The bestStar Warsshow is now behind us. Running for two seasons and 24 episodes total, Andor gave me everything I ever wanted from a television rendition of A Galaxy Far, Far Away. It’s unapologetically dark in the best and boldest ways, using the Star Wars canvas to tell a story of hope during the bleakest hours, and of the things which must be done in the pursuit of liberty against a tyrannical state of affairs. Andor is as much a topical spy thriller as a Star Wars project, and I cannot sing its praises enough. I know I’m far from alone.
There isn’t anythingquitelike Andor elsewhere on Star Wars TV, nor in its feature-film roots - although 2016’s Rogue One, Andor’s “sequel”, is understandably close enough. But for those who, like myself, have been a bit underwhelmed by most other modern Star Wars output, you might want to check out the video games I’m about to mention. These are relatively mature tales, populated by three-dimensional characters, with poignant and resonant themes at their core. These are the games that an Andor fan might love as much as I do.
I’m ranking these in terms of how well I think they each tackle darker thematic material. This doesn’t necessarily reflect my actual rankings on which games I believe to be thebest, although these are all great games in their own right. But if I’m ranking them overall, rather than how, dare I cross streams with a Star Trek term for Star Wars, “Andorian” they are, then this is where things end up.
7Star Wars: TIE Fighter
The only thing holding Star Wars: TIE Fighter back from full-blown “maturity” in its storytelling is the somewhat sparse story itself. What’s there, however, is a plot that could have been painfully edgy with the wrong writers involved, but comes across as both realistic and very nearly relatable despite putting players into the cockpits of the Galactic Empire’s own starfighters.
What makes TIE Fighter work in this regard is its commitment to pitting pilots against not just the ragtag Rebel Alliance, but backstabbing intrigue within the rank-and-file of the Empire itself. Emperor Palpatine’s and Darth Vader’s legions respond to potential violence with outright violence; but when factions emerge within its own vast confines, it feels (highlyrelatively) “right” to follow the command of someone such as Grand Admiral Thrawn.
If you dig Star Wars: TIE Fighter, check out Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance and Star Wars: X-Wing Vs TIE Fighter. Both games follow the same in-depth space-based combat flight sim glory; their stories are just more black-and-white, is all. Nothing wrong with that.
6Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II
The second installment in the Jedi Knight series, Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II pushes recurring protagonist Kyle Katarn to a moralistic brink ways that Star Wars: Dark Forces simply didn’t. Katarn, having discovered his link to the Force and an ancient source of great power, battles a Dark Jedi named Jedec who is responsible for the murder of his father.
Treachery abounds, as Dark Forces II brings Kyle (and players) not just to the mythical Valley of the Jedi, but to seedy destinations such as the Hutt stronghold moon of Nar Shaddaa. It’s all got more bite to it than most Star Wars games. The live-action visuals look customarily hokey, but hey, it was the the 1990s. That was all the rage. Somehow.
5Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
The first game in Cal Kestis' ongoing trilogy, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order kicks off with a (literally) dark train ride before diving into Cal’s traumatic past as one of the rare Padawan survivors of Order 66.
With visuals influenced by Star Wars: Rogue One, and the tale of a young man who feels all but listless in a grim galaxy ruled by the Galactic Empire, Respawn Entertainment does a very fine job imbuing Fallen Order with the grit that this franchise is capable of delivering.
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
WHERE TO PLAY
Cal Kestis is a Jedi Padawan who must escape the clutches of the Galactic Empire in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. It’s a third-person action-adventure game with elements of the Metroidvania genre, and gives you access to plenty of Force abilities.
4Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is broadly the more popular game in its duology. It’s just lacking even half as many shades of grey as its sequel. It’s fantastic, and importantly, it feels more like a finished product. Even so, it’s a more traditional good-versus-evil tale.
Yet, it’s on this list. There’s more nuance in KOTOR than I think some perhaps give it credit for possessing. Everything involving Revan, and a certain late-game twist, conjures up real ethical quandary.
Having someone like a Mandalorian war hero on the squad opens up its own flavours of questionability once you get to listening to Canderous Ordo’s stories of past glory. He isn’t exactly the sort of Mandalorian that modern Star Wars hypes up, but then, it was the Old Republic. A different time.
And everything about Juhani and Jolee Bindo is an open invitation to moral debate. Truly, KOTOR is a whole lot greyer than it’s sometimes given credit for; we’re comparing a classic BioWare script to a classic Obsidian script. Of course it was going to get darker after this.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Star Wars: KOTOR is an epic RPG set thousands of years before the events of the original movies, and puts you in the role of a Jedi who must defeat a Dark Lord of the Sith. It features three customisable classes, and a branching narrative that changes according to which side of the Force you lean towards.
3Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast
As with Jedi: Survivor, the older Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast cranks up the scratchy spirit and grit-fueled challenges to its hero’s principles that Jedi Knight only tinkered with by comparison.
The thing about Jedi Outcast is that, contrary to its predecessor, Raven Software doesn’t play around with the somewhat sparse (read: solid, but not KOTOR/KOTOR 2) light-or-dark morality gameplay mechanic of Jedi Knight.
Rather, Kyle Katarn straight-up clashes with his enemies using a mixture of light powers and dark powers alike, and in every scene, there’s a bit of a ruthlessness threatening to burst to the surface. This is in excellent contrast to Luke Skywalker, whose appearances in the game always feel expertly balanced to match Kyle’s slight case of perpetual unpredictability.
Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast
The Legacy of Star Wars Dark Forces™ and Star Wars® Jedi Knight lives on in the intense first-person action of Jedi Outcast. Several years have passed since Kyle Katarn avenged his father’s death and saved the Valley of the Jedi from Jerec and his band of Dark Jedi.Allowing his Force powers to languish for fear of falling to the Dark side, Kyle set aside his lightsaber, vowing never to use it again. But when a new and menacing threat to the galaxy emerges, Kyle knows he must reclaim his past in order to save his future.
2Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
For all its darker tones, Fallen Order is supplanted by the distinctly darkerundertonesof Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. The second, and as of this writing, most recent game in the Jedi trilogy puts Cal Kestis through the ringer in more ways than one as his perception of the state of the galaxy is reshuffled per the people he meets along the way.
It’s more of the same tone and tenor that’s found in Fallen Order, and that can only be a good thing for those of us who want to watch our Star Wars heroes struggle through the harsher realities of living in what is, ostensibly, a high-octane space-adventure franchise.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is a 2023 sequel from Respawn Entertainment that continues the story of Cal Kestis, a Jedi Knight who fights to survive the brutal Galactic Empire.
1Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic II - The Sith Lords
Although myriad Star Wars books (mostly of the older canon) have touched upon the greyer regions of the massive mythos, there’s only one game that rivals Andor for no-holds-barred status as a moral play set upon the stage of the Star Wars tapestry. That game is, of course, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords.
Look, I don’t even want to get into the story for this, because if you’re unfamiliar - and you’re reading a list designed to help fans find more Andor-esque storytelling! - then you really ought to experience it in full yourself. Suffice it to say, the character of Kreia stands among Obsidian’s all-time greatest writing. More than that, nearly every aspect of KOTOR II’s aesthetic has baked-in nuance.
These are people with complex lives and hero-or-villain streaks to almost every one of them. Indeed, it’s those scarce moments of total objective “goodness” that land all the more brilliantly, because we’re watching characters struggle to get there in ways that Luke, Han, and Leia never have. Top-shelf stuff.
Just play on PC, and get the Restored Content mod, for the best experience. The game shipped half-baked, unfortunately. I’m not even a big PC gamer by any stretch, but it’s the way to go. That remastered port never did get the once-promised Restored Content patch.
