Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

59%
Game Brain Score Based on 4,525 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • graphics
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Game Cover
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In "Star Wars: The Force Unleashed," Darth Vader's "Secret Apprentice" becomes playable in the time period between "Episode III" and "Episode IV." Unleash powerful Force abilities and combos on enemies while exploring familiar and new planets in the Star Wars galaxy. Fulfill Darth Vader's orders and defeat Jedi Masters to complete your mission.

  • iPad
  • iPhone
  • Mac OS
  • Nintendo Switch
  • PC
  • Phone
  • Windows
  • Gog Com
  • Mobile Platform
  • Play​Station
  • Play​station 2
  • Play​station 3
  • PSP
  • Wii
  • Xbox
  • Xbox 360
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

59%
Audience ScoreBased on 4,525 reviews
story673 positive mentions
stability195 negative mentions
  • Engaging story that expands the Star Wars lore, focusing on Darth Vader's secret apprentice, Starkiller.
  • Satisfying combat mechanics that allow players to unleash powerful Force abilities and perform flashy lightsaber combos.
  • Nostalgic experience for fans, with memorable characters and iconic moments from the Star Wars universe.
  • Poorly optimized PC port with numerous bugs, including audio issues and crashes, making gameplay frustrating.
  • Clunky controls and a frustrating targeting system that can lead to repeated deaths and tedious gameplay.
  • Certain levels, particularly the Star Destroyer mission, are considered overly difficult and poorly designed.
  • story1,642 mentions

    The story of "Star Wars: The Force Unleashed" is generally praised for its engaging narrative that explores the journey of Darth Vader's secret apprentice, Starkiller, and his role in the formation of the Rebel Alliance. While some players appreciate the depth and twists in the plot, others criticize it for being predictable or lacking in character development. Overall, the game is seen as a compelling addition to the Star Wars lore, despite its gameplay flaws and the fact that it is no longer considered canon.

    • “The story is really cool and my favorite story of the origin of the rebellion.”
    • “The game stands out for its compelling story, engaging gameplay mechanics, and the thrill of wielding the force in ways that are both spectacular and satisfying.”
    • “The story also ties seamlessly into the broader Star Wars lore, providing a fresh perspective on the events between Episode III and Episode IV.”
    • “The story bounces around everywhere and doesn't play nice with the established timeline, even before Disney bought the franchise.”
    • “This character, story, and plot are the work of a writing team that wanted to create the most convoluted power fantasy for ultimate Star Wars geeks that wanted to be one of the most powerful Force-users in the entire franchise, bordering on juvenile and asinine.”
    • “The story is nothing special; the concept is pretty good, but there's no revolutionary script or anything. It is interesting to see Starkiller going from Sith to Jedi and the inner conflict he goes through, but the game never works upon his doubt all that much.”
  • gameplay704 mentions

    The gameplay of "Star Wars: The Force Unleashed" is a mixed bag, with many players praising its engaging force mechanics and combat that allows for a sense of power, but criticizing its clunky controls, repetitive gameplay, and technical issues. While the game offers fun moments and a compelling story, it suffers from outdated mechanics and frustrating boss fights that can detract from the overall experience. Overall, it remains a nostalgic title for fans, but its gameplay may not hold up well against modern standards.

    • “The game stands out for its compelling story, engaging gameplay mechanics, and the thrill of wielding the force in ways that are both spectacular and satisfying.”
    • “The gameplay in 'The Force Unleashed' is particularly noteworthy for its innovative use of force powers, which are both visually impressive and satisfying to use.”
    • “The gameplay is fun and has some amazing boss fights; the plethora of skills and force powers make the game very enjoyable.”
    • “The gameplay may have been novel when it first released and the controls may have felt better than games before it, but this game's control, even with a controller, handles like hot trash.”
    • “There's no sugar coating it: the game's gameplay is so rough and unfair you're 100% going to get frustrated and start cursing.”
    • “The gameplay loop is boring, the 'minigames' they throw in are notoriously awful, and it has very little room for expression.”
  • graphics474 mentions

    The graphics of "Star Wars: The Force Unleashed" have received mixed reviews, with many players noting that while they were impressive for their time (2008-2009), they have not aged well by modern standards. Some players appreciate the visual detail and vibrant environments, while others criticize the lack of graphical options, bugs, and a dated aesthetic that detracts from the overall experience. Overall, the game is seen as visually decent for its era, but many recommend managing expectations regarding its graphical fidelity.

    • “The game's graphics, for its time, are impressive, with detailed character models and vibrant settings that bring the environments to life.”
    • “Visually, the Force Unleashed Ultimate Sith Edition impresses with its stunning graphics and attention to detail.”
    • “The graphics hold up really well, especially at 4K.”
    • “The graphics are extremely detailed and crystal clear!”
    • “The graphics are dated, the story is very cliche and filled with tropes, and it's also very buggy.”
    • “The graphics have not aged well but considering the age of the game it does come with the territory so I won't give it a rank to be fair to both the game.”
  • stability198 mentions

    The stability of the game has been widely criticized, with numerous users reporting a plethora of bugs, glitches, and crashes that significantly hinder gameplay. Many describe it as one of the worst PC ports, plagued by issues such as unresponsive controls, audio problems, and frame rate limitations, making it nearly unplayable at times. While some players still find enjoyment in the game despite these flaws, the overall consensus is that the port is poorly optimized and requires substantial fixes to be truly enjoyable.

    • “Still holds up now and even runs great on the Steam Deck.”
    • “Runs great on the Deck.”
    • “Runs great on my laptop.”
    • “Great story but this might be the worst PC port of all time, janky and annoying and filled with glitches and bugs that straight up make the game unplayable in certain levels.”
    • “Super buggy and broken, had to reset the game ten times in the final fight and had to restart my computer too, just get it on the old consoles cause that version is decent this one is not at all decent.”
    • “This game is a buggy mess.”
  • music112 mentions

    The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many praising the iconic Star Wars soundtrack and its orchestral quality, while others criticize significant audio issues, including music cutting out, poor audio balancing, and sound effects failing to play. Although some players enjoyed the nostalgic elements and original compositions, technical glitches detracted from the overall experience, leading to frustration with the audio quality. Overall, while the soundtrack is appreciated, the execution suffers from numerous bugs that hinder immersion.

    • “The story is fantastic and the music is almost as good as the movies.”
    • “The soundtrack is an amalgamation of musical scores from the original Star Wars saga and original compositions from Mark Griskey and Jesse Harlin.”
    • “Music fits in well with what you'd expect from the franchise, and the ambiance makes the worlds feel alive.”
    • “Sounds and soundtrack come and go whenever; audio balancing is a joke. Even when you try to adjust the volume, the game changes it up during cutscenes.”
    • “The background music isn't doing the game any favors either, and the default audio level for the background music is oddly very low.”
    • “On the last two missions, the audio mixing is glitched; volumes go down and often cut randomly, the soundtrack disappears. It has a third-party fix, but come on, paying for a defective product isn't nice.”
  • optimization74 mentions

    The game's optimization has been widely criticized, with many users reporting poor performance, frequent crashes, and a lack of visual and control options, particularly for PC players. It is often described as a poorly executed console port, capped at 30 fps, and not well-suited for keyboard and mouse controls. While some players have experienced smoother performance on certain systems, the overall consensus is that the game is unoptimized and frustrating to play on PC.

    • “I've experienced almost no major bugs or performance issues in my time playing it, on a Windows 10 x64 system.”
    • “This game is still one of my favorites of all time, and it's optimized far better than the sequel.”
    • “Obviously I can't speak for the relative performance of the Mac/Linux versions, but the Windows version runs just peachy, and the framerate is buttery smooth.”
    • “This PC version, however, I noticed glitches, bugs, and crashing galore, meaning it clearly wasn't optimized for PC like any console port. It causes you to wonder if the devs even know what porting is, and my PC is more than adequate to run a game that is over 15 years old.”
    • “I tried a bunch of different fixes, but the game is so poorly optimized I could not stand it.”
    • “The game itself is great, but it is poorly optimized as a PC game.”
  • replayability51 mentions

    The game exhibits a mixed level of replayability, with many players appreciating the multiple difficulty levels, unlockable abilities, and customization options that encourage revisiting the game. However, some reviewers note that the short length and repetitive cutscenes can diminish the overall replay value, leading to a divide in opinions on its long-term engagement. Overall, while it offers enjoyable gameplay and collectibles, the replayability may not be sufficient for all players.

    • “The game offers significant replay value, thanks to its multiple difficulty levels and the ability to unlock new abilities and costumes.”
    • “Overall, though, it is a fantastic game with hours of replay value trying to collect all of the holocrons and attempting to beat the game on harder difficulties.”
    • “In terms of gameplay, however, the game is extremely entertaining, and thanks to the game's commendable difficulty curve, from apprentice to sith master, the game sports an absolute ton of replayability, from alternative endings, to new lightsaber colors, to new unlockable costumes and entirely new characters.”
    • “On a first playthrough, this isn’t that much of a problem, but it really affects the game’s replayability if you have to sit through the same cutscenes every single time.”
    • “The replay value is nil; the game does in fact have two different endings, but both of them are equally dissatisfying.”
    • “Zero replayability.”
  • grinding45 mentions

    The grinding aspect of the game is widely criticized for being frustrating and tedious, with repetitive enemy encounters and overly difficult boss fights that detract from the overall experience. Many players find certain sequences, particularly the star destroyer event, to be particularly exasperating, leading to a sense of monotony and frustration throughout gameplay. While some enjoy the core mechanics, the general consensus is that the game suffers from a lack of engaging design, making it feel like a chore at times.

    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “A bit grindy sometimes.”
    • “Frustrating and tedious for far too much of the game.”
    • “The centerpiece of the game, what should make you feel like the ultimate badass force-user, bringing down the star destroyer on Raxus Prime is the most tedious and frustrating event in the game, which is just a straight-up shame!”
    • “The combat, which should be the selling point, is clunky where the transition between enemies or groups of enemies becomes tedious with the bad auto-targeting system and no way to change your target other than sway the camera in hope to get locked on the right one.”
  • humor34 mentions

    The humor in the game is widely appreciated, with players finding the physics engine and combat mechanics to be sources of endless amusement, such as throwing enemies off ledges and witnessing their exaggerated reactions. Many reviews highlight the game's unintentionally funny moments and charmingly absurd story, which contribute to its appeal, even if the gameplay and graphics have aged poorly. Overall, the game is described as a hilariously entertaining experience, often enjoyed more when approached with a lighthearted mindset.

    • “The physics engine seems to have a wicked sense of humor, sending enemies flying off cliffs or getting impaled on conveniently placed spikes.”
    • “The story is charming and hilariously stupid, in a way that only bad fanfiction can be, and that makes it all the more enjoyable.”
    • “It's hilarious every time and makes up about a third of why I like this game (try throwing enemies directly up), the other two thirds being the art direction and the sheer audiovisual authenticity of the whole experience.”
  • atmosphere22 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is generally praised for its strong Star Wars ambiance, with well-designed levels that enhance the experience, particularly in iconic locations like the Jedi Temple. However, some players noted inconsistencies, such as a lackluster final level and moments of blandness in certain areas. Overall, while the atmosphere contributes positively to the game's appeal, technical issues and repetitive environments detract from the experience for some players.

    • “I think the game creates a really strong Star Wars atmosphere.”
    • “The Jedi Temple was just really cool and atmospheric.”
    • “This is one of those games where it's the atmosphere that wins it for me.”
    • “The game felt lifeless, the atmosphere was bland, and the combat was lackluster.”
    • “Not to mention the sound problems this game has, sometimes music for a level will outright disappear, creating this awkward atmosphere of you just beating people with your glowing stick while they shoot at you; if not drown out character dialogue in gameplay, and miss out on important details.”
    • “Level one is fairly bland, with the same grey 'inside a space station' look that appears in every piece of Star Wars media to exist, but from there you’re off to a toxic junkyard planet with bits of metal and debris clogging up the atmosphere and a jungle world where all the plants are phallic and want to kill you.”
  • character development13 mentions

    Character development in the game receives mixed reviews; while some players find it engaging and well-integrated into the story, others criticize it for being minimal and overshadowed by combat. Notably, the character design and lore are praised, but there are complaints about the reduction of dialogue and depth for certain characters in newer versions. Overall, the game offers a decent level of character development that appeals to both Star Wars fans and newcomers, though it may not reach the narrative heights of other titles in the genre.

    • “The character development is noteworthy, and I found myself genuinely invested in Starkiller's journey.”
    • “The story is also a masterclass on character development, interpersonal dynamics, writing, and voice acting.”
    • “Great game for any Star Wars fans to experience with interesting character developments, important background stories that are linked to the movie series, and an overall fun game for non-Star Wars fans.”
    • “There’s almost no character development, most of the game is just fighting enemies, with just a few cutscenes setting the background for the tasks to be done.”
    • “He's Anakin Skywalker, but with a shaved head, and less character development.”
    • “A significant portion of all character development (however minor it was) has been cut too; for example, when you meet Kazdan Paratus in the earlier version, he made it clear why he was there, his declining mental state, and had much more to say, while in this version his dialogue was reduced to maybe three lines, making him little more than another faceless nothing to kill.”
  • emotional10 mentions

    The emotional aspect of the game is highly polarized, with some players finding it to be a deeply engaging story filled with betrayal and heartbreak that connects them to the characters, while others criticize it for lacking nuance and emotional weight, describing certain moments as rushed. Additionally, technical issues and graphical shortcomings detract from the overall experience, leading to frustration and a sense of disconnection.

    • “Truly an emotional story full of betrayal and heartbreak that really connects you with the characters.”
    • “The emotional spectrum while playing ranges from 'WTF are you serious?' to 'Bravo, can I get a curtain call?'”
    • “This was great, this made me feel like a force user.”
  • monetization5 mentions

    The monetization aspect of the game has received negative feedback, with users expressing concerns about in-game purchases being overly expensive and labeling the game as a cash grab. While some cosmetic customization options are available without microtransactions, the overall sentiment suggests dissatisfaction with the value provided and a lack of meaningful content in the sequel.

    • “Nice outfits and cosmetic customization that are unlocked, not purchased via microtransactions.”
    • “But in-game purchases will drain your wallet.”
    • “Thought this would just be another cash grab from Lucas.”
    • “SW-FU2, the sequel, adds nothing of value to this story and feels more like a cash grab.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

60% average critic score

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Play time

10hMedian play time
22hAverage play time
8hMain story
17hCompletionist
8-20hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 17 analyzed playthroughs

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