I had quite high hopes for Jedi: Fallen Order after seeing some of the gameplay footage leading up to the release. I was quite intrigued by the comparisons to Dark Souls and Uncharted, which are both series I really enjoy. Having now played through the game I think those comparisons are quite accurate as they relate to the sense of exploration and intense action. Don't let the souls comparison scare you off because this game features adjustable difficulty settings and is overall more approachable. Even going in with these high expectations this game still surprised me in many ways with how much it had to offer.
In Fallen Order you play as a young Jedi named Cal Kestis. Cal has been hiding in plain sight working for the empire as scrapper of imperial ships. Unfortunately, he is discovered after he uses his force powers and must flee for safety. Lucky for Cal he gets rescued by Cere Junda who used to be a Jedi herself. Cere wants to recruit Cal to help her restore the Jedi Order. Turns out Cere's master Eno Cordova had been studying an ancient species that had a strong connection to the force. Eno left behind a small android named BD-1 to help guide his successor in unlocking the secret of this mysterious race of aliens. You'll journey from one planet to the next exploring ancient tombs in an attempt to find an item called the Holocron, a device that can locate all force sensitive youths across the galaxy.
Of course the Empire would love to get their hands on such a device and they'll do everything in their power to beat you to it. Stormtroopers are a constant threat but you also have to be careful around the local fauna which tend to be quite aggressive. As you might imagine Cal comes equipped with a light saber and has the ability to harness the force. Cal has lost most of his force powers over time but as you progress they'll start to come back to him. Eventually, you'll be able to pull, push, and slow down you're enemies using the force. Once you get close enough to an enemy a couple swings with your lightsaber should take care of them. If you block right at just the right time you can actually deflect blaster shots back at your enemies or counter physical attacks to create an opening.
The Dark Souls inspiration comes in the form of stim packs which replenish your health and meditation circles which you need to rest at to refill your stim supply. The catch is that if you refill your stims at a meditation circle all the enemies in the area will respawn. As you defeat your foes and find an array of cosmetic collectables you'll build up experience points. These points can be used to increase your resonance with the force, your ability to wield a light saber, or your general longevity for survival. Any time you are defeated in battle you must get at least one hit on the foe that defeated you to recover any experience gained since your last full point. As you learn new force powers you'll want to return to previously visited planets as new routes and areas to explore will become available.
As someone would loves more linear, story-driven, games that still offer a good share of exploration Jedi Fallen Order was all I could have hoped for. Its funny because most of the stuff you find just offers bits of story or cosmic upgrades for your light saber; it's nothing that aids your quest but is a joy to collect none the less. Obviously a huge part of the experience is in the fights which are enjoyable but some of the bosses felt much tougher than the rest of the game. Even if you have to turn down the difficulty this game is still worth experiencing even if just for the story. This game delivers an authentic Star Wars experience that as a gamer I can say I enjoyed even more than the movies.