Star Wars Games Everyone Needs to Play at Least Once

For about 44 years, video games based on the Star Wars universe have filled gaming libraries of nearly 10 generations of consoles, allowing millions of people worldwide to briefly live in a galaxy far, far away in a variety of genres and perspectives.

Over 100 Star Wars games have been developed, ranging from pixelated side-scrollers like Super Star Wars to practically life-like third-person action-adventure games like Star Wars Outlaws, but with such a vast catalog, it may be intimidating for new fans or gamers to find out which SW games they should try out.

Here are 10 Star Wars games that everyone needs to play at least once in their gaming career due to the game's significance for the SW franchise, their addictive gameplay, enthralling stories, and overall impact on the video game medium.

10 Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire

Star Wars' First Major Multimedia Project

It's common today for Star Wars films, shows, and games to be released with multiple tie-in novels, comics, figures, and other material, but the franchise's first major multimedia project was 1996's Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire, released for the Nintendo 64 and PC.

A third-person shooter and platformer set during and after the events of Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire follows smuggler Dash Rendar as he helps the Rebel Alliance evade the Galactic Empire and stop Prince Xizor of the criminal Black Sun from killing Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa.

Shadows of the Empire is an N64 classic, and its story told through a novel, comic, and the game itself established a perfect framework for Lucasfilm and LucasArts to tell other great expansive stories in the SW universe, with the Black Sun crime syndicate still playing prominent roles in modern SW tales.

9 Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader

A Perfect Starfighter Simulator

With Star Wars often featuring starfighter dogfights, it was destined to have games developed that simulated starfighter combat, with arguably the best being Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader for the GameCube.

Unlike its N64 predecessor, Rogue Leader has players reenact space battles from the original trilogy alongside a few new space battles following Skywalker, Wedge Antilles, and the rest of Rogue Squadron in third-person or via a more immersive first-person view from starfighter cockpits.

While Rogue Leader does let players fly in conventional Rebel fighters like the A, B, X, and Y-Wing, it also lets players pilot ships from across the franchise, including the Millennium Falcon, Slave I, a T-16 Skyhopper, a Snowspeeder, a TIE Fighter, a TIE Advanced, a Lambda-class shuttle, and a Naboo N-1 starfighter.

8 Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy

The Best Lightsaber Combat in All of Gaming

One of the most popular Star Wars video game characters is the Stormtrooper turned Rebel spy turned Jedi Knight, Kyle Katarn, and while most of his Dark Forces and Jedi Knight titles are fun, I'd argue that his last game, Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy, features the best lightsaber combat in all of gaming.

Set 10 years after Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi, Jedi Academy follows a young Jedi Padawan named Jaden Korr as they begin their training at Skywalker's Jedi Academy on Yavin IV under the tutelage of Katarn, with Korr quickly mastering lightsaber combat and going on to fight Imperial remnants.

Players can still use blasters in first-person, but Jedi Academy is far more well-known for its third-person lightsaber combat, which allows players to select different fighting styles and choose between using one lightsaber, using a double-bladed lightsaber, or dual-wielding two lightsabers to literally slice and dice foes.

7 Star Wars: The Old Republic

BioWare's Ambitious Star Wars MMO

In terms of massive multiplayer online role-playing games, there are a few great Star Wars MMOs there, such as Star Wars Galaxies, but one that I believe new SW fans would especially enjoy is BioWare's Star Wars: The Old Republic, which is still receiving updates nearly 15 years after its initial launch.

Taking place during the titular Old Republic era, roughly 3,600 years before Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace, Star Wars: The Republic sees the entire galaxy be thrust into galactic war between the militaristic Republic and the returning Sith Empire, with legions of Jedi Knights fighting against thousands of Sith Warriors.

As an MMO RPG, players can create their very own character and play with countless people online in story missions or complex raids, with players being able to embody a Jedi Knight, Jedi Consular, Republic Trooper, Smuggler, Sith Warrior, Sith Inquisitor, Imperial Agent, or Bounty Hunter.

6 Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

The Story of Darth Vader's Secret Apprentice

One of LucasArts' last games ever developed before Disney purchased the Star Wars IP was also one of the best SW games ever made, with that game being the single-player, third-person, hack and slash game Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.

Set in between Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope, Force Unleashed sees players embody Darth Vader's secret apprentice called Starkiller as he's dispatched to eliminate surviving Jedi, rebel cells, and any Imperial force who witnesses his actions.

Force Unleashed's story may be considered as non-canon Legends now, but it's still an absolute thrill ride to play through, especially if people purchase its DLC, which has Starkiller fight through alternate, far darker versions of A New Hope and The Empire Strike Back.

5 Star Wars: Republic Commando

Clone Troopers' Forgotten Stories

Long before Cartoon Network's Star Wars: The Clone Wars series and Karen Traviss' SW novels personified and showcased the diverse mindsets of the Clone Troopers, it was 2005's tactical FPS Star Wars: Republic Commando that was the first piece of SW content to focus entirely on the Clones.

Here, people played as Clone Commando Delta Squad leader RC-1138 "Boss" as he leads his brothers Fixer, Scorch, and Sev in deadly special ops missions throughout the Clone Wars starting at the Battle of Geonosis to the Battle of Kashyyk, fighting Battle Droids, Geonosians, and Trandoshan slavers.

Republic Commando is simply unlike any other SW game that has come before or since, and while it sadly never got its planned Imperial Commando sequel, its influence can be seen throughout SW content today, with Commandos playing pivotal roles in The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, and Star Wars: The Bad Batch.

4 Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

Disney's Greatest Star Wars Game Yet

Ever since Disney purchased Star Wars in 2012, its rollout of new SW games has been mixed, to say the least. But one Disney game that has been universally praised by fans and critics alike has been the Soulslike Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.

Much like Force Unleashed, Fallen Order is set between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, but this time, players embody an Order 66 Padawan survivor, Cal Kestis, as he joins fellow survivors in hopes to rebuild the Jedi Order, only to be hunted down by the ruthless Inquisitors, the Second and Ninth Sisters.

While the gameplay of Fallen Order may be a bit challenging for those not familiar with Soulslike games, people will quickly be able to master its controls just as Kestis relearns his Master's training and sets out on one of the best SW journeys in recent history as told in this game and its sequel, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.

3 Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

Star Wars' Definitive RPG

New Star Wars fans may love the world designs and gameplay of The Old Republic, but if they want to delve deeper into the Old Republic era and witness one of the best SW stories of all time, they'll have to travel back a bit further in time to Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.

The first turn-based SW role-playing video game ever developed, KOTOR is set roughly 300 years before SWTOR and follows an amnesiac human during a Jedi Civil War waged by former Jedi Knights turned Sith Darth Revan and Darth Malak against the Galactic Republic.

The gameplay of KOTOR may be a bit outdated by today's standards, but its incredible story is still one of the best in all of gaming, with its fantastic companions and jaw-dropping twists, making the game so beloved that it's become the first SW game to be in the process of being remade for modern platforms.

2 LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga

The Best LEGO Game Ever Made

Sometimes the best games to play out there are the simplist, and a game that perfectly represents this concept is LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga.

A combination of both LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game and LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy, Traveller's Tales' first two LEGO games, the Complete Saga is an adaptation of George Lucas' original six SW films in slapstick comedy LEGO, with people being able to play alone or in local two-player co-op.

There have been several LEGO SW games made since these games debuted, but these original LEGO games just have such an immense charm that they hold up incredibly well and are truly fun for all ages as players young and old have fun breaking down Battle Droid and Stormtrooper minifigures and solving LEGO puzzles.

1 Star Wars: Battlefront II

A Perfect Game Through and Through

Star Wars fans all have differing opinions over which SW game is the best or which game is their favorite, but I'd argue that the number one SW title that everyone should strive to play at least once in their life is Pandemic Studios' 2005 classic Star Wars: Battlefront II.

A first and third-person shooter, 2005's Battlefront II was the first SW game that allowed players to relive iconic battles from across all six films in PvE battles or intense PvP multiplayer both on the ground and in space battles between starfighters and star destroyers, with players easily able to board and destroy ships from within.

On top of these general gameplay and multiplayer features, Battlefront II additionally features an incredible campaign following a Clone Trooper of the 501st Legion as they fight in the Clone Wars, take part in Order 66, and transition into becoming a Stormtrooper, making for one of the most memorable and highly replayable SW games of all time.