10 Star Wars Games That Need Deep Lore Knowledge to Understand

The Star Wars universe is one intellectual property that's always chock-full of expansive content across its hundreds of books, comics, games, and plethora of shows that support the more popular films in both the Legends and Disney continuities.

People don't need to have read every book or comic to properly comprehend the events of every game, show, or movie in the Star Wars franchise, but reading those materials could greatly enhance viewing experiences, especially in regard to video games.

Here are 10 Star Wars video games that feel completely different once people understand the background lore of other games, books, comics, shows, and movies these titles are supported by.

10 Star Wars Battlefront II

The History of Inferno Squad

When 2017's Star Wars Battlefront II was initially marketed as featuring a campaign following a squad of elite Stormtroopers post Return of the Jedi, fans were excited to play as villains in a rather unexplored era of Disney canon at the time, only for Inferno Squad to become rebels by the fifth level.

Not much is told about Inferno Squad's past in Battlefront II, making their rather sudden decision to abandon the Galactic Empire a bit odd, considering they're an elite squad, but if players read the novel Star Wars Battlefront II: Inferno Squad by Christie Golden, they'll learn more about the squad's formation and tendency to sympathize with rebels.

For instance, Iden Versio was actually a TIE Fighter pilot during the Battle of Yavin, explaining her skill as a starfighter pilot and despair over the Death Star II's destruction, but the book also follows Inferno Squad as they infiltrate the remnants of Saw Gerrera's Partisans and bond with some of its members before being forced to wipe the group out.

9 Star Wars: Squadrons

The Rise of the New Republic

Being a substantially immersive space flight simulator game, Star Wars: Squadrons is relatively light on its narrative depth, but it does feature many connections to several SW books, shows, and other games that are a ton of fun to see for those who experienced those stories.

Most of Squadron's single-player campaign is based on the Aftermath trilogy of novels written by Chuck Wendig, following the rise of the New Republic post Return of the Jedi, with the game actually being centered around the construction of the New Republic Starhawk capital ships, which were first mentioned in the Aftermath trilogy and seen in part in Battlefront II.

Conversely, the efforts of the Empire's Titan Squadron are used to set up the eventual rise of the First Order, as while the TIE Fighter squad is unable to destroy the New Republic, they are able to escape to the Unknown Regions to become founding members of the First Order, with Havina Vonreg being a relative of Baron Elrik Vonreg from Star Wars Resistance.

8 Star Wars: The Old Republic

Ancient Lore of Impactful Conflicts

With Star Wars: The Old Republic being a gigantic MMO set roughly 3,600 years before the SW films, it's full to the brim with its own stories following Jedi, Sith, and troopers as both factions strive to gain control over the galaxy.

However, Star Wars: The Old Republic is arguably more enjoyable if people know the history that led up to the Sith Empire's return, as its return was part of a plot started over 900 years prior, following The Great Hyperspace War, which saw the native Sith species of Korriban be exiled to Dromund Kaas, where the Sith Empire would secretly regrow.

Stories like The Great Hyperspace War and the rise of the fallen Jedi Exar Kun, who was the first SW character to ever use a double-bladed lightsaber, can be found in the old Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi comics, with its entire run heavily influencing the events of the Old Republic in vastly intriguing ways.

7 Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast

Yavin IV's Dark Past

Speaking of The Great Hyperspace War and the legend of Exar Kun, both of these tales also greatly influence and enhance the story of Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast in subtle but impactful ways.

In Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, Stormtrooper-turned-rebel-turned-reluctant-Jedi Kyle Katarn travels to Luke Skywalker’s Jedi Academy in Yavin IV's Massassi temples to acquire his old lightsaber and learn more about the Dark Jedi Desann after he supposedly killed Katarn's partner Jan Ors.

While Skywalker is attempting to use Yavin IV's temples for good at this time, they may have inadvertently helped corrupt Desann, as the temples were constructed by the Sith Lord Naga Sadow thousands of years ago after the Great Hyperspace War, before being further corrupted by the spirits of the Sith Freedon Nadd and Exar Kuun.

6 Star Wars: Republic Commando

The Training and Plights of Clone Commandos

Before George Lucas developed his Star Wars: The Clone Wars show in 2008, the first piece of SW media to truly expand upon the training and diverse personalities of the Clone Troopers was the FPS Star Wars: Republic Commando.

Set during the Clone Wars, Star Wars: Republic Commando follows a squad of Clone Commandos called Delta Squad as they're dispatched to Geonosis and other battlefronts to take out key targets and sabotage CIS plans.

While each Delta Squad member's personality is thoroughly shown throughout the game, the game would be enhanced if people read the Republic Commando novels by Karen Traviss, as they detail both Delta and Omega Squad's training by the Mandalorians Walon Vau and Kal Skirata, and detail what happened to the Commandos after Order 66.

5 Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

Revan and Malak's Fall

BioWare's Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is one of the greatest SW games of all time, and while players can have a blast playing through the Jedi Civil War on its own, players can get a better understanding of Darth Revan and Darth Malak's fall to the dark side if they read other books.

Sure, Revan and Malak's fall to the dark side is explained in KOTOR itself, but it's a far more complex story than what's told in-game with the origins of the Mandalorian Wars, the conflict that led the two Jedi Knights down the dark path, being told at the end of the Tales of the Jedi with Mandalore the Ultimate taking the mask of Mandalore the Indomitable.

Revan and Malak's brutal campaign in the Mandalorian Wars is further depicted in the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic comic series, with said series even showing how Revan got his iconic Mandalorian mask, but fans should strive to additionally read Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan in order to better understand Revan's entire life.

4 Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire

The True Story of Dash Rendar

Many new Star Wars films, shows, and games today receive tie-in books and comics to expand upon their stories, but the first SW multimedia project was 1996's Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire, which was released as a third-person shooter on the Nintendo 64, a short novel, and a comic miniseries.

All three versions of Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire cover the same tale: Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, Dash Rendar, and rebel forces attempting to rescue Han Solo after The Empire Strikes Back, whilst thwarting the machinations of Imperial ally Prince Xizor of the Black Sun crime syndicate.

However, fans will need to play the game and read the novel and comics to truly understand the events of Shadows, as the game only depicts Rendar as being the one to steal plans for the Death Star II, but the book and comic tell how Rendar, Skywalker, and a group of Bothans stole the plans, for example.

3 Star Wars Outlaws

Darth Maul's Criminal Legacy

Ubisoft's Star Wars Outlaws is actually fairly similar to Shadows of the Empire in several ways, as the two games not only take place during the same time period, but they both feel completely different if players read supplementary reading material.

Star Wars Outlaws takes place during and briefly after the Marvel Comics events Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters, Star Wars: Crimson Reign, and Star Wars: Hidden Empire, which told how the crime syndicate Crimson Dawn, led by Qi'ra, returned and how it crippled most other crime syndicates, setting up the state of the galaxy in the game.

Reading those comic events would help players understand Crimson Dawn's role in the galaxy after Darth Maul's death, but Outlaws players would additionally benefit from reading some books and comics set during the High Republic era, as players can explore the wreckage of an over 200-year-old High Republic ship.

2 Star Wars Jedi: Survivor

Flaws of the High Republic

Star Wars Outlaws is the latest game to feature the High Republic, but it wasn't the first game to do so, with that honor going to Star Wars Jedi: Survivor in a much more substantial way than the open-world Ubisoft game.

Players can explore a ton of High Republic ruins on Koboh, its shattered moon, and the mysterious Tanalorr, and while High Republic era Jedi Knight Dagan Gera does serve as a threatening villain for the game, he doesn't really explain the state of the galaxy during that era, which led him to get so fixated on Tanalorr and fall to the dark side.

To better understand Gera and Jedi Master Santari Khri's mindsets and fears, players should strive to read all eight of the main High Republic novels and a few of their Marvel Comics series as they delve more into the state of the galaxy and the Jedi Order 200 years ago, and how the Nihil conflict forced the Jedi to become more fractured and militaristic.

1 Vader Immortal: A Star Wars VR Series

The Horrors of Mustafar

Undoubtedly, the best Star Wars game that feels completely different once players understand the surrounding connective lore is Vader Immortal: A Star Wars VR Series, which follows a Force-sensitive smuggler as they learn to hone their abilities and aid locals in stopping the disastrous machinations of the Sith Lord.

Most of Vader Immortal is set within or near Darth Vader's castle and Mustafarian temples, and while the game does greatly expand upon the lore and mythology of Mustafar, the game is greatly enhanced if players read Charles Soule's Star Wars: Darth Vader Marvel Comics series, which details Vader's life after Order 66 and the construction of the castle.

Here, players learn that the crazed ancient Sith Lord, Darth Momin, kick-started the corruption of Mustafar from a lush green world to the volcanic hellscape that's seen in most SW media, and while Momin was killed by Jedi, his spirit remained trapped in his helmet, which Vader later used to build his fortress in his first attempt to reconnect with Padmé’s spirit.