Nearly 17 years ago, LucasArts, Krome Studios, and n-Space released one of the most beloved Star Wars games of all time, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. A third-person, hack-and-slash game similar in gameplay to Santa Monica Studio’s God of War series, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed was one of the last major Star Wars games developed and released by LucasArts before Disney acquired the Star Wars property in 2012. With the third-person Star Wars Jedi series in between games currently, Star Wars Legends and Disney canon fans alike should start Force Unleashed over again this year to get a glimpse at what the Star Wars universe was like in the 2000s and discover what made players fall in love with this game in the first place.
Star Wars Hunters’ Shutdown Shouldn’t Be the End-All Be-All for One Type of Game
Although Star Wars: Hunters wasn't able to find an audience, its failure doesn't necessarily mean that a Star Wars hero shooter can't be successful.
The Story of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Explained
Set initially a few months after Star Wars: Episode 3 Revenge of the Sith and later a few years before Star Wars: Episode 4 A New Hope, Force Unleashed follows the traumatic journey of Darth Vader’s secret apprentice Starkiller, otherwise known as Galen Marek. Taken from his Jedi father by Vader in the wake of Order 66, Marek was trained as a Sith assassin to kill the remaining survivors and eventually join his master in killing Emperor Palpatine and usurping his throne. Once his training is complete as a young adult, Marek, his training droid PROXY, and his pilot Juno Eclipse travel to Nar Shaddaa to assassinate Jedi General Rahm Kota.
The Jedi is seemingly killed and Vader later sends Marek to kill the crazed Jedi Master Kazdan Paratus and the wise Jedi Master Shaak Ti. Marek is successful but betrayed and seemingly killed by Vader after Palpatine discovers Starkiller’s existence. Vader secretly repairs Marek and orders him to unite the Emperor’s enemies to distract him, allowing the Sith Lord and apprentice the chance to slay Palpatine. From here, Marek begins the foundations of the Rebel Alliance and recruits Kota, Bail and Leia Organa, Mon Mothma, and Garm Bel Iblis to his cause. Just as rebellion is officially declared on Corellia, Vader attacks and captures the rebels, revealing that he only used Marek to weed out the Galactic Empire’s enemies for the Emperor.
The Many Endings of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Marek survives Vader’s attack and travels to the incomplete first Death Star with Eclipse to rescue Kota and the other rebel leaders. After first confronting Vader, the player has a choice to either attack Palpatine or to kill the fallen Jedi Knight. Should players attack Palpatine, Marek will sacrifice his life to free the rebels, allowing for the Galactic Civil War to begin, leading into the events of 2010’s Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2.
If players kill Vader, the rebel leaders will die and Marek will be badly wounded, becoming another cybernetic servant to the Emperor. This dark side ending is continued in two DLCs set at the beginning of A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back, wherein Lord Starkiller kills Boba Fett and Obi-Wan Kenobi on Tatooine and recruits Luke Skywalker as his own secret apprentice on Hoth.
Star Wars Fans Should Keep an Eye on April 19
Although Star Wars Day 2025 is fast-approaching, there's another, earlier date that should be of interest for fans of the franchise: April 19.
The Alternate Versions of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
The Force Unleashed’s core story is told across all versions of the game, but a few plot points are exclusive to certain versions of the game. For example, the Lord Starkiller DLCs are exclusive to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game. Additionally, the Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation Portable versions of the game feature several levels, story beats, characters, and enemies not seen in the PS3 or 360 versions.
One major difference between the two versions is that the Wii, PS2, and PS3 versions feature multiple levels at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant wherein Marek is forced to fight holographic simulations of ancient Sith Lords, including Darth Desolous and Darth Phobos. A DLC level of Coruscant is featured on the PS3 and 360 versions, but it does not feature the ancient Sith.
All versions of The Force Unleashed make several references to the Star Wars Legends expanded universe and cut versions of the theatrical films. Star Wars book fans were especially excited to see Garm Bel Iblis appear in the game as he was first created for the long-celebrated Thrawn trilogy of novels written by Timothy Zahn in the early 1990s. While Iblis only appears in a couple of scenes on the PS3 and 360 versions, a whole level is dedicated to his recruitment on Cloud City on the Wii, PS2, and PS3 versions. Here, Marek fights a Gungan bounty hunter, an army of Mandalorians, and a Basilisk war droid first seen in the 1995 Dark Horse comics series Tales of the Jedi.
More Legends References and Version Differences in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Some appearances in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed reference alternate scenes from the Star Wars films and enemies from other Star Wars games. For example, Shaak Ti’s appearance in the game and Order 66 survival is a reference to her many confusing deaths initially set to appear in Revenge of the Sith. Starkiller’s title itself is a reference to Luke Skywalker’s original surname used in early drafts of the first Star Wars film. Force Unleashed’s towering Imperial Purge Trooper droids were created to be early prototypes of Dark Troopers first seen in the 1995 FPS Star Wars: Dark Forces, with the Purge Trooper specifically appearing similar to the Phase III Dark Trooper. The Wii version of Force Unleashed even included a PVP multiplayer mode featuring playable characters from Legends such as Mara Jade and Asajj Ventress.
Is Star Wars Battlefront 2 (2017) Worth Playing in 2025?
It's been nearly eight years since DICE delivered one of the most controversial Star Wars games of all time, but some may still be looking to play it.
The Impact and Legacy of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
By September 2008, the Star Wars universe was seemingly complete for many fans as George Lucas completed the original film saga with Revenge of the Sith in 2005. While the Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated film and series were being released, many fans at the time were opposed to The Clone Wars as they saw it as too childish and contradictory to pre-established media set in between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. In contrast, Force Unleashed was seen as a celebration of all Star Wars media released up to that point, featuring characters, locations, or references to prior books, comics, games, and more.
For many fans, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed was seen as the dark story many wanted to be told between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. Galen Marek’s dark journey from a Sith apprentice to a redeemed Jedi is so beloved that Disney writers and producers have considered reintroducing him to modern canon as an Imperial Inquisitor, but he is often regarded as too powerful for modern Star Wars stories. While Force Unleashed 2 received mixed reviews, the original Force Unleashed still stands the test of time as a fantastic Star Wars game and story, no matter the continuity.
An enhanced remaster of the Wii version of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed was initially released for the Nintendo Switch in 2022 and later included as one of seven games in 2023's Star Wars: Heritage Pack.
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 64 /100 Critics Rec: 29%
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Hack and Slash
