Cliff Notes – The 10 best Star Wars games to play right now on PS5, Switch, Xbox, PC
- Diverse Selection: The list includes a mix of classic and modern titles, ensuring players can find something appealing across various platforms.
- Quality Over Quantity: While many Star Wars games exist, only a select few are highlighted for their exceptional gameplay and adherence to the franchise’s lore.
- Innovative Gameplay: Several games, such as Star Wars: TIE Fighter and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, showcase unique mechanics and storytelling that elevate them beyond typical licensed games.
The 10 best Star Wars games to play right now on PS5, Switch, Xbox, PC
There’s no shortage of Star Wars games but which are the good ones? (Netmarble)
Star Wars Day is this weekend and if you want to celebrate with a good video game these are the best ones you can pick up and play today.
It’s impossible to imagine the world of video games without Star Wars. If you’ve ever played a game with spaceships or aliens or laser swords then it will owe at least some kind of debt to the almost 50-year-old sci-fi saga. Naturally, there’s also been a mountain of officially licensed games, starting as far as back as 1982 on the Atari 2600.
As is the way of things, not all of those games have been great, but Star Wars has a decent batting average, compared to most licensed properties, and there’s even a select few titles that can be considered genuine classics in their own right, regardless of whether they’re tie-ins.
For this list we’ve tried to keep things practical by only naming games that can be played on modern formats. That means titles which would’ve appeared on this list – such as the original Atari coin-op and Rogue Squadron 2 – are still stuck on older formats like the GameCube. But for now here are the best Star Wars games you could, and should, play right now.
10. Super Star Wars
PlayStation 4
This one only just makes it onto our list, not necessarily because of its quality but because the only format it’s currently available on is the PlayStation 4. Sadly, its two sequels (we’ll leave you to guess what they’re called) aren’t available on any modern format at all. Originally released for the SNES in 1992, this is what would have happened if the original trilogy had come out during the 16-bit era and been turned into an action platformer – as tended to happen with any movie licence at the time.
The platforming is a little unrefined, and hordes of enemies constantly respawning at the edge of the screen is a constant annoyance, but the graphics are excellent, with increasingly more ambitious Mode 7 effects as the trilogy goes on. The attention to Star Wars detail is great and the game was actually very import in reviving interest in the franchise during the early 90s, coming out at the same time as the Thrawn trilogy of novels and the initial Dark Horse comic books.
9. Star Wars Episode I: Racer
Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC
In a world in which F-Zero and WipEout didn’t exist, Racer (despite what everyone thinks, it wasn’t called Pod Racer) would be considered a minor classic but, unfortunately, being the third best futuristic racer doesn’t quite have the same cachet.
Although the Tatooine level accurately recreates the scene from The Phantom Menace, in most other respects the Star Wars connections are very mild and you’d barely know it was a tie-in. That’s a compliment though because it means the game stands on its own, with good track design and a blistering sense of speed. Although it was originally a N64 console exclusive it’s been released on many formats since then, including an arcade spin-off and a light remaster in 2020.
Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2 (due 4/9/25), and PC
The knives were out for Outlaws even before it launched, with a general fatigue for Ubisoft open world adventures leading many to only see the worst in the game. That’s unfortunate because Outlaws makes a genuine effort to get away from some of the genre’s most predictable tropes, with a clever twist on how you gain new skills, non-linear storytelling, and an interesting reputation system.
The game is not flawless – most of the characters lack bite and the gunplay is similarly flat – but the Star Wars authenticity is top notch, especially in terms of portraying the seedy underbelly of the universe, which is an integral part of most other media but rarely explored in games. Although the inability to do any crimes that aren’t already part of the script means it’s not quite the Han Solo simulator we always dreamed of.
Oculus Quest and PlayStation VR
This is probably the most obscure game on this list, but while there are many different Star Wars VR games, and things like Tales From The Galaxy’s Edge are more technically advanced, this is overall the most interesting. It’s set between Episodes 3 and 4 of the movies and casts you as a smuggler who unwittingly ends up at Darth Vader’s lava strewn castle.
While there, you discover you’re Force sensitive, which leads into a surprisingly interesting story – written by movie scriptwriter David S. Goyer – involving Vader mourning the loss of his wife Padme. Like all VR games it’s still half tech demo but on the Oculus Quest (the PlayStation Move controllers don’t work nearly as well) it’s very impressive, especially when using Force powers and a lightsaber.
Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC
Considering the amount of effort, and attention to Star Wars detail, that went into this game it really should be ranked higher, but unfortunately if there’s one mistake every Star Wars game makes it’s that using a blaster always feels weedy and insubstantial. Despite that rather important flaw Battlefront 2 is a very entertaining online shooter, complete with a fun little story mode and a competent space combat simulator element.
Ultimately, Battlefront 2 will be best remembered as the downfall of microtransactions in full price games, which is a worthy, if unintentional, achievement. Some may argue that its namesake from 2005 is a better game, but while it is arguably more ambitious, the recent remaster reveals its very obvious technical limitations.
Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC
The very first Lego game, back in 2005, was a Star Wars title (based only on the prequels) and it’s always been clear that the developers have a special passion for the galaxy far, far away. The games have a very British sense of humour but there’s also a clear love for the source material that isn’t always evident in other tie-ins.
That alone explains the near endless amount of content here, that covers all nine mainline movies, with the DLC adding in characters from many of the spin-offs and shows. The Skywalker Saga has a little more depth to its action than previous Lego games, while still being just simple enough that anyone, of any level of experience, can play it with friends and family.
4. Star Wars Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast
Xbox, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC
We’re in two minds as to whether this or its predecessor is superior, in large part because the latter had an excellent expansion, that cast you as non-canon character Mara Jade and featured a particularly inspired final boss battle. Both games are sequels to the recently remastered Dark Forces and have clearly been a major influence on Respawn’s Star Wars Jedi series.
What started out as a relatively straightforward Doom clone evolved into the best Jedi Knight simulator of the modern era, in terms of the use of a wide variety of Force powers and the way lightsaber combat is handled. Initially PC only, the mouse controls work extremely well, with the addition of combos and three different combat styles showing considerable progression from the first game.
Xbox, Nintendo Switch, PC, iOS, and Android
It’s puzzling that there haven’t been more Star Wars role-playing games over the years, given how beloved BioWare’s 2003 title is. Set almost 4,000 years before the events of the original trilogy, the game features an entirely new cast and backstory, as you attempt to prevent the rise of a new Sith Empire. It has much in common with other BioWare games such as Mass Effect, although the combat can be paused at any time, similar to Dragon Age.
Its famous story twist is superb, and better than any future movie is likely to come up with, but at the same time it can be a very ponderous game, in terms of dialogue and pacing, and would greatly benefit from the proposed remake it’s probably never going to get.
In theory the sequel, by Fallout: New Vegas developer Obsidian, is almost as good but the release was rushed, and you need a fan mod to fully appreciate it. The Old Republic MMO, by BioWare, is also set in the same time period.
Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC
It’s very encouraging that the most recent Star Wars game is also one of the best. Not only that but it’s a notable improvement on its predecessor, Fallen Order, which raises hopes for the final, but currently unannounced, entry in the trilogy – even if the original director recently left Respawn.
Although there is significant influence from the Jedi Knight series, the game also borrows liberally from Metroid Prime and, very unexpectedly, Dark Souls. It’s not nearly as hard as that makes it sound, but the platforming and exploration are not trivial, and neither are the many excellent lightsaber battles. The story is set squarely within the modern Disney canon, but a more focused storyline and more interesting characters are amongst the many improvements from the first title.
1. Star Wars: TIE Fighter
PC
The sequel to 1993’s X-Wing, this is not only the best Star Wars game ever made but one of the best licensed titles of any kind – as well as being the best space combat simulator. It puts you into the cockpit of an Imperial pilot in the immediate aftermath of The Empire Strikes Back, as you start off searching cargo ships for contraband and end the game helping Darth Vader defeat a coup within the Empire.
The simulation is extremely complex, with almost every key on the keyboard used, many of them multiple times, and yet the game is fast-paced and exciting, with inventive set pieces and enormous freedom in how you tackle each mission. We’ll discuss the game in more detail tomorrow, but while it is still playable on PC its spiritual successor Star Wars Squadrons is a very good alternative for consoles. It has nowhere near the same level of depth but it’s yet another quality Star Wars game to add to the list.
Star Wars: TIE Fighter – it’s currently £2.12 on Steam (Lucasfilm Games)
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