On Aug. 27, Electronic Arts released its newest Star Wars game. Star Wars: Zero Company is one of the best reviewed games ever inspired by the series, offering a compelling blend of tactics and fandom that’s nearly impossible to resist. It’s a welcome reminder of the many other terrific Star Wars games we’ve enjoyed over the decades.
Star Wars video games date all the way back to The Empire Strikes Back on the Atari 2600 in 1982. Since then, the franchise itself has largely matured alongside the medium. Many of the earliest games are still worth revisiting now, even the ones that were victims of hardware limitations. If you’re wondering where to turn first once you complete Zero Company, here are the 12 best Star Wars games of all time.
12
Star Wars: Squadrons (2020)
Play it on: PlayStation 4, Windows PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X
People like Star Wars for different reasons, from the hero’s journey, to the beautiful planet environments and the thrilling space battles. A lot of the best Star Wars games tend to narrow their scope rather than focusing on everything at once, and Squadrons definitely prioritized at shootouts in the vast reaches of space. It dropped players in cockpits that might have featured in the original movies and let players feel like they were in the middle of an operation… especially when they had a VR headset equipped. The online component was initially another compelling reason to play, but activity levels have dropped off in the years since launch. Still, it has a lot to offer if you don’t mind a more solitary experience.
11
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (2019)
Play it on: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X
Respawn Entertainment has had multiple chances to do Star Wars justice, starting with this first entry in the Star Wars Jedi series. It introduces Cal Kestis, a hero living through the dark period following Revenge of the Sith. Not everyone loves the Jedi, even at the best of times. They feel a bit like the galaxy’s superheroes, and yet there’s no denying the thrill of a good lightsaber duel. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order focuses on that aspect in particular, and lets players explore interesting environments other games only allow them to glimpse from afar. It’s pretty and fun, despite performance issues at launch and some tedious backtracking.
10
Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter (2002)
Play it on: PlayStation 2, PlayStation 4, Xbox
Following closely after Star Wars: Starfighter, which released one year prior, Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter added Force abilities that proved devastating in space battles. The arsenal of weapons expanded, plus a full split-screen cooperative campaign added a new dimension to the experience. Critics at the time weren’t impressed by how much of the experience felt like the previous game, though, and the disjointed storyline couldn’t match what came before it. Even so, it served as a worthy follow-up and was better than its predecessor in some key ways. Jedi Starfighter is easy to play on a PlayStation 4, as well, despite the date of its original release.
9
Star Wars: The Old Republic (2011)
Play it on: Windows PC
When word first arrived that BioWare was working on another Star Wars RPG set in the Old Republic, visions of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic danced in our heads. However, we eventually learned that Star Wars: The Old Republic would actually take the form of an MMORPG, which dulled some of that early enthusiasm. Fortunately, the game turned out much better than it easily might have, even if it did sometimes feel like World of Warcraft in disguise and initially lacked a meaningful endgame. When early subscription numbers faltered, Electronic Arts explored a free-to-play model, allowing it to build the following it needed to justify continued development. Since then, the game has seen additional content drops, even after Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm. If you are so inclined, you can experience much of that content for free, thanks to the ongoing stewardship of Broadsword Online Games.
8
Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga (2022)
Play it on: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X
Lego Star Wars was a surprise hit when it arrived for PlayStation 2. A variety of sequels since then have also proven to be great fun. The Skywalker Saga is the biggest release of the lot, presenting a fresh take on the stories in all nine movies about the Skywalker family and their friends. Rather than compiling and touching up everything that came before (which is partly contained in Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga), it presents the classic stories with a thoroughly modern touch. Some of the older elements, like a fixed camera and confusing level progression, have been cleaned up for the 2022 release. The much larger and more complex level hubs are also a satisfying development. Such improvements make The Skywalker Saga the definitive way to see your favorite Star Wars heroes doing heroic things in plastic brick form. The game is also a terrific option if you’re looking for something you can play with your less experienced friends or even small children, as one might expect from the Lego games, though the second player sometimes must take a back seat while the main hero does the tricky stuff.
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7
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron (1998)
Play it on: Nintendo 64, Windows PC
When Star Wars: Rogue Squadron launched on the Nintendo 64, you had to buy the hardware’s mostly optional “expansion pak” to play it as the development team at Factor 5 intended. That’s how you knew you were getting something good. The added RAM brought various locations from around the Star Wars universe to life, filling them with enemy turrets and walkers that were prime targets for your lasers and rockets. The addictive gameplay loop kept college guys like me playing well into the early morning hours… and I certainly wasn’t alone. Today, the visuals are dated, but the stages still bring those memories roaring back. It’s enough to make a person want to download the Steam version and play it all over again.
6
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (2023)
Play it on: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X
The second Star Wars Jedi game from Respawn Entertainment offered more of what we loved about the first one: numerous approaches to lightsaber combat, more open and expansive maps, and a welcome fast-travel mechanic. The story lingered near the starting line a bit longer than it should have, and some of the bosses ratcheted up the difficulty a bit unevenly. Technical issues held the experience back near launch, as well. But patches have smoothed away most of the rough edges, allowing Star Wars Jedi: Survivor to become the first-rate adventure it always deserved to be.
5
Star Wars: Battlefront 2 (2005)
Play it on: PlayStation 2, PSP, Windows PC, Xbox
Star Wars: Battlefront 2 and its predecessor are sufficiently beloved that years later, a separate developer brought them back for another go around. The original 2005 release is the one we remember most fondly, however. It let players loose on massive maps, where they could roam on foot or commandeer powerful vehicles with their friends and wreak havoc on their enemies. Although there wasn’t a lot of the depth and customization we expect from more modern shooters, the barely controlled mayhem made up for it, turning players into the architects of numerous memorable moments in one battle after another. It was arcade fun at its best, an experience the 2017 edition couldn’t quite replicate, whatever its strengths.
4
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2 – The Sith Lords (2004)
Play it on: Nintendo Switch, Windows PC, Xbox
Sometimes, we just want a little moral ambiguity to go with our slicing, dicing, and blasting. Knights of the Old Republic 2 provided that in spades. Following its enormously popular but considerably more traditional predecessor, the sequel questioned the role of the Force, the Jedi Order, and the Sith through the lens provided by a new character, Kreia. Party members felt more like actual people, and you could use your knowledge of their personalities to turn them toward goodness and light… or to send them to the Dark Side. Unfortunately, despite doing so many things right, development on the game was rushed to meet publisher deadlines, which meant certain aspects didn’t get the polish and depth players might have wished for. On a more positive note, the incomplete release bothered some modders enough that they eventually restored cut Knights of the Old Republic 2 content while relying on assets buried in the original code. Impressive!
3
Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces 2 (1997)
Play it on: Windows PC
Sure, you can blast your enemies in dark corridors, like you’re playing Doom or something. That can make for a neat Star Wars game. But in a universe where characters have the power to summon lightning and to zip all over the room like the Flash, wouldn’t it be nice to break down barriers with a proper show of force? Long before 2008’s Star Wars: The Force Unleashed arrived on the scene, Dark Forces 2 provided a definitive answer to that question and finally made the series feel like it actually played out in a galaxy far, far away. That sense of place extended to the central plot, which let players choose between the Light and the Dark side, with separate final boss battles and endings. The game hasn’t aged as well as one might hope, thanks to some tough platforming sequences that become frustrating in a hurry, as well as limited texture work and simplistic character models. But the ideas remain solid. Besides, nostalgia can tape over a lot of gaping wounds, if you’ll just let it.