STAR WARS™ Dark Forces (Classic, 1995)

I know some people who refer to this as “that one in the series that doesn't let you use a lightsaber”. And this is of course an entirely accurate assessment. With that said it is still worth going back to. In fact by the time I finally got a chance to play it I had played the three sequels and Mysteries of the Sith. You'll enjoy this once you accept the fact that it doesn't in fact not let you use a lightsaber or Force Powers, and place it in its correct context. This was a time where there were a wealth of first person shooters, a lot of them reveled in being offensive, really violent, provocative in subject matter and such. We got a lot of great games out of this trend. This one does not try to do that same thing; rather it is a bit of Star Wars Expanded Universe, taking a character who I understand was already appearing in other media, letting you play as him and allowing you to take on waves of Stormtroopers. It's very natural that this subgenre started with allowing the player to gun down 1940s Nazis and later we got this game where you take on space Nazis. The story is quite good, I found myself determined to experience the entirety of it despite knowing significant chunks of it already. The shooting itself is quite satisfying and you get to use guns from the Star Wars universe. At this point Kyle Katarn is very much Han Solo; he becomes a mix of that and Luke Skywalker in the sequels. This is of course very effective for appealing to fans and also casuals, since it's undeniable Han Solo is a lovable rogue. This is far from the first Star Wars game or even the first really beloved one but one can't claim that all of them got four main entries and one expansion pack. The puzzles are pretty good. Level of challenge is reasonable. There’re parts that really put you through the ringer but it's not obnoxious and frustrating. This truly does feel like you're in the Star Wars universe. Not as much as the sequels but considering technical limitations? Impressive.

Niezwykle wciągająca. Jest Moc. Choć wysoki poziom trudności i brak zapisu rozgrywki w dowolnym momencie sprawiają, że to przygoda dla cierpliwych graczy.

Excellent sound design and atmosphere with a fairly decent story. It’s a lot of fun running through a level taking stormtroopers down with the familiar sounds and soundtrack that makes Star Wars great. However, the game is mired by awful controls and poor level design. Where Doom excels in fluid controls and sensible level design, Dark Forces struggles with clunky controls that can make moving and shooting frustrating. Level design is often labyrinthine and confusing, resulting in a lot of wandering and backtracking. If you have the patience though, it’s worth playing to experience Doom in the Star Wars setting.

This game is from an era when Lucas Arts actually made games. You know before the mouse destroyed it. No micro transactions here just good old game play. The scope and level design of this game is massive and convincing. Just watch the ledges on the ice levels ahhhhhh. I love this game I have played it for years ever since it's debut on the old psone. Yeah Graphics are dos so what do you expect? The music and pacing as well as the atmosphere will let you feel like you are in the non mouse universe. 5/5 any less and you are a child.

I had a lot of fun with this game as a kid. For its time it was quite good. playing it definitely reminds us on how much shooters have changed. I had fun. However, the controls are absolutely atrocious, 3 on the numpad look Down!? No strafe, and X to Jump with C to crouch!? How, how did I play this game as a kid? Maybe it works better with a joystick, I don't know I don't have a joystick, and haven't used one since the 90's. Objectively a 2 star game, I'm giving it 3 for the memories.