Jedi: Fallen Order - Impressions

Originally Posted by Morrandir
So do I understand this correctly? If I want to meditate/save all enemies in the area respawn?

Yes, exactly like dark souls.

I put in an hour. Combat is solid. A lot of platforming, running on walls (prince of Persia style)

IT seems to be a mixture of dark souls ( not nearly as punishing or hard though), tomb raider and assassins creed.

Although not being a star wars fan the setting could be better ( better means fantasy my opinion of course)

I assume the main characters are in the star wars movies?

Oh, the little droid you get is awesome. I want one IRL.

Originally Posted by JDR13
Ugh…please tell me that's not the case. If it is, my interest just went down a notch.

Originally Posted by Morrandir
So do I understand this correctly? If I want to meditate/save all enemies in the area respawn?

Yes they repop , exactly like DS However, the mob count per area is lot less than DS and the combat is lot easier too.

Originally Posted by JDR13
Ugh…please tell me that's not the case. If it is, my interest just went down a notch.

Ok, it's a little different. On save points you can meditate which means that the game is saved and you will be respawned there after being killed by an enemy. (If you die by falling down somewhere you immediately reststart where you fell.)
If you meditate and rest (restoring health and healing units) the enemies will respawn.

But still the save points system is awful. There aren't many save points and you need to replay parts.

Originally Posted by lostforever
Yes they repop , exactly like DS

Why on earth are the DS games that popular then? Is everybody a masochist out there?

nvm, noticed belatedly that what I was going to say has already been addressed

Im actually very surprised EA had balls to approve this design. Its not really mainstream. Must have happened by some corporate mistake. Probably nobody noticed this is developed and when they did it was too late to change it or cancel.

I put 3 hours into it. And Im not yet sure how much I like it. Being SW fan, I like that aspect of course. But controls doesnt feel exactly right somehow. Maybe I will try controller for a while. Also Im not sure about quality of level design (which is usual neck-breaker in souls-like games). But I didnt play enough yet.

Originally Posted by Morrandir
Ok, it's a little different. On save points you can meditate which means that the game is saved and you will be respawned there after being killed by an enemy. (If you die by falling down somewhere you immediately reststart where you fell.)
If you meditate and rest (restoring health and healing units) the enemies will respawn.

But still the save points system is awful. There aren't many save points and you need to replay parts.

I've only played an hour and already found 4. I'd say they are very numerous. Also I've unlocked a shortcut that leads me back to one. I haven't had to replay anything. Maybe it's just that I'm used to it from so much dark souls.

Originally Posted by Morrandir
Why on earth are the DS games that popular then? Is everybody a masochist out there?

No, It's really not that big a deal ( Obviously subjective) Dark souls combat is fast so killing enemies goes very quickly. Also since the enemies are all in the same place they are easily avoided if you don't want to fight them. Then they're are the shortcuts which once found often make gettin back to a bonfire fast and easy.

I've bought it out of curiosity, and I've refunded it. Will probably be getting Death Stranding or something else instead. I'm not invested in it being a star wars game at all. I'm not a fan of the series.

It's decent enough and seem like a bit of fun gameplay-wise, but it's also very derivative of Uncharted, or Tomb Raider. But somehow a lot more janky than those two.

But ultimately, my issue is that it's not worth the 60 euros. And since I'm not particularly interested in playing it right now, I'll wait for a deep sale on it.

I think all of the above in combination just does not make it a full price title for me. I'd rather support a game that's taking a lot more risks, like Death Stranding. Even though I may not ultimately like it. Not like there's anything else on the near horizon.

Originally Posted by Andrew23
Im actually very surprised EA had balls to approve this design. Its not really mainstream. Must have happened by some corporate mistake. Probably nobody noticed this is developed and when they did it was too late to change it or cancel.

I put 3 hours into it. And Im not yet sure how much I like it. Being SW fan, I like that aspect of course. But controls doesnt feel exactly right somehow. Maybe I will try controller for a while. Also Im not sure about quality of level design (which is usual neck-breaker in souls-like games). But I didnt play enough yet.

So, M&K is bad? I just grabbed my controller to play quick but was thinking of starting over with M&K as that's my preferred way to play.

Originally Posted by sakichop
So, M&K is bad? I just grabbed my controller to play quick but was thinking of starting over with M&K as that's my preferred way to play.

Yeah, somehow I also felt K&M mappings were not the best. Attacking and blocking with your lightsaber seems well enough, but dodging is mapped to Z, and the first force ability is 1. And it felt wonky. Not sure if it's the mapping, or the controls themselves. But it didn't feel that "tight". Anyways, maybe I'm just not feeling it with this one.

Originally Posted by danutz_plusplus
Yeah, somehow I also felt K&M mappings were not the best. Attacking and blocking with your lightsaber seems well enough, but dodging is mapped to Z, and the first force ability is 1. And it felt wonky. Not sure if it's the mapping, or the controls themselves. But it didn't feel that "tight". Anyways, maybe I'm just not feeling it with this one.

Did you try remapping them to something that was more comfortable for you?

Originally Posted by danutz_plusplus
Yeah, somehow I also felt K&M mappings were not the best. Attacking and blocking with your lightsaber seems well enough, but dodging is mapped to Z, and the first force ability is 1. And it felt wonky. Not sure if it's the mapping, or the controls themselves. But it didn't feel that "tight". Anyways, maybe I'm just not feeling it with this one.

Hmm, maybe I'll just stick to the controller. I did have to remap it though. I put attack on R1 and slow ability on square. Basically just swapping them. R1 just feel righ tfor attack.

I'm having fun with it but I'd agree with your earlier post that it's probably not worth $60. ( probably not a fair statement though since I've only played an hour.) It's included with my EA subscription though so I'll keep playing.

Originally Posted by JDR13
Did you try remapping them to something that was more comfortable for you?

That's the thing, I'm usually ok with that sort of mapping. Maybe except for the Z, as it's way too behind wasd. But I suspect my lack of enthusiasm might have also biased me. It's just not worth full price imo, I guess mainly because I'm not a Star Wars fan. I just don't get off on any of the world/mythos. Haven't seen any of the rebooted movies. Except for Rogue One. So my interest was minimal to start with. That couple with the jank in controls, and the attempts to mimick Uncharted/Tomb Raider made it underwhelming for me. I'm sure it's a fine game for under 30$.

Originally Posted by JDR13
Did you try remapping them to something that was more comfortable for you?

As he said, the problem isn’t so much the actual controls but how they FEEL. Right from the start it is *very* clear that controller is the preferred control scheme, but you ‘can’ play with M&K. But you still feel like you are playing something like a ‘passthrough’ - where your K&M inputs are mapped to controller equivalents before being sent to the game.

So far I *like it* but don’t *love it* … and the non-PC controls and save point system are the main reasons. Has a solid Star Wars feel, and combat is ok … probably the best lightsaber combat in 16 years … but NOT as good as Jedi Knight II or Jedi Academy. (But better than Farce Unleashed)

I haven't played with M&K to compare but I'd say the combat is just a bit sluggish even with a controller. One other thing that I can't seem to get use to is pressing down the left analog stick to sprint. For what ever reason it just doesn't feel right for me and often doesn't work, especially when in a fight and trying to sprint strafe to the side of an enemy.

Seems to me the game was set up to block or parry and riposte, at least that's what's been most effective for me. The dodge just isn't fast or long enough to get enough separation and the roll is so slow I've pretty much abandoned it.

I got wiped a few times by the giant frog boss in the first area. Trying to dodge or roll away was near impossible ( it seems anyway) once I decided to just parry and riposte and only dodge was he turned red the fight was pretty easy.

The game likes to surprise you with enemies so if you're walking by holes in the ground or around corners it's a good idea to hold block.

Exploring is decent, lots of stuff to find and shortcuts to unlock. A lot of vertical exploration. Almost too much platforming for my taste but not a deal breaker.

It's far from perfect but not a terrible effort. Some tweaks here and there and it could be a really good game.

Oh and I'm 4 hours in now.

Originally Posted by sakichop
One other thing that I can't seem to get use to is pressing down the left analog stick to sprint. For what ever reason it just doesn't feel right for me and often doesn't work, especially when in a fight and trying to sprint strafe to the side of an enemy.

Yeah, that sounds like a poor design decision. They should have mapped sprint to one of the triggers.

I was on the fence about getting this, but I'm going to wait now.

Definitely better with controller. Just like Dark Souls 3 as per my experience. I would just wish to use Steam controller. But it seems game doesnt recognize it. Or it would require to buy game via Steam. Or I just dodnt figure it out. Didnt invest much effort yet, so maybe there will be some solution which Im yet unaware. For me its worth the effort because playing DS3 and Sekiro with Steam controller was such delight really. Also helped From Software put together Steam controller profile by themself, perfectly working without any setting needed

I managed to play with Steam controller having the game on Origin. You need to include the game in your Steam library as external game. Then configure controller via big picture mode. Somewhere there's an option to “force“ something. (I'm not on my PC right now.)* After enabling this it worked out for me.

I'd like to hear how other play this game with the Steam controller. It's my first time with this controller and I'm having quite a hard time. I'm using the stick for movement and the right pad for camera rotation. But that's just too slow in combat. It worked much better on similar games (Tomb Raider) with my old controller which had two sticks.

* edit: The option is Manage Shortcut -> Controller Options -> Steam Input Per-Game Setting -> Forced On

Originally Posted by Morrandir
Why on earth are the DS games that popular then? Is everybody a masochist out there?

It creates tension. In DS when you see a bonfire, its huge relieve! Its very clever mechanic in that in both gamely and lore tied into. You are in this dark, dire world which is full of danger and you see this bonfire at the distance and you give you relive and hope! So you being to run towards it with bright smile in your face but low and behold some fucker, who was hiding, pop in front of you and kill you, so close yet so far away! This is a classic example of where game play becoming ART! This is where game art differ from other mediums such as books and movies!

And no, I don't want all my games to be DS but once in while I want this feeling which you will NEVER get in any other game which allow you to save anywhere.

But DS is "fair" in that you don't have to kill all mob. You can run pass many of them. Once you unlcok shorts cuts, you can skip whole areas. The exp you lost is recoverable ect.

I am begging to see this pattern in Fallen Order as well. I am in the second and third planet and there are plenty of shorts . There are plenty full bonfires too and you can also skip mobs etc. This game doesn't have the same tension DS as combat is easy but its pretty good so far.

Originally Posted by sakichop
So, M&K is bad? I just grabbed my controller to play quick but was thinking of starting over with M&K as that's my preferred way to play.

I sort of play with M&K. My "keyboard" is Razer Orbweaver and I use deathadder mouse. This means my mouse is till used for camera control (I hate analogy sticks on controllers) and attacks and remap the keys on Orbweaver which has far better and convenient key placement than standard keyboard. So I get best of both world with this setup and I have no issues. This is how I played DS3 and all other games.

I highly recommend Razer Orbweaver for PC players. Its takes best of keyboard and controller into one and you still get the precision of mouse movement and turning.