Star Wars, particularly KoTOR, has been a lot of my mind recently. Watching the second season of the Mandalorian and playing the Jedi Knight series probably have something to do with it. And so, obviously, I decided to replay that game.
And there are s many great things about it that it's hard to know which ones to talk about. For one, it's fantastic just how quickly the magic comes back. The Endar Spire is such a strong openning, and just sell you to this particular take about the Star Wars universe instantly.
But I just wanted to say a few words about what I consider to be the best plot twist I ever experienced, anywhere. I can remember the first time I went through that moment in the Leviathan as if it had just happened. I was so shocked that I had to walk in circles around my room for a while to try to process the awesomeness and the consequences of what I had witnessed.
And replaying the game (I lost count how many times I did since then) I often find incredible just how well the game build that moment up. And in many different ways. You have moments like this for example:
That are embedded with an entire new meaning now. But you also have moments like this:
or this:
The game constantly acknowledges that there is something wrong going on, that there is something off. When Bastila get worked up when Candorous talks about running a background check on your character. The insinuations of the Jedi masters. The hints of coversations between other characters... I could go on and on.
And this is what makes the reveal so brilliant. It doesn't come out of no where. You know, playing the game for the first time, something is coming. And you're all but certain it has to do with Revan. But the game keeps you exactly where it wants you. As I've read somewhere, it plays with the idea that your character is great simply because you're the protagonist of the story, and this is the norm with games. Carth might find suspicious the Jedi order to send you after Malak, but to the player it's only obvious.
The Leviathan is just a final crescendo of this build up that reaches a level of legendary storytelling. And when the moments hit it hits hard.
I like to say KoTOR is the only game I played for the first time twice, because playing the game again with the knowledge you obtained is a completely different experience.
Just a brilliant game.
And there are s many great things about it that it's hard to know which ones to talk about. For one, it's fantastic just how quickly the magic comes back. The Endar Spire is such a strong openning, and just sell you to this particular take about the Star Wars universe instantly.
But I just wanted to say a few words about what I consider to be the best plot twist I ever experienced, anywhere. I can remember the first time I went through that moment in the Leviathan as if it had just happened. I was so shocked that I had to walk in circles around my room for a while to try to process the awesomeness and the consequences of what I had witnessed.
And replaying the game (I lost count how many times I did since then) I often find incredible just how well the game build that moment up. And in many different ways. You have moments like this for example:
That are embedded with an entire new meaning now. But you also have moments like this:
or this:
The game constantly acknowledges that there is something wrong going on, that there is something off. When Bastila get worked up when Candorous talks about running a background check on your character. The insinuations of the Jedi masters. The hints of coversations between other characters... I could go on and on.
And this is what makes the reveal so brilliant. It doesn't come out of no where. You know, playing the game for the first time, something is coming. And you're all but certain it has to do with Revan. But the game keeps you exactly where it wants you. As I've read somewhere, it plays with the idea that your character is great simply because you're the protagonist of the story, and this is the norm with games. Carth might find suspicious the Jedi order to send you after Malak, but to the player it's only obvious.
The Leviathan is just a final crescendo of this build up that reaches a level of legendary storytelling. And when the moments hit it hits hard.
I like to say KoTOR is the only game I played for the first time twice, because playing the game again with the knowledge you obtained is a completely different experience.
Just a brilliant game.
