Just like its adaptation to TV, books, comics, and toys, the Force is always strong with the Star Wars franchise when it comes to gaming. In celebration of May 4th, here is our ranked list of the best Star Wars games of all time.
10. Star Wars: TIE Fighter
| Release Date | July 20, 1994 |
| Developer | Totally Games |
| Platform(s) | – MS DOS – Macintosh – PC |
As a successor to X-Wing, Star Wars: TIE Fighter has you piloting the iconic Imperial battleship known as the TIE fighter while shooting down rebel scum in villainous glory.
The story, putting you on the side of the Galactic Empire, spans most of the original trilogy and is impressively vast. As a flight simulator, this game stands out even to this day from most of the competition for its ability to mix fun, approachable arcade gameplay with complex mechanics.
9. Super Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
| Release Date | June 22, 1994 |
| Developer | LucasArts |
| Platform(s) | – Super Nintendo – SEGA Game Gear (1995) – Nintendo Game Boy (1995) |
While previous games in the Super Star Wars series took the level of challenge to an extreme, the third title based on Return of the Jedi finds the perfect balance. Not only do you get to relive incredible scenes from the film in awesome 2D platforming fashion, but you also play a wide variety of characters complete with unique abilities.
8. Star Wars Rogue Squadron 2: Rogue Leader
| Release Date | November 18, 2001 |
| Developer | Factor 5 |
| Platform(s) | – Nintendo GameCube |
As one of the launch titles to help sell the Nintendo GameCube and one of the best exclusives for the system, Star Wars Rogue Squadron 2: Rogue Leader has everything you’d want in a dogfighting game.
This incredible space combat adventure has you taking on the roles of Rebel Alliance pilots and leading the Rogue Squadron through some badass missions against the Empire. With stunning cinematics and graphics, Rogue Leader is the definitive flight game set in the Star Wars universe.
7. LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
| Release Date | April 5, 2022 |
| Developer | Traveller’s Tales |
| Platform(s) | – PC – PlayStation 5 – Xbox Series S|X – Nintendo Switch – PlayStation 4 – Xbox One |
This game is the complete package for LEGO fans and Star Wars aficionados. It combines most of the content packed into the previous titles (LEGO Star Wars, LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy, LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars, and LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens) and lets you play through the events of all nine episodes in order.
Every character you know and love from the films is included in this incredible experience, including many variations of the same heroes and villains. It’s best played with a friend via local co-op, but playing alone is just as thrilling. Collect hundreds of studs and bricks and assemble a complete set of cool unlockables.
6. Star Wars: Republic Commando
| Release Date | February 28, 2005 |
| Developer | LucasArts |
| Platform(s) | – Xbox – PC (March 1, 2005) – Nintendo Switch (April 6, 2021) – PlayStation 4 (April 6, 2021) |
No other game set during the Clone Wars era holds a precedent higher than Star Wars: Republic Commando. In this outstanding first-person shooter, you play as the leader of a group of elite clone commandos and take on numerous recon missions behind enemy lines as the iconic Delta Squad.
Each team member is fully voiced with their unique personality and quirks, and the missions require you to work as a team and order your squadmates to assume various turrets, guns, and tactical positions to succeed. Your primary weapon transforms with different attachments you acquire throughout the game, and you’ll face off with every kind of enemy, from Geonosians to Droids to Trandoshans.
5. Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast / Jedi Academy
| Release Date | March 28, 2002 | September 16, 2003 |
| Developer | Raven Software |
| Platform(s) | – PC – Mac OS X – Xbox – Nintendo GameCube (Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast only) – PlayStation 4 – Nintendo Switch |
Fans were introduced to the legendary antihero and mercenary Kyle Katarn in Star Wars: Dark Forces (1995). The sequel, Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II (1997), saw Katarn wield the lightsaber for the first time. But it wasn’t until the release of Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast (2002) and its direct expansion/sequel Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy (2003) that developer Raven Software truly perfected the Star Wars video game experience.
- Read more: Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast – Cheats & Unlockables
- Read more: Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy – Cheats & Unlockables
Jedi Outcast and Jedi Academy are the quintessential Star Wars games from the perspective of play, offering the most exciting and satisfying lightsaber combat that the series has seen to date. With every kind of blaster and Force ability in your arsenal and the power to bounce off floors and walls with stunning acrobatics as you hack and slash your way through endless Stormtroopers and Dark Jedi, there are no other Star Wars games with better lightsaber combat.
4. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
| Release Date | April 28, 2023 |
| Developer | Respawn Entertainment |
| Platform(s) | – PC – PlayStation 5 – Xbox Series X|S |
What started as the best modern take on Star Wars video games with Jedi: Fallen Order (2019) is now taken to the next level with its sequel, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. This title continues the inspiring story of Cal Kestis, a former Jedi who managed to survive the Great Purge from Order 66 and find his way in the galaxy with a group of freedom fighters as he slowly reconnects with the Force.
Jedi: Survivor heavily improves upon all aspects of its predecessor, from movement to combat to exploration, offering many new and exciting features like Holotable battles, new lightsaber stances, grapple hooks, and improved customization. Cal Kestis is the modern protagonist that Star Wars desperately needs, and his relatable struggles and vulnerability make him the ultimate underdog hero.
With the potential of a successor, the Star Wars Jedi series is building up to be the trilogy to rightfully succeed the prequels and place itself snuggly between episodes III and IV.
3. Star Wars: Battlefront II
| Release Date | November 1, 2005 |
| Developer | Pandemic Studios |
| Platform(s) | – Xbox – PlayStation 2 – PC – PlayStation Portable |
LucasArts took the blueprint for the insane carnage stretching across massive battlefields with hundreds of stormtroopers, droids, clones, Jedi, and Sith in the original Star Wars: Battlefront (2004) and perfected it with this sequel.
In addition to having a larger variety of soldiers to choose from on more maps with better controls and graphics, you can assume the role of numerous iconic Star Wars heroes, like Obi-Wan Kenobi, Count Dooku, Emperor Palpatine, and even Yoda.
Play in the traditional third-person mode or swap to first-person for the best shooter in the history of Star Wars games, complete with online multiplayer.
2. Star Wars: The Old Republic
| Release Date | December 20, 2011 |
| Developer | BioWare |
| Platform(s) | – PC |
As a direct successor to Star Wars Galaxies (2003), just five days after being shut down, Star Wars: The Old Republic (SWTOR) was released, a story-driven MMORPG told in legendary BioWare fashion with rich settings and fully-voiced characters for the definitive Star Wars experience.
Set in the era of the Old Republic some 300 years after the events of Knights of the Old Republic (2003) and approximately 3000 years before Episode I: The Phantom Menace, SWTOR offers a world in which thousands of Jedi and Sith are in a state of total galactic war.
What makes SWTOR stand out so much is the ability to live any life in the Star Wars universe of your choosing with class stories that let you experience your own unique trilogy. Play as a Jedi, Sith, Bounty Hunter, Republic Trooper, Smuggler, or even an Imperial Agent, complete with everything you know and love about MMOs.
This game has dungeons, raiding, PvP, world bosses, dogfighting/space battles, and everything else you could ever want in both an MMO and Star Wars game. Even after more than ten years since its launch, the game has a thriving community of players. All the content is relevant forever, and new players can easily join up with old ones to take on different objectives and acquire various rewards.
1. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
| Release Date | July 16, 2003 |
| Developer | BioWare |
| Platform(s) | – Xbox – PC (November 19, 2003) – Mac OS X (September 20, 2004) – iOS (May 30, 2013) – Android (December 23, 2014) – Nintendo Switch (November 11, 2021) |
The year 2003 was the best in the history of Star Wars games. Not only did it see the release of Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy and Star Wars Galaxies (the first MMO), it saw the release of the greatest tale ever told in the franchise next to the original trilogy in the form of Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR). It’s a single-player RPG that’s so good, in fact, that people still talk about it decades later and honor it as the gold standard in its genre.
Set thousands of years before the rise of Darth Vader, KOTOR introduces gamers to the era of the Old Republic, one of the most exciting timelines in the universe. You embark on a grand adventure across the galaxy as a Jedi with a group of unforgettable companions and take on a threat far more devastating than anything seen in the films.
In a story told in classic BioWare fashion, you will develop relationships with all kinds of characters with branching dialogue choices and world-class voice acting, making radical decisions that decide the fate of the entire galaxy. What’s more, the narrative sets players up for one of the greatest plot twists in the history of fiction.
There’s a reason why so many people return to this game for an annual replay run. Regardless of what platform you play KOTOR on, know that it will be an experience you won’t soon forget.
