Spanning five decades, theStar Warsfranchise has had a lot of spin-offs over the years. From comic books, to novels, to TV shows,Star Warshas branched out into just about every form of media possible, but there’s one medium in whichStar Warshas always done particularly well, and that’s video games. Though not all are worthwhile experiences, the vast majority ofStar Warsgames have, at the very least, a handful of qualities that make them worth sinking a few hours into. Occasionally, aStar Warsgame will appear that not only stands out fromthe rest of theStar Warslibrary, but stands out in the video game industry as a whole.Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republicis one of those games.
Released in 2003,Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republicis one of the most influentialStar Warsvideo games of all time, and is widely considered to be one of thegreatest Western RPGs ever created. At the time,Knights of the Old Republicwas groundbreaking, as was its sequel, released a year later. While these two games certainly hold up today, nearly two whole decades later, revisiting them may not result in the same experience or feelings as it did all those years ago. It may sound blasphemous, but some aspects of theStar Wars: Knights of the Old Republicseries haven’t aged all that well.
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Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is a Masterpiece
Put simply,Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, and its sequel, are masterpieces. Despite newer releases likeStar Wars: Battlefronthaving state-of-the-art graphics, andStar Wars Jedi: Fallen Orderhaving some of the tightest combat mechanics in a third-person action game, bothKnights of the Old RepublicandKnights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lordsstill take top spots inStar Warsgame tier lists.
The aspects that madeKnights of the Old Republicstand out from the crowd back in the day are exactly the same reasons why it still holds up today. In 2003, the scope ofKOTORwas groundbreaking, with each of its seven planets feeling like living, breathing environments, inhabited by actual people. Stepping out onto Taris' Upper City streets for the first time was an experience like no other in 2003, with aliens and humans going about their business, architecture ripped straight out of Ralph McQuarrie’soriginalStar Warsconcept art, and a skybox lavishly detailed with speeders and a beautiful setting sun.
From the get-go,Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republicfeels like an authenticStar Warsexperience, and that’s only enhanced throughout the course of the game. Once players are given the opportunity tovisit iconic planets like Tatooine, this sense of authenticity becomes the game’s main selling point, with every NPC, party member, and creature looking as though they could dropped right into one of the mainline movies at any second, and no one would bat an eye.Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republicstill goes one step further. Rather than just show the player all theStar Warsglitz and glamour they’d expect,KOTORpushes the envelope, and provides some of the best world-building in the franchise.
Set almost 4,000 years beforeStar Wars: A New Hope,Knights of the Old Republichas the unique opportunity to expand on the lore of the franchise, with its setting allowing for ultimate creative freedom. BioWare didn’t disappoint. Nearly every line of dialogue and every item descriptionopens up theStar Warsuniversejust a little more. From ancient Echani weapons, to traditional Jedi forms and techniques, to alien social conventions,Knights of the Old Republicis responsible for fleshing out a good percentage of theStar Warsuniverse, and though it isn’t officially canon anymore, a few lore details have dripped into the new movies and shows, proving the high-quality of the storytelling within the game.
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Some Parts of KOTOR Haven’t Aged Too Well
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republicis undeniably one ofthe best pieces ofStar Warsmediaout there, but nearly two whole decades after its release, its cracks have started to show. On a surface level,Knights of the Old Republic 1and2are not the prettiest of games. Though fairly cutting-edge for the time, especially when it came to licensed titles,KOTOR’s visuals are more than acceptable nowadays, but they definitely weren’t intended to be scrutinized under the light of modern day high-definition monitors.
ThoughKnights of the Old Republic’s environmentsare detailed and authenticallyStar Wars, some textures are noticeably flat and muddy, particularly the skyboxes on some planets. Draw distance is also a big weakness ofKOTOR’s visuals, as are the game’s stilted character animations when in dialog sequences. The game’s cutscenes also suffer from some awkward early 2000s CG, with some fuzzy textures making it seem as though the lens was smeared with Vaseline.
It can also be a bit of a pain to getStar Wars:Knights of the Old Republicrunning on modern PCs. Operating system errors, crash issues resulting from shadow settings, and a whole litany of other technical problems are all standard when trying to runKOTORon anything above Windows XP, which is naturally quite a big problem in 2022. WhileKOTORand its sequel can still be played via Xbox backwards compatibility, on mobile, or via Nintendo Switch, PC players can be put off before they even reach the main menu.
One of the more controversial aspects ofKnights of the Old Republicis its combat. WhileKOTOR’sDnD-inspired turn-based combatdoes have its fair share of fans, quite a percentage of fans do agree that it’s a little outdated now, and isn’t the ideal gameplay form for a modernStar Warsgame.Knights of the Old Republic’s gameplay system is highly complex, but on a basic level, many just don’t find it all that fun. Players are often left confused on why their attacks didn’t hit, and it can sometimes feel like a combat encounter is based more on luck than it is on skill and clever tactics.
On top of the combat,Knights of the Old Republic’s exploration gameplayalso feels a little dated. Though it’s far from being the most noticeable aspect,KOTOR’s movement speed feels just a tad too slow, which can make back-tracking through environments feel a little grating after a while, certainly once that initial “wow” factor has worn off. With some planets having almost maze-like environments, with Dantooine being a big example, it can sometimes be difficult to explore an area fully, and the game’s slower movement speed can make these planets feel like a drag to play nowadays. All in all, whileKOTORis still a crucialStar Warstitles, time hasn’t been entirely kind to the series.
Star Wars: Knight of the Old Republicis currently available on Mobile, PC, Switch, and Xbox One.
