Star Wars: Dark Forces

Along with all the visceral thrills of Doom, Dark Forces added on rudimentary puzzles, complex levels requiring exploration, and mission goals—years before Goldeneye 007 blew N64 fans away. Though technology limited the map designers in their ambitions, Dark Forces offers more realistic levels than Doom or Heretic. Levels have a flow to them that serves gameplay but also makes sense logically, such as going from a space depot to a docked space craft. Seeing Jabba’s Palace or the insides of an imperial ship are still great fan service to this day. Despite the now dated graphics, no future entry in the franchise felt quite as true to the source material. The story isn’t memorable but the great animated cutscenes and mission briefings immerse the player as mercenary Kyle Katarn working for the Rebels, taking orders from a space-muumuu-wearing Mon Mothma.

Given this was LucasArts Entertainment Company’ first outing in a genre yet to be explored by many, missteps are expected. Some levels are too labyrinthine for their own good, such as one that requires a leap of faith in an elevator shaft or the infamous sewer level that had many players putting down the game after its initial two levels. Complaints were made about the lack of lightsabers, but the real problem with Dark Forces is the weapon selection. The blaster rifle that can be obtained within the opening minutes of the game remains the best weapon until the end, given its range, fire rate and power. Weapons gathered later in the game feel gimmicky and give little reward for high risk due to splash damage.

Dark Forces is one of the best FPS games of its era, expanding on ideas introduced in Doom while pleasing Star Wars fanatics. It’s well worth playing, but be warned you may have a hard time getting it to run. A fan-made engine update Dark XL is the best way to experience the game these days, but there is a major caveat: you can’t use weapons obtained later in the game and there are a handful of game-breaking bugs. I advise playing the first half in Dark XL, then play the second half via Dosbox following Steam community guides to make the game play and look a bit more modern.