Reflecting on Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

Darth Malak and Darth Revan

Like most Bioware games, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic's strength is its narrative; its sense of adventure and exploration. That's not to say the gameplay is bad, just a little dated by today's standards. Knights of the Old Republic captures the feeling of the Star Wars universe perfectly, giving fans of the original trilogy a sense of history that the prequels got so wrong. Along with a narrative twist worthy of those films, Knights of the Old Republic boasts a memorable cast of characters (Carth excluded) that wouldn't be out of place in any of the original movies, as well as carving its own identity. The force is central to the narrative experience, but rather than just looking at the light and dark, KOTOR plays with the shades of grey in-between.

HK-47

Like any great twist based narrative Knights of the Old Republic catches you completely off guard with its numerous revelations. But, on reflection, the entire game is filled with foreshadowing. From major plot points and cut-scenes, to the item descriptions within the game, almost everything that occurs is hinted at. The attention to detail in KOTOR more than makes up for its now outdated (and slightly wonky) gameplay; with nods to the original trilogy and extended universe, and the aforementioned foreshadowing, nothing feels rushed. It's hard to discuss KOTOR without falling into spoiler territory, but it's a title well worth playing if you're a fan of a strong narrative and exceptional game universe.

Zzzzap

Any fans of Star Wars will surely find something to enjoy here, just as any fans of the Mass Effect series or other non-fantasy based RPGs will. You can find Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic on Steam. There are many performance issues on modern PCs, and possible game breaking bugs can crop up, so buyer beware. It's often on sale for about the same price as a sandwich, though, so well worth the risk for the price.