Without a doubt, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is one of the most anticipated games on the unforeseeable horizon. No one really knows how far along it is or when the game will actually drop, but when it was revealed, seeing Revan with a red lightsaber was enough to make fan excitement palpable. Indeed, rumors of KOTOR 3 or a KOTOR Remake have circulated for a long time, and knowing it’s actually happening was a big surprise for fans.
WARNING: Potential Spoilers for Knights of the Old Republic AheadThat said, some of the rumors have received a bit of a mixed response. It’s said that KOTOR’s combat is being reworked, for example, and it may not have the same exact turn-based combat system it did before. This is a remake, though. As long as it retains the spirit of the game, it stands to reason the real reception will outweigh any current concerns. There are certainly things that a Remake will have to change, and perhaps one of those is how choices worked in KOTOR.
Knights of the Old Republic – Light vs. Dark Side Choices
There’s little doubt that Knights of the Old Republic’s choice system was a defining element of the game and a product of its time. Now, however, it wouldn’t really hold up. That’s not to say there aren’t light side or dark side choices that really emphasize this duality or Revan’s character—forcing Zaalbar to kill Mission or poisoning the Kolto supply on Manaan come to mind—but in the end, they matter little. When it comes to KOTOR’s ending, how players have played the entire game matters little.
They could have played a Light Side character who, in the spur of the moment, chose to go back to the Dark Side. They could have played a Dark Side character who was so far to the Dark Side that they were irredeemable (although that doesn’t really exist in the Star Wars universe, generally speaking), and they could go back to the light. All of this hinges on a couple of choices near the end, particularly with Bastila on the Unknown World. The choice, sure, has consequences like a major change in alignment that could impact force powers, skills, equipment, and so on, but it’s also not something that prevents this from happening. It’s just a little loose in terms of having choice and gameplay coincide.
For the most part, dialogue and small choices in Knights of the Old Republic influence the character’s Light or Dark Side alignment, and this is great for character and worldbuilding. It can show how Revan is a good person or an evil one, with or without the knowledge of their corruption by the Sith Emperor. But the KOTOR Remake would do well to consolidate how these choices impact gameplay more thoroughly.
KOTOR Remake – A Jedi Master or a Sith Lord
Aside from the Force Powers, equipment, and so on, the choices of KOTOR should be more impactful as a whole. One way this could be done is to take how Light and Dark Side choices impacted companions in Knights of the Old Republic 2, apply it here, and take it further (minus Bastila, probably, for story reasons.) If players are this all-powerful, corrupting Sith Lord, it makes sense they could sway their companions. The base game has nothing like this; companions may complain about choices but they stick to their guns, won’t leave, and won’t change. A thorough influence system would show how the player’s choice impacts those around them too.
The ending choice of Knights of the Old Republic could be locked, too, based on a number of alignment points one way or the other. Redemption should definitely be possible, but if players have accumulated X number of Dark Side or Light Side points throughout the game, they shouldn’t just be able to completely divert their character. Imagine if a Jedi like Yoda suddenly turned to the Dark Side, or when Palpatine returned in Rise of Skywalker, he was a good guy—at some point, there has to be a cut-off.
These two changes, if implemented, would likely do a lot of work in really pushing the Light and Dark Side options. It is a full remake, not a remaster, after all, so anything is possible. There are certainly other changes that would be good too, like new decisions in certain missions that could impact their direction. Overall, it remains to be seen how the Knights of the Old Republic honors the legacy of the original but also makes it more modern—needless to say, many look forward to learning more whenever Aspyr is ready.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake is in development for PS5.