Try to think of a franchise as successful as Star Wars. You probably can’t, because there isn’t one. Over the decades, it’s gone from being escapism for geeks to just about the biggest name in all of pop culture. Everyone’s seen at least one movie, heard an iconic line, or questioned why sand is so coarse at one point or another in their lives.
With such widespread popularity, video games are sure to follow, so it should be no surprise that Star Wars has quite possibly the most extensive catalogue of tie-ins and “expanded universe” efforts out there of any blockbuster series. Here’s the problem, though: a lot of then just aren’t very good. As a prime example of milking the cash cow, there are a lot of Star Wars video games that would have been quite comfortable next to E.T in a New Mexico landfill.
When a great Star Wars game does come along, however, it’s usually magical, transporting you back to your childhood and making you believe, even just for a fleeting moment, that you are a Jedi Master or, in the case of Super Bombad Racing, stuck with incurable Bobblehead Syndrome.
With that in mind, let’s count down some of the best Star Wars games. If your favourite didn’t make the cut, let me know that I’m a nerf herder all you like.
The Best Star Wars Games
16. EA Star Wars Battlefront II
Developer: DICE
Publisher: EA
Wait, wait. Oh, you’ve already gone. That’s fair enough, I guess — the early days of the second Star War Battlefront II don’t really cover the game in glory. However, while it is still far from perfect, it’s not the disaster that many wish it was.
Sure, the shooting is a little basic and the gameplay perhaps too casual, but once it gets going and the battles are at their epic best, Battlefront II really can be a total blast, especially considering just how much content has been added since it launched. Plus, its campaign isn’t too bad and fills in a few holes in the canon — for better or worse.
15. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II
Developer: LucasArts/Aspyr
Publisher: LucasArts
You can really copy what I will say about The Force Unleashed later and paste it here. The Force Unleashed II isn’t a full-bodied sequel in that it doesn’t move the dial forward at all, but if it’s large-scale button-mashing you want, it certainly has you covered.
The main thing going against the sequel is that it is much, much too short. Starkiller’s story quickly wraps up in what is essentially a very silly narrative that was booted to the curb the second Disney took over, so maybe don’t worry about it.
14. Star Wars: The Old Republic
Developer: BioWare Austin/Aspyr
Publisher: EA
Despite not being the third KOTOR game we wanted and not the kind of quality we were expecting from its pretty excellent trailers, Star Wars: The Old Republic still provides an MMORPG world with living in.
You carve your own path in The Old Republic and become the hero or villain you want to be. It’s still going strong over half a decade after launch with new content events set to come in 2019, so dive on in — you can even play for free if you just want to try it out.
13. Star Wars: Dark Forces
Developer: LucasArts
Publisher: LucasArts
Your memories may lead you to believe that Dark Forces deserves to be higher up in this list of the best Star Wars games, prompting you to go over to Steam to prove me wrong. Don’t. While Dark Forces may have been ahead of its time, time has caught up to it in a nasty way.
While it’s certainly still playable in the sense that it’s a DOOM rip-off (and DOOM is good no matter what), the narrative, dialogue, and characters are ropey to say the least. If it’s pew-pewing you want, though, knock yourself out.
12. Star Wars: Bounty Hunter
Developer: LucasArts
Publisher: LucasArts
Before I started writing this, I was certain that Bounty Hunter would make the top three. Childhood memories of this game painted it as being just about the coolest thing ever, allowing you to become Jango Fett and capture some bounties with trusted jetpack in tow.
After picking it up again on PS4 again, though, it’s aged quite considerably, but is still playable and, more importantly, fun. Hunting down bad guys is still a blast, and dual-wielding guns while playing as the franchise’s most mistreated character never gets old.
11. Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter
Developer: LucasArts
Publisher: LucasArts
Why has everyone forgotten about this game? And I’m not just talking about general gamers; even Star Wars fans seem to have let Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter slip into total obscurity.
Set during and shortly after finale of Attack of the Clones, Jedi Starfighter has you take to the cockpit of iconic Star Wars fighters and attacking or defending objectives. Pretty straightforward stuff, but the guys at LucasArts managed to make it riveting.
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