proceed with caution.
Elsewhere, EA’s 2015 reboot of Star Wars: Battlefront is available for $4.99, though you’re probably better off investing in Battlefront 2, a far superior game despite all the loot box chicanery that dogged its reputation on launch. There isn’t a huge number of people playing it according to Steam charts, but still enough to get a decent game going. That’s currently 83% off at $7.99 (£6.99).
Finally, a little nod to Star Wars: Squadrons, EA Motive’s spiritual successor to the X-Wing and TIE Fighter games of old. Sadly, EA banked the game’s success on a multiplayer mode that never really took off. But I think the single-player mode, which lets you play on both sides of the galactic conflict, is better than it gets credit for. And it’s a treat in VR too, if you happen to own a headset. Certainly, worth trying out for $5.99 (£5.24), which is an 85% discount. Although there are rumblings in the Steam reviews about issues surrounding EA account connectivity, so once again, tread carefully.
All the above games are on sale until May 15. Despite EA cancelling a Respawn-made Star Wars FPS, the future of Star Wars gaming looks pretty bright, too. Alongside Zero Company, Respawn is hard at work on a third Jedi game. Star Wars Eclipse remains in development. The Kotor Remake is still apparently ongoing, and there’s an untitled Star Wars game in production at Skydance, supposedly with Amy Hennig’s involvement.
Read the full article here
