Republished on Wednesday, 28th December, 2022: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of January 2023's PS Plus lineup. The original text follows.
The latest in a long line of free next-gen upgrades, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order plays things pretty straight. The native PS5 version of the experience is more or less the version you could play through backwards compatibility, with a few extra bells and whistles. The most obvious change is the game’s resolution, which now runs at native 4K with upgraded textures, though only at 30 frames-per-second. The 60 frames-per-second mode is tied to a 1440p resolution, which is a slight improvement from the 1200p that was added in the patch a few months back.
The only other significant change is to load times, which are massively improved. Previously, the load times could reach astronomical lengths, completely halting the flow of gameplay. The next-gen version is worth it for this alone, especially considering it’s a free upgrade. Other than a new menu option that allows you to transfer your PS4 saved data over to the new version, the game is virtually identical, which is a bit of a double-edged sword. While Fallen Order is a pretty good game, and easily the best product from the EA and Disney Star Wars partnership, the game remains janky.
On PS4, the release took the approach of being good at a great deal of things and spectacular at none, and this remains true. Each positive is balanced out by a negative. The primary antagonist is phenomenal, but she is underutilised. The game is stunning to behold, but frame hitches are common – especially on the 4K option. The combat is exhilarating, but the jumping and sliding puzzles leave a lot to be desired. The end result is an experience that is decent at just about everything, and easy to recommend. But as good as Fallen Order may be, if you look backwards in time, it’s not difficult to find superior Star Wars experiences.
Comments 60
I really don't understand how they can't make PS4 games run 4k60fps on PS5. It's baffling to me!
@AFCC I guess it's not that they can't make it, but how much it costs to do. They probably decide to invest money on new PS5 games targetting 4k60fps than upgrading older titles. Rockstar is the exception, of course, they gave up on new games it seems, haha.
The loading times alone are what I'm the most excited about. I tried playing the game on hard back when I first played through this game, but the loading times took so long that I bumped the difficulty level down just so I would die less and see fewer loading screens.
I do agree with you @AFCC. It is surprising to me how these games still struggle to hit actual 4K 60 fps on these new consoles. Then again, I think about what games looked like from the beginning of the PS4 era compared to the end. It'll be amazing to see what game companies will be able to do with these consoles in 5 or so years from now.
I found the game quite choppy and glitchy on PS5, sometimes the frame rate dipped and BD1 constantly got stuck floating around front of the character. I’m sure a patch or 2 will fix it
I myself have not had any glitches such as the supposed bobble head thing..i have noticed a few frame rate drops but nothing that detracts from the game..as for the game being janky well thats utter nonsense as its fluid as heck..i'm finding the controls to be super responsive and the combat is so good..the only thing i dont find good is the haptic feedback? Is it even utilised in fallen order? Astros playroom was a really good show piece for haptics..other games i'm just not getting it..janky my ass..
@AFCC these updated,enhanced ps5 editions are just tarted up ports really..if say blue point games was hired to remaster,upgrade,enhance i'm sure we would see a huge difference but then they wouldnt be free...i'm just happy ps5 owners are getting upgrades for nowt..bring on the doom eternal update..
Ps5 version aside I'm not sure why this game doesn't get higher reviews and wasn't hyped as much. Its a better game than a lot of others in this genre with the combat and exploring being good. The PS4 pro version I played about 9 months ago wasn't janky at all and ran smooth for me.
@Northern_munkey it's the same game they haven't done anything, they have just turned up the graphics options that are already present on PC for this game and almost every other ps5 enhanced version we have seen in the last 9 months. These game engines all support different graphical settings without any extra work from the Devs other than testing usually. There is no real excuse not to have a "ps5 enhanced" (graphics settings turned up close to PC levels) version really for 90% of games.
@Denni5m I totally agree, I thought the game was excellent (I am a Star Wars fan) and ran really well on the Pro, will definitely play again on the PS5 if I can double dip on the platinum! Do you know if it has it's own trophies on PS5?
I have seen some comparisons and upgrade in texture quality seems pretty significant for resulting visuals to me.
The reason for the poor PS5 enhanced games is that devs use the PS4 Pro version and it’s not as powerful as the Xbonex. If they were to do the same upgrade for the PS5 then they would have to redo the whole game
@Denni5m I’ve literally just finished it on PS4 pro. I’m currently trying to platinum it. It’s a solid game, hardly a worldly though. I got bored of it initially about half way through and came back to it months later. The game has quite a few issues still especially when your speed running areas it really struggles to keep up. For me the game could of been so much better. You get your main abilities far to slowly, making combat start to midway just plain rubbish until you can actually do things. Really under utilised the second second sister for me. It felt like the game was missing another planet or so to really crank up the story. Not a bad effort from Respawn but I do believe it was a wasted one in that they’ve got so much right in this game and with a few extra bells and whistles it could of been one of the very best Star Wars games to date. Enjoyed it overall hence I’m going for the platinum. Loved the ending…wasn’t expecting big bad to turn up😂
This game would've really been a masterpiece if it had the polished and refined combat of souls games, I think even Control does it better in term of frames cohesion. Again, this is another perfect example where gameplay transcends content.
For this game the loading time upgrade is enough for me since the loading can be brutal compared to other games, sometime I feels like playing psone games that load from cd. Especially after playing native ps5 games like demon's souls or ratchet ps5.
@Northern_munkey The game being janky has a different meaning, it's like the character models struggle to find their place in the physical plane of the game, I pushed a mini boss off a ledge, but he didn't fall to his death until he got up on EMPTY SPACE, just like those episodes of Coyote and the Road Runner where the Coyote doesn't fall from a cliff until he realizes that there's actually no ground below his feet.. And in a Star Wars context, it's just damn broken.
Was it just me, or did I find this game to have hardly any replay value?
A decent game nonetheless and I look forward to see what they come up with next.
@RenanKJ GTA6 will never release by this point lol
@B_Lindz what I'm most excited to see is what they can do with Unreal Engine 5!
@Denni5m pretty much what i said..
@Abdessgal thanks for clearing that up..i havnt experienced the "jank" first hand yet but i'm only half way through the game so maybe theres still time..i'll try extra hard not to enjoy myself too much so i can moan about these things when i find them..
When I tried to play fallen order on the ps5 I only had the option to play in 60fps which ruined my star wars cinematic experience.
I find playing games in 30fps gives cinematic games more of a cinematic feel and in 60fps feels closer to real-life in a camcorder sort of way.
So for that reason, I stopped playing.
If they've included the 30fps option back again then I'll have to give it a try
Installed Fallen Order on my PS5 to get the free platinum. Uninstalled it, back to playing R&C.
A real shame this isn't a better upgrade as I really enjoyed the PS4 version. Might have a go one day but I'm not going to rush.
Oddly I thought the PS4 version ran better.
Can anyone confirm 3D audio on that game?
There is a big difference in verticality when 3D Audio is toggled on, but it comes with the "classic" muffled sound you get with games that are not optimized for it, so I'm not sure.
To test it, go to Zeffo, stay on the landing pad and listen to the Tie Fighters flying above you.
The higher resolution version is quite buggy for me. The character’s shoulders keep clipping through his poncho and, on occasion, into the scenery.
The game’s pervasive unrefined quality seems to have survived the supposed upgrade.
This game is really good as a Star Wars game and as the review says, an entry point to Souls like. After playing this one I'm more confident to take on Bloodborne again (I got that one day one but I died so much that I left it alone on the second boss)... but I'm waiting for a 60fps patch on PS5...
@Mostik It does have its own trophies. If you have the ps4 platinum you can use that save, go meditate and get instant ps5 platinum.
@BuGGy2DaB did exactly the same. Platinum for Ratchet now to so back to Returnal for me.
@Northern_munkey
I completely agree.
@MattSilverado Sounds like you met Fr G..
@TeapotBuddha I've read that they are making a sequel. Looking forward to the next one if they can even just match the first.
I don't have a PS5, just a standard PS4, but I thought that the game was both beautiful and ran extremely smoothly. Not sure how anyone could complain about those aspects at all. Really looking forward to a sequel, and I'd love to be able to play it again on the PS5 at some point too.
Sony needs to stop with the paltry "upgrades" of PS4 games and actually make games for PS5.
Have thay done somthing about the awfully crap way off finding your way around the map and back to the ship this is what put me off completing the game hope this changes on the next game . Mind you never had any issues on my xbox with this game when playing it . I'd go back on my series x but that dam map
@Olmaz Nah not overhauled to be native 3D, of the muffled variety. The improvised 3d!
@Latex Nah same game through and through, just a couple of graphical tweaks. The map is still decent for collectible and navigation purposes, but still less so when trying to actually figure out how to go places haha.
@gbanas92 That's what I thought too. Like AC Valhalla, but the verticality effect was miles better in SWJFO, that's what made me doubt.
2 must-haves for next firmware update :
@Olmaz That actually sounds fantastic! I'd love a dedicated marker for 3D Audio. Took them a while to get one for VR back when that was on the way, so who knows how long it'll take, but I am super on board for them adding that!
While I do agree it's nowhere near a perfect game, I still am convinced it's the best Star Wars game I've played yet.
My mind may change once LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga drops though .
This game is so clunky & buggy it's untrue. Sometimes it looks beautiful, Sometimes just plain ugly... shame
@KidBoruto Just from the Star Wars games under the Disney umbrella? Or going way back too?
@gbanas92 Everything. I do have fond memories of Revenge of the Sith and both Force Unleashed games, but ultimately imo Fallen Order is the best.
@KidBoruto Actually, you know, among those few games I think I would agree with you haha. I think the last truly great Star Wars game I played was...Republic Commando? I think that was the last one haha
@gbanas92 I skipped that game when it first came out ages ago, because playing as a Clone Trooper sounded boring at the time.
However now I am engrossed with the Clone Wars cartoon, so might give that game a chance eventually.
@KidBoruto That PS4 port might be worth your time! Upscaled, but honestly the game plays pretty well by modern standards! It was very ahead of its time!
@gbanas92 Thank you very much for the recommendation! I'll prob give it a spin after I replay Fallen Order on PS5.
@KidBoruto Of course! Would also recommend the PS4 ports of Jedi Outcast and Jedi Academy if you haven't played those in a while (or ever). Those are still great too!
@Mostik Yes, it has it's own trophy list.
@Vivisapprentice I downloaded the game when it first became available and it was buggy and my back catalog was so massive I uninstalled the game to focus on miles morales platinum & spiderman remastered platinum trophies (I got both the plants). Now in 2022 I have once again downloaded Jedi fallen order PS5 & I'm happy to report that 90% of the bugs have been squashed. The game looks absolutely phenomenal but more importantly I haven't noticed a single hiccup so far (I'm about 7 hours in). I played the first 3 hours at native 4K with 30fps and it's a gorgeous sight to behold BUT I've recently switched to the 60fps performance mode & in all honesty the drop in resolution is barely noticeable on my 43inch 4K TV. I really appreciate the smooth 60fps especially when battling storm troopers & all the other baddies lol. I'm really enjoying this game, I'm glad I held off on diving deep into the game until now ✌️
7/10. Great story but some of the action is too repetitive. The Parry is nonsensical. I picked it up on PSN for $8. I would play the second one for the same price.
"The primary antagonist is phenomenal, but she is underutilised.". I thought the main character was male.
@evildave333 Ogami Itto, my man! The original Mandalorian!
Personally thought that fallen order ticked all the right boxes and was a nice Mish mash of some of my favourite genres. But I'm generally not so harsh on star wars which many hold by an unobtainable bar set by feelings of nostalgia. Only SW which I truly disown is Solo, that was bad.
I did not find the main character appealing or interesting, although I loved the robot. The combat was a very poor man's souls-like, although you have to love wielding a lightsaber. The attempts at Tomb Raider-ish/Uncharted-like puzzles and navigation were uninspired. It all added up to a rather mediocre game.
Only issue I had, and I believe it relates to every version of the game, is that it has very bad lip-sync audio issues during cutscenes. I've played it on PS4 & PS5, and I was watching my friend play this game on PC just the other day, and all 3 versions had this issue from time-to-time, not every cutscene though, but I encountered it 4 times during my playthrough on PS5 earlier this year, surprised the issue hasn't been fixed yet.
@twenty90seven The antagonist was female the Second Sister. The protagonist was male Cal Kestis
Im gonna have another go at this now its on plus. I tried it before and it massively rubbed off wrong on me. Will see if i get a better feel for it this time.
I don’t really see how the game loses a mark when upgraded to ps5 tbh…
@tameshiyaku Same here. I don't consider myself a mega Star Wars fans, but I have watched most of the media out there.
Still need to see The Bad Batch though, only thing I'm behind on. Also a proper re-watch of The Clone Wars 2D and 3D series.
Was in my extensive back catalogue and not particularly high on the agenda. My son and I had a rather extensive Star Wars sesh over Xmas... After watching all the movies I replayed Vadar Immortal and Tales From Galaxies Edge on Quest 2... After finishing I went straight over to Fallen Order on Series X Game Pass. Can't believe I never played it before... Its fantastic and so underrated. Its right up my alley, more similar to a 3D Metroidvania (Arkham Asylum etc) than a Souls-like in my opinion. Just about every Force and Droid upgrade allow you to reach new places/items. Really enjoying the story, characters and lore and the skill tree is just right. It's a 9.5 for me after 15 hours. Should finish tomorrow but adoring what I've played so far.
In my experience, the PS4 version was very blurry in comparison to the PS5 version. This is a worthy upgrade.
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