Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Review (PS5)

The latest in a long line of free next-gen upgrades, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order plays things pretty straight. The native PS5 version of the experience is more or less the version you could play through backwards compatibility, with a few extra bells and whistles. The most obvious change is the game’s resolution, which now runs at native 4K with upgraded textures, though only at 30 frames-per-second. The 60 frames-per-second mode is tied to a 1440p resolution, which is a slight improvement from the 1200p that was added in the patch a few months back.

The only other significant change is to load times, which are massively improved. Previously, the load times could reach astronomical lengths, completely halting the flow of gameplay. The next-gen version is worth it for this alone, especially considering it’s a free upgrade. Other than a new menu option that allows you to transfer your PS4 saved data over to the new version, the game is virtually identical, which is a bit of a double-edged sword. While Fallen Order is a pretty good game, and easily the best product from the EA and Disney Star Wars partnership, the game remains janky.

On PS4, the release took the approach of being good at a great deal of things and spectacular at none, and this remains true. Each positive is balanced out by a negative. The primary antagonist is phenomenal, but she is underutilised. The game is stunning to behold, but frame hitches are common – especially on the 4K option. The combat is exhilarating, but the jumping and sliding puzzles leave a lot to be desired. The end result is an experience that is decent at just about everything, and easy to recommend. But as good as Fallen Order may be, if you look backwards in time, it’s not difficult to find superior Star Wars experiences.