What may have started as a space-age swashbuckler inspired by Saturday morning matinee serials has become part of the cultural landscape. Star Wars-based video and role-playing games have become one of the most popular sections of this growing empire, and the gaming experts at Solitaired have compiled a shortlist of the 10 best titles available. Using a blend of inaugural sales numbers, Twitch demographics, and scores from both IGN and Metacritic, the panel has narrowed the field to these 10 contenders.
1. Star Wars: Knights of The Old Republic
Although this analog role-playing game was released 20 years ago, Knights of the Old Republic has retained its popularity due to its detailed storyline and strong character interaction. It has even inspired several spin-off games and a comic book. The game has the only 10/10 IGN rating on the shortlist and an impressive 94/100 Metacritic score.
2. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
This 2019 release focuses on the character Cal Kests as he begins a quest to revive the Jedi order. The game has the most Twitch followers on the list, with 411,000. An IGN rating of 9/10 also secures its position as the second most popular Star Wars game.
3. Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga
The irreverent but respectful LEGO series of alternative Star Wars games has produced several entries on this list. LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga boasts 62,700 Twitch followers. Its composite score from all ranking criteria is 43.3/100
4. Star Wars Battlefront II
This second installment of the Star Wars Battlefront collection was released in 2005. It quickly became a cult favorite among hardcore Star Wars fans, which led to a follow-up series a decade later. 50,700 Twitch followers and an index score of 36.8/100 justify its high ranking.
5. Star Wars: Jedi Survivor
This single-player post-apocalyptic adventure game is one of the most recent releases in the Star Wars genre, but it has already been favorably compared to Knights of the Old Republic in terms of storytelling and character development. The game ranks second on the shortlist in terms of Metacritic score, with an 85/100, and an index score of 34/100.
6. Star Wars Battlefront
Solitaired’s panel of experts ranked this 2015 video game sixth because of its impressive first-year sales of 1.5 million copies and its second-highest number of Twitch followers at 260,000. This complex multiplayer game has an IGN rating of 8/10, and a Metacritic score of 76/100, giving it an overall index score of 32/100.
7. Lego Star Wars: The Original Trilogy
At the seventh position is LEGO Star Wars 2: Original Trilogy, featuring an index score of 31.7/100. Incorporating the original A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi storylines, this collection sold over a million copies in its release date of 2011. It has the highest Metacritic score among LEGO games on the list and the lowest number of Twitch followers at 9,000.
8. Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars
The final Lego Star Wars game to appear in the top ten is LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars, based on an animated TV series. Released in 2011, it is a standalone film-based game with an overall index score of 26.9/100. It sold 3.2 million copies in its inaugural release year but 50,000 fewer Twitch followers than LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga.
9.Star Wars: Squadrons
The action-packed Starfighter game, Star Wars: Squadrons, has been declared the ninth-best Star Wars game of all time, with an index score of 12.2/100. Released in 2020, this space battle-style game sold 1.1 million copies and features a Metacritic score of 79/100 and an IGN score of 7/10.
10. Star Wars The Force Unleashed
This widely available Star Wars game featuring Darth Vader’s apprentice Starkiller finishes out the Top Ten list. The game had 1.7 million sales in its inaugural year of 2008, with a Metacritic rating of 73/100 and an IGN score of 7/10.
The Ongoing Appeal of Star Wars Video and Role-Playing Games
The Star Wars franchise continues to attract new fans with every movie, comic book, and game release. The debate still rages over which character is the most important in the story arc or the proper viewing order of the Star Wars films. Still, the appeal of Star Wars video and role-playing games remains unaffected by these passionate squabbles. For gamers who seek other adventures online, there are apps that pay you to play games.
This article was produced by Media Decision and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.
