5 Essential Star Wars Games You Need to Play


There have been so many different video games based on the Star Wars franchise over the years since the very first film was released in theaters in 1977. Gaming has allowed for a variety of interesting and unique experiences that take place in a galaxy far, far away which allowed us to live out our Jedi and sci-fi adventure fantasy. But with so many options to choose from and games to play through, which ones should you start with first? What are the most essential Star Wars games that you should play? Don’t worry young padawans, we have the knowledge you need to become strong with the force.

Star Wars games all have one major thing in common, they showcase a big aspect of what makes a great Star Wars story. Whether it’s becoming a Jedi knight and using a lightsaber, taking control of a starship and dogfighting in space, or exploring the galaxy as a ruthless bounty hunter; there’s always something to latch onto. Though we have no specific order with the games listed here, each of these Star Wars games is highly recommended that you play, because each of them are essential experiences that you don’t want to skip over. Do or do not, there is no try with any of these great Star Wars games you need to play.

Star Wars Rogue Squadron

One of the best arcade flight action game trilogies is the awesome Star Wars: Rogue Squadron series. Despite a few rocky technical issues that show its age, the first Rogue Squadron game is a game that all Star Wars fans need to experience at some point. It’s you and the various members of Rogue Squadron taking to the skies and executing missions for the Rebel Alliance. Want to hop into an X-Wing or Y-Wing to intercept Imperial TIE-Fighters? This is the game to do so.

Luckily, the game offers many options for ships to control. Since this takes place between the time of A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, you have all of the Rebel ships featured in the movies. What’s even cooler are the different missions you undertake, which top off with recreations of the Death Star Trench Run and The Battle of Hoth. The game is fun to control, includes a bunch of fun Easter eggs, and lets you live out the fantasy of controlling your own fighter in the struggle against the Galactic Empire… Inbound fighters at 10-13! Better get into gear and jump into this seminal game.

Star Wars: Episode 3 – Revenge of the Sith

Were you a big fan of the prequels? During the release window of Episode 3 in theaters, fans got a chance to experience the movie with the official video game that lets you control Jedi knights Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker. The game is a 3D action brawler with levels based on events of the movie, allowing you to fight legions of battle droids as you watch the plot of Revenge of the Sith play out. Anyone who was around when the game was released knows about the genuine hype and excitement surrounding it, mostly because it gave fans a sneak peek at the movie before the official theatrical release.

However, the game is also notable for other reasons outside of the film’s story. To this day, Revenge of the Sith has the most fun Jedi dueling multiplayer you can dive into. The versus mode that allowed players to pick their favorite Jedi from the prequel era and partake in a 1-vs-1 lightsaber duel, with stages based on locations from the film. On top of that, co-op play let you bring a friend to engage Separatist forces as a dynamic duo before ultimately clashing together in a fateful battle with incredible force powers.

Although the game has aged significantly since the release of the film, this game remains one of the better Star Wars games to adapt the films in a faithful way, despite a few changes and omissions for spoilers. It may not be the best Star Wars game around, but it’s a very important one that is strong with the force.

EA’s Star Wars Battlefront 2

Relive the battles your way. Become the hero in a galaxy at war. These were some of the taglines used to hype up Star Wars Battlefront over the years, including the reimagined EA’s Star Wars Battlefront series. Despite a rocky start at first, the second EA game built upon a solid foundation and created an exciting experience for Star Wars fans at home and online. Not only is the presentation of Battlefront 2 phenomenal, but the amount of options for classes and hero characters from all three trilogies is vast. On top of an original story set after the events of Return of the Jedi, the game became better over time before ultimately being content complete with the Celebration Edition on next-gen platforms.

While it’s easy to say that Star Wars fans should play the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 made by Pandemic, it’s not as readily available as EA’s Star Wars Battlefront 2. Make no mistake, you should play both of them regardless. But the high-quality presentation and current online connectivity of EA’s Battlefront 2 make it a game that all Star Wars fans should jump into if they haven’t already. You can’t deny how good it can look getting together with your squad on Naboo to battle the droid army in HD-quality visuals.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

Let’s take things way back in time, many years before Luke Skywalker destroyed the Death Star and Anakin Skywalker was found on the desert planet of Tatooine. Arguably one of the best Star Wars games and best role-playing games made for the original Xbox, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic deserves a spot on anybody’s list. Developed by Bioware back in 2003, the game dropped you into the middle of an epic story about the clash between the Jedi and Sith of the Old Republic. But in addition to that, the choices you made in this RPG affected not just the world around you, but your character’s alignment and abilities as well.

What makes Knights of the Old Republic so good is how open and detailed the role-playing aspects of it were. Not only were there many locations within the Star Wars Galaxy to explore, but many different quests and side-stories to follow that made you feel like you were part of this galaxy far, far away in a significant role. A few characters from this story will go on to influence the new canon of the franchise, with a few others becoming fan favorites among Star Wars fanatics, such as Bastila Shan and Darth Revan.

Though the combat system of the game definitely isn’t for everybody, you will find yourself sticking with it for the long run to see more of what this side of the galaxy has to offer. And what you find will amaze you and surprise you with many twists and turns that you won’t be prepared for. It’s the feeling of Star Wars you know, but in a new time you’ve never seen before. With talks about a remake peculating for some time, it’s a big hope for many Star Wars fans that everyone will be able to experience this epic role-playing game with an entirely new presentation for a new generation of gamers.

Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy

When it comes to lightsaber combat and force powers, many consider the Jedi Knight series to be peak level of fun. The fourth installment of the series is Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy, which also happens to be the last entry of the series made by Raven Software. This game allows you to customize your own custom Jedi character and follow a story set about a decade after the events of Episode 6: Return of the Jedi. Jaden Korr is a new student at Luke Skywalker’s new Jedi academy, learning under the series’ main protagonist Kyle Katarn. Over the course of the story, Jaden investigates a dark Jedi cult called the Disciples of Ragnos, leading to a clash between the light side and dark side of the force.

Different points of the game allow you to choose either light side or dark side alignment, which changes up the ending of the story. But that’s not the real reason for why Jedi Academy has remained relevant for so long. The popularity of this game is due to the first and third-person combat that lets you fire blasters or wield a lightsaber and force powers. Multiplayer allows players to duel each other, while also offering other team-based modes that take full advantage of your abilities as a Jedi.

Long after the release of the game, Jedi Academy was used as a basis for many modes on PC to create a variety of unique creations and game modes. One of the bigger mods for the game is Star Wars Movie Battles, which uses the Jedi Academy engine as a basis to let players play through some of their favorite moments from throughout the Star Wars franchise. It continues to be iterated upon to this day, with new content being made based on the newer Star Wars film and TV shows that fans watch on Disney Plus. But even without the crazy mod scene to back it up, Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy is a solid experience that brings together all of the best elements of the series into one fantastic game that marked the end of an era for Star Wars games.

Did you enjoy these picks for essential Star Wars games everyone needs to play? What are some of the Star Wars games that you would recommend to others? Post a comment down below and let your voice echo through the force!

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Jakejames Lugo

Jakejames Lugo is a writer and content creator that has been covering video games, movies, and various sides of entertainment for over a decade. He has published reviews and articles on many different outlets and continues to make content for different platforms. Jakejames also makes video content regularly for places like YouTube and TikTok, and share daily posts about gaming on social media.

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