Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Review

If you’re any fan of RPGs then you have at the very least heard of the 2003 BioWare title Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic  (KOTOR). Over the years it has been referenced as the best Star Wars game ever made. It was so successful at the time that Obsidian Entertainment was contracted to develop a sequel to be on store shelves just over a year after the first game’s launch. 

KOTOR has had a strong hold over Star Wars fans and RPG enthusiasts from the early 2000s. This popularity has led to KOTOR and its sequel being adapted for the Nintendo Switch, with the first game being released in November 2021 and the sequel as recently as May 2022. Back in September 2021, a full remake of the original was announced during a PlayStation showcase. However, as of this review, the fate of that remake is in question following news of trouble at developer Aspyr. There's a clear interest in this older title, so I decided to take a look back at the PC version of the first game.

The story begins as many Star Wars fans would expect; after the traditional word crawl through space that gives you a brief summary of events, we find ourselves flung into a dangerous situation aboard a cruiser that is under fire from enemy fighters. This is very reminiscent of the opening scene from 1977’s A New Hope, though our protagonist is much more combat capable than R2-D2 and C3-PO. For the first two—three hours the game keeps the guard rails on as you must escape the situation you find yourself in. But once the story progresses you have a chance to visit numerous planets throughout the galaxy at your leisure. You also get to meet more characters that can join your party. The game employs a three-person party system: you and two other companions to accompany you. These companions have their own opinions on events as well as party dialogue, which makes matching them up with different people in the party quite enjoyable as you can hear voice lines that further flesh out their personalities. There are also some situations where it is possible to kill off certain companions, though these situations are few and far between. 

Cinematic: Approach to Ahto City

If this semi-open world and party system sounds familiar, you are not wrong. KOTOR is considered the framework that started BioWare down the path towards Mass Effect (released four years after KOTOR) and Dragon Age: Origins. Much of the foundations of those later titles can be found here. Even the kind of dialogue choices you have come to expect from those series were present in this game back in 2003. Want to not help the poor refugees but instead exploit them? You can do that. Cover up the truth of a murder for political gain? Sure, why not. Choice is extremely important in RPGs, and this game allowed for some very interesting decisions on our part. 

The player's choices are not limited to dialogue and story though. Who you choose to bring with you can allow different ways to overcome problems to be available to you. Let's face it, we can’t be the best at everything. So if we come across a locked door or footlocker we really want to get inside, but our “security” skill is too low, well then it's nice to have an expert with us to make up for our shortcomings. 

While creating and levelling up your character you have five categories to consider. The first is your “class”. Are you a soldier, a scout, or a scoundrel? Your choice of class will grant you some base stats as well as abilities. The second is “attributes” which cover things like strength, dexterity, and wisdom. Next are “skills” — stuff like security, computers, and persuasion are found here. It is worth noting that your skills are affected by your attributes. If, for example, I have only one point in charisma then it will cost me two skill points to put anything in persuasion instead of one. The final two categories are “feats” and “powers”. Here you get to choose your character's abilities. Want them to be a master of force lightning? You can get the ability and upgrade it over time as you meet level prerequisites. Or maybe you want to ignore all the lightsabers and force powers and have your character focus more on accuracy and blasters in combat. It's all up to you. 

Character Menu

Speaking of combat, KOTOR uses a fast-paced turn system to govern combat actions. You can change a few settings in the menu, like whether or not you want the game to pause as soon as combat starts. This can be useful for queuing up actions and targets for your party members. This may seem dated by today's standards — it certainly falls short of the free range of combat found in other titles like ELDEN RING or The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. But for those familiar with Dungeons & Dragons-style games you’ll feel right at home. 

As much as this game is loved there are some issues that should probably be talked about if we are going to look at it by today's standards. It has a rather short playtime, coming in around 30 hours if you skip all the side missions and nearly 50 if you want to finish everything. For a RPG of the early 2000s, this is about the length you would expect. It's not going to give my Skyrim file any pause but it is long enough to get you invested in the world. For those hoping to traverse the galaxy using a controller though, you are sadly out of luck as the Steam version does not natively offer controller support. 

Graphically the game shows its age. The older Odyssey Engine BioWare used in KOTOR’s creation provided what I like to call “paper mache” graphics, though it’s not quite as bad as it sounds. Edges on clothing, faces, and surfaces can be pretty sharp. However, you still feel in the Star Wars universe, with things looking like they should. But don’t expect widescreen support: KOTOR by default only covers a max screen resolution of 1280x1024. To help get you past this un-immersive bump in the road is a fantastic musical score, fitting neatly within the realm of what you’ve come to expect from Star Wars. Jeremy Soule is the composer — he also worked on such noteworthy projects as The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. 

KOTOR is not alone in this next issue, as many games, including modern ones, struggle to get it right. To be blunt, its UI (user interface) is clunky and cluttered. It can be difficult to locate things like datapads you may have picked up when you have to click five different things to get to a list of quest items you have in your inventory. The final issue I will mention is the bugs. The game has had all major issues resolved in the nearly 20 years of its life, but there can be no denying that you will occasionally run into something undesirable. I myself came across a missing texture in the cockpit of my ship, which, though only noticeable from a certain angle, I could not ignore once I saw it. 

Fortunately, there is an active modding community for KOTOR and its sequel STAR WARS Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords (The Sith Lords), and modders have created fixes for a lot of the issues that BioWare left behind. Both Nexus and DeadlyStream have numerous mods, old and new, that can be downloaded — I was even able to find one for my texture problem. Many mods are available to increase graphics, as well as replace or retexture weapons and armours. You can even find mods for higher screen resolutions and widescreen support if you want them. I particularly enjoyed using a series of party member overhaul mods which increases the visual appearance of your crew members’ faces and default clothing. 

Although Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic has a few remaining issues, they can mostly be cleaned up by the modding community. It thrives when letting you make choices and falls a bit short when dealing with combat. Given its age, KOTOR still holds up very well despite its poor UI and the older graphics provided by the Odyssey Engine. If I were writing this in 2003 I’d no doubt give it a higher rating.