Summary
The world ofStar Warshas always been a franchise for everyone, whether it’s kids or even the elderly; it’s something that brings people together to enjoy a sci-fi fantasy story in a galaxy far, far away. This includes the world of gaming, where developers use their own passion for Star Wars to give gamers a chance to play together or against each other in video games.
From online player-versus-player modes to local cooperative gameplay,Star Warsgames have allowed players to use blasters, lightsabers, and starships across various generations of gaming. In addition to engaging multiplayer experiences, these games also feature compelling stories and stunning visuals.
Along with the beginning of a new trilogy of movies, fans were excited to see moreStar Warsvideo games, starting with the 2015 reboot ofStar Wars: Battlefront, developed by DICE and EA. It brought back planetary skirmishes with some of the most advanced visuals of its time that made the player truly feel immersed in locations from theStar Warsuniverse.
Star Wars: Battlefrontdid not meet the expectations of fans for a reboot. Almost all of its content can be experienced in just a few hours, and it offers only a limited number of maps and game modes for online play. Even when playing with friends,Star Wars: Battlefrontfeels more like a glorified demo than a complete game, providing only temporary enjoyment before it becomes a repetitive shadow of its predecessors.
The originalStar Wars: Battlefrontchanged everything back in 2024, showing what the franchise could do as a military shooter to emulateiconic battles from the movies. Whether it’s playing as a Stormtrooper on Cloud City or a separatist battle droid storming the grassy fields of Naboo,Star Wars: Battlefrontmade those skirmishes feel real on the PS2.
Even to this day, there are still fans who look fondly at the originalStar Wars: Battlefront, thanks to its memorable user interface, large maps, and intense battles. It may not hold a candle to what would come later, but it still made an impact, with single-player and local multiplayer combat that defined many people’s childhoods, hence why it was remastered in 2024.
Star Wars Episode 1: Raceris based entirely around the famous pod-racing sequence fromThe Phantom Menace, allowing players to take part in racing circuits across the galaxy. Between races, players can buy upgrades for their pods from Watto’s shop, allowing for more depth, especially with the different racers involved.
On the original Nintendo 64 and PlayStation 1, two players can race against each other and CPU opponentsacross multipleStar Warsplanetsin the form of tracks. The game accurately portrays the intense speeds of pod-racing, which makes it fun but also rather difficult. One obstacle can destroy the pod, and trying to dodge other pods and obstacles results in a hectic racing game.
Thanks to updates on Steam,Star Wars: Empire At Warstill has online functionality for up to four players to engage inintense real-time strategy actionas the Empire or Rebellion. It offers a fun campaign as well that delves into aspects of the Galactic Civil War, such as how the Rebel Alliance came into possession of X-Wing starfighters.
With theForces Of Corruptionexpansion, players will also have access to the Zann Consortium as a third faction inStar Wars: Empire At War. Anybody who has played the likes ofStarCraftorHalo Warscan fit right intoEmpire At War,and newfound fans can expand the game themselves thanks to a still-dedicated modding community.
While there is an enjoyable canon story mode, focusing on protagonists of the New Republic and Imperial Remnant, it serves as a tutorial for the online multiplayer inStar Wars Squadrons. The game is the spiritual successor to games likeStar Wars: X-WingandStar Wars: TIE Fighter, but given more graphical fidelity to make the player truly feel like they are a star pilot.
With fully customizable pilots and ships,Star Wars Squadronsallows up to ten players to battle with andagainst each other in intergalactic dogfightsthat look and sound like they would be in the movies. They are also difficult, with every ship having proper weight combined with the floatiness of being in space, to force players to master their skill, or they won’t last long in a fight.
The intense battles against other players are fun, but sometimes people just need a fun romp to run around in, and the best solution for that would beLEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. For over twenty years, Traveller’s Tales has honed its craft at making silly, yet entertaining games for the whole family made out of LEGO, and that continues to be the case.
As the title suggests,LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Sagarecreates all nine mainlineStar Warsmovies, taking iconic moments and making them playable for all ages. Two players can run around, smash every item in sight, collect LEGO studs, unlock characters, and freely roam open-world planets across all eras, with the humor and antics that the LEGO games are known for since the early 2000s.
From wielding a lightsaber as a Jedi to soaring through the galaxy as a wanted smuggler,Star Wars: The Old Republicis the closest thing fans have to aStar Warslife simulator. There are multiple classes, both good and evil alike, and thanks to BioWare, players can choose just how good, evil, or somewhere in the middle they want to be.
Star Wars: The Old Republicprovides plenty ofmultiplayer fun as an MMORPGin the same vein asWorld Of WarCraftorGuild Wars 2, but with a few signature BioWare gameplay mechanics. Friends and total strangers can come together to form a guild to take on stories, dungeons, and other kinds of objectives in a galaxy far, far away.
Following the success of its predecessor,the now-defunct Pandemic Gamespushed themselves even further withStar Wars: Battlefront 2by retaining what made the original so good and simply expanding on it while addressing a few issues. For instance, heroes and villains were enhanced with more legacy characters from the original and prequel trilogies, even gaining their own mode.
More infantry classes were introduced in various war-centric modes, including the then-new story mode, Galactic Conquest, Assault, Capture The Flag, and several others that gamers expect from shooters. The gameplay itself was similar but also refined, thus embodying what a proper sequel should be: an upgrade from the original in nearly every way.
Thanks to pay-to-win microtransactions and a noticeable lack of content,Star Wars: Battlefront 2had a controversial launch that could have ended in disaster, but EA, DICE, and Motive didn’t give up. Instead, they worked hard to remove the maligned aspects and provide fans with a better multiplayer game. After many updates and free content patches later,Star Wars: Battlefront 2has had a massive turnaround.
Now,Star Wars: Battlefront 2feels like a proper reboot of the beloved franchise, featuring many modes to enjoy, more content from allStar Warseras, a plethora of characters, andan actual canon story modethat was sorely missing in the first EA game. Even after five years since the final update for the game, there is still a dedicated fanbase that plays on the servers every day.
