Star Wars' Most Ambitious Game Is Free Right Now On PC
The Force is strong with this one.
There have been dozens of Star Wars games over the decades, but not a single one is as fascinating as Knights of the Old Republic 2. The first KOTOR was one of the most wildly different Star Wars entries the series had ever seen, introducing a brand new era to the legendary universe and yet, somehow, the sequel was even more ambitious. Obsidian Entertainment’s take on Star Wars is one of the most thematically unique stories the series has ever seen, diving into the complex morality of Jedi, Sith, and the Force itself. It’s a bold entry that’s also wracked by a notoriously rushed development cycle and cut content. Knights of the Old Republic 2 is a messy, ambitious, and fascinating Star Wars game that every fan needs to play, and you can even get it for free as part of Prime Day through the Amazon Games App.
Knights of the Old Republic 2 is, of course, set in the Old Republic, an era of Star Wars that typically hasn’t been regarded as official canon, both before and after the Disney purchase. Taking place roughly 4000 years before the Prequels, the Old Republic is a wholly self-contained era, and KOTOR 2 directly follows up on the events of the first game, set five years later.
KOTOR 2 is another story about Jedi and Sith, but it raises big questions about morality and the nature of the Force itself.
You play as a former Jedi Knight exiled from the Order and forcibly cut off from your connection to the Force by the Jedi Council. Initially, Knights of the Old Republic 2 keeps the reason for this a secret, but the pieces of the puzzle are slowly revealed and largely revolve around your character’s special connection to the Force. We won’t say more than that, as it would involve some pretty hefty spoilers.
Even from just that initial setup, however, it’s abundantly clear that Knights of the Old Republic 2 wants to do things differently. The game isn’t afraid to ask big questions that most Star Wars stories won’t even touch. This is a story about Jedi and Sith, but not in the way you might expect. Everything in KOTOR 2 is painted in shades of grey. The narrative is much more about exploring the nature of the Force itself — how the ethereal energy molds people’s lives and the universe itself.
Knights of the Old Republic 2 has fantastic storytelling and characters, especially when it comes to your main party, which may have quite honestly one of the greatest characters ever created for Star Wars. Kreia is a strange old woman you meet early on in KOTOR 2, and your character immediately has a bizarre link with her through The Force. Whenever you or Kreia are injured, that injury also happens to the other person, but it simultaneously gives you both unique powers and insight.
Through this connection, Knights of the Old Republic 2 explores Force users in an interesting way, freeing the concept from the binary of Jedi and Sith. That idea then directly plays into the actual Jedi and Sith characters, adding dynamic moral complexity to both groups. Beyond Kreia, every other party member plays into those overall themes masterfully. Bao-Dur is a Zabrakian tech wizard who bears deep scars, both literally and figuratively. Go-To is an interrogation droid piloted by the most notorious crime lord in the galaxy so he can keep an eye on you. And Atton Rand is the smarmy smuggler who has two divergent plotlines, either becoming a cold-blooded murderer or an upstanding Jedi.
Kreia remains one of the most dynamic and compelling characters Star Wars, as a whole, has ever seen.
The way each of these characters ties into that big theme of moral complexity is astounding, and it’s fascinating to see a Star Wars story take this approach. That’s easily the game’s biggest strength: the fact that it doesn’t get bogged down by the age-old good versus evil approach.
Story is obviously where Knights of the Old Republic 2 really shines, but it’s a deep RPG with plenty of satisfying systems. The gameplay is essentially lifted right from the first game, with a few additions and changes. Combat is semi-real-time and essentially similar to something like Dragon Age or the first two Baldur’s Gate games. Character creation is a massive part of the experience, really letting you lean into that Star Wars fantasy of being an intrepid galactic explorer. At the same time, you get a wide array of Lightsaber forms and Force powers to use, with new options opening up based on your affinity for the Dark Side or Light Side.
KOTOR 2 also manages to nail one of the most important parts of any Star Wars game: a diverse universe filled with interesting people and planets. From the crime-ridden smuggler’s paradise of Nar Shadaa to the luscious farmland of Dantooine, Knights of the Old Republic 2 has incredibly rich locations to explore. Each area is also filled with side quests and discoveries to find.
KOTOR 2’s combat has a lot of depth, allowing for a robust suite of different builds and tactics.
Unfortunately, there is one major downside to Knights of the Old Republic 2. As we mentioned before, the game suffered an intensely rushed development cycle that resulted in quite a bit of cut content, especially in the final act. As great as KOTOR 2 is, the end of the game comes quite suddenly and genuinely makes it feel like there’s a whole epilogue missing — mostly because there is.
On top of that, there’s quite a bit of dialogue that was axed across the game. If you’re playing on PC, there are some intrepid fans that have restored huge swathes of all this with the Restored Content Mod, and it’s absolutely worth using. But whether you play with the mod or not, the journey of Knights of the Old Republic 2 is still an unforgettable one. There are some incredible questions raised by the game, questions that Star Wars at large should honestly tackle more. If you want a story that asks why everyone treats the Force with such reverence (and if that’s dangerous) then KOTOR 2 is the game for you.
