However that is just a nifty nerdy lore way of writing a character in terms of what you need for the plot. The Jedi Exile is the most "human" of these Jedi because they were compelled to join the war effort because they could not stand idly by while others suffer.Īnd the simple ability to build camaraderie with their troops, other beings, and connect with them on a personal level, presented by the lore explanation of "force bonds", was what caused them to break during the pivotal battle of the Mandalorian wars - the experience of feeling every single life being extinguished there, especially those with whom they served, whose lives they held in the palm of their hand as their leader - someone they looked up to. One of the nifty ways Obsidian managed to write bits of Stars War lore into that theme and use it for plot purposes, is how the Jedi Council in their reclusive dogmatism, lost their connection with their humanity. The light side run is in the end, a story about overcoming trauma and learning how to open up to others. However I found that in a way it contributed to the overall feeling of isolation and alienation that permeates the game: your character cut yourself off from everything that binds them to the world in an effort to avoid hurting others, and being hurt again. In a way, it's appropriate.Īdmittedly putting the pieces of the plot together and figuring out character motivations can be frustrating and confusing, and the limited development cycle and the budget allocated to this game meant that a lot of the more ambitious plot and character hooks end up being presented in a very undynamic form, especially compared to KotOR 1. A real "what could have been" type situation, but in the end KotOR 2 being a beautiful, flawed gem of a game ended up killing the idea of KotOR the series. Granted it kind of doomed the game from a popularity perspective because it was all so ambitious and uncompromising, and that, in part, alongside LucasArts meddling, kind of made inevitable that the project will never rise above a "cult classic" status. ![]() It's very much a "personal epic" - the plot events are massive, galaxy-defining, and yet none if it matters as much as your own journey of self-discovery, a journey of coming to terms with your past, your past deeds, and the main hurdle to overcome here is whether or not you can live with yourself, with what you've done, and who you are. It's all thematic and character focused as opposed to plot-driven, but the plot is still very complex and consists pretty much of nothing but galactic power players stacking gambit on top of gambit, all of them revolving around *you*, the player, and what your character has done nigh-on a decade ago. With Kotor 2 I just keep discovering these little tidbits that make me go "dang, how did I not notice this before" because the writing structure is just completely different. Sometimes I replay Kotor 1 because it has that fun "A New Hope" sense of Stars War adventure and silly tropey stuff, and one of the plot twists totally recontextualises almost everything on repeat playthroughs, but it's not super deep. There's not ifs and buts to this, the "vanilla" version is just unfinished, plain and simple. ![]() NOTE: This review is of the Restored Content version of the game, which to be frank, is the version that everyone must play.
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