There are few film-inspired games as celebrated as Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Despite being a part of the Legends line of Star Wars stories, and thus not existing in the current canon, Knight of the Old Republic has still left an incredible imprint not only on the Star Wars franchise but also on video games at large. Familiar story elements can be spotted in The Clone Wars and Rebels television shows, while Mass Effect is effectively KOTOR's spiritual successor—the two games were even developed by the same company.
But when KOTOR and its influence are brought up, its narrative elements tend to dominate the conversation. Everyone remembers memorable characters like HK-47 or Bastila Shan, and the game's big twist is on par with the moment Darth Vader first revealed himself to be Luke's father in The Empire Strikes Back. There's a good reason behind KOTOR's outstanding reputation: Its story is fantastic. Its gameplay has not held up quite as well. Thankfully, the newly announced remake of Knights of the Old Republic presents an opportunity to change that. "Our hope is to give both series newcomers and long-term fans an experience that can live alongside the very best modern releases," Aspyr has stated before, and one can only hope one step towards achieving this goal involves updating KOTOR's more antiquated elements.
Why KOTOR Needs a Combat Overhaul
KOTOR's combat is more a product of its time than it is bad game design. It's heavily inspired by Dungeons & Dragons, and battles play out like a slower, turn-based version of Dragon Age: Origins. Players click on an enemy to attack them, click or use hotkeys to utilize special moves or items, and hope that their foe's health bar depletes before their character's does. The interface itself isn't bad, and conquering opposing forces does feel rewarding, but it's hard to justify the upcoming remake maintaining this brand of roll-based combat given how slow-paced and chance-based it is. Fighting in KOTOR nowadays feels much like watching the original X-Men movie in the age of the MCU—it worked at the time, but if released today, the reception might not be as warm.
Thankfully, the remake has a lot of sources to take inspiration from when it comes to modernizing KOTOR's combat. Whether it's up-close melee encounters or far-range firefights, there's probably a Star Wars game that has previously refined that style of combat. Now, that's not to say that lightsaber-wielding characters should play like Cal Kestis in Jedi: Fallen Order while blaster-toting builds run-and-gun as one does in Republic Commando, but it'd be refreshing to see Aspyr take some cues from the more combat-inclined Star Wars games to make KOTOR's battles more skill-based, while still preserving the tactical elements that RPGs are known for.
The Lack of Depth in KOTOR's Dark Side
The original KOTOR lets players forge their own destiny as either a Jedi Knight or a Sith Lord. Star Wars games loved experimenting with this kind of stuff back then, and like KOTOR's combat, this aspect of the game passed for the time. However, choice-driven games have evolved so much in the 18 years since KOTOR was released, that the game's morality system is laughably simple by today's standards.
Most of the game's pivotal moments ask players to either be good or bad; the former bringing players closer to the light side, and the latter to the dark. However, the game almost always highly encourages one to be the good guy. Choosing the dark side options makes the protagonist out to be a comically evil individual who feels more like an alternate version of the well-spoken, kind, reasonable hero of the light side than they do someone who could believably fall to the dark side for a good reason, which is something that happens all the time in Star Wars.
The most obvious example of this is perhaps Anakin Skywalker, who joined the dark side in an attempt to prevent Padme's death. Obi-Wan Kenobi even had a brush with the dark side during The Clone Wars. While witnessing Darth Maul strangle Satine Kryze—a former lover of Kenobi's—the Jedi Knight was visibly filled with rage and temptation to tap into the dark side in an effort to save his companion. As the old saying goes: "The road to hell is paved with good intentions," and it would be refreshing to see such a viewpoint expressed in the KOTOR remake's handling of the dark side. As demonstrated by countless Star Wars stories, it's a lot more complex than just being a bad person.
The Binary Morality of Knights of the Old Republic
But of course, not all force users fall nicely into either the light or dark categories. Some exist outside of them, and some embrace both. These force users are commonly known as Gray Jedi, and the original KOTOR was actually one of the first pieces of Star Wars media to acknowledge their existence through the inclusion of Jolee Bindo, who describes himself as a Gray Jedi. Funnily enough, players can't actually be one in the game. It's impossible to operate in the middle; the closest available option is to make good choices half of the time, and evil choices other times.
But that's not quite what makes a Gray Jedi. They walk the line between light and dark because they cannot in good faith commit to either side. The absence of such an option in KOTOR is a little shocking, especially considering how big of a role one's choices play in the game. The upcoming KOTOR remake seems like the perfect opportunity to feature Gray Jedi front and center, and perhaps use it as an avenue to explore a different way one can bring balance to the force.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake is in development for PC and PS5.