Star Wars The Old Republic (SWTOR) – how does the Free2Play MMORPG play in 2016? Is it still worth it? Our author Cortyn takes another look into the galaxy far, far away.
Star Wars: The Old Republic has received new content with “Knights of the Fallen Empire” aimed primarily at solo players. The story is clearly the focus here, everything else fades into the background. I’ve already vented about decisions without tangible consequences in a Mecker Wednesday, but this time I want to provide some concrete examples and also mention what works wonderfully.
For this purpose, I need to discuss the story of KotFE – so those who do not want to be spoiled should scroll to the headline “It falters a bit” (and miss half the article, but I’ve already got your click, ha!).
Wonderful Freedom …
It quickly becomes clear in the plot of KotFE that the thought-to-be-dead Emperor Valkorion has simply nested himself in our character’s body. He repeatedly whispers to us that we need to cooperate with him and surrender to his power. In particularly dramatic sequences, the “good man” simply stops time. There is a scene where Lana Beniko is overwhelmed by an attack and the fatal blow rushes towards her. We can only watch, or… or can we? The Emperor freezes time and promises: “Accept my power and we can save her. Let it be and she dies.”
These scenes occur frequently and are incredibly cool. Because it is more than a blunt “Good/Evil” decision. There are shades of gray that one usually misses. Every time you give in to the power, the message “This action will have consequences” appears on the screen, indicating that you made some kind of mistake. Since I stayed true to my line and only used Valkorion’s power when I saw my character’s love in danger (Yes, Lana Beniko. Such a great character). In other cases, I declined… and that had consequences.
… and yet no decisions
I played alongside a friend, and we would always tell each other about our decisions and how things turned out after a chapter (and during combat phases). One moment from Chapter 8 especially stuck with me. Our hero stands opposite the villain Arcann, and we are hopelessly outmatched… once again time freezes and we get the choice: Do we accept Valkorion’s power and beat up Arcann? Or do we try it alone?
And that’s where it got really interesting: Because we both chose the same answer, but different things happened. I confronted the enemy alone and was promptly skewered by Arcann’s lightsaber and severely wounded. Lana Beniko came to my aid (along with a dramatically romantic farewell kiss) and helped me, with my last strength, to escape to the ship. Again and again, my Cortyn breaks down, groaning in pain, and – if it weren’t an MMO – one could really think she was dying. That was awesome. It felt great. It was unique. I thought.
My colleague also refused Valkorion’s power, but something different happened. He received the message “Valkorion doesn’t care what you want. You’ve given him too much power”. The spirit took over his body, and with a lot of power lightning everything was turned to rubble. The sobering truth afterward: His character also “limps” toward the ship, close to death. The power storm consumed so much energy that he also nearly died.
This is just one example where it seems you have a choice, events change, and the end result remains the same. The character is severely wounded and the evil adversary has disappeared.
But I can bear it. Because I had a kiss with Lana. Ha!
It falters a bit
But unfortunately, one must also say that “Knights of the Fallen Empire” has been faltering since its release. Especially the two latest story chapters are – although of high quality like the rest – so incredibly short that one begins to wonder whether BioWare is simply not up to the time pressure of monthly updates. While some chapters provided an hour or more of playtime, the new ones often conclude after only 20 minutes.
Moreover, there are hardly any contents for groups that are engaging for long periods. SWTOR currently honors the RPG more than the MMO in its genre designation, and that doesn’t seem to change anytime soon.
Although we made SWTOR our Free2Play MMO number 1, the term “Free2Play” only applies limitedly to KotFE, as to experience the content one must have an active subscription – that is unfortunately no longer really the definition of “Free2Play”. Savvy shoppers will best just wait a few months until the number of chapters has increased or is completed, to then absorb the story of the expansion for 13 euros (so one month of gameplay).
Because – hand on the pure Sith heart – SWTOR is currently an experience for solo players and that takes no more than three or four evenings.
For more articles and news about “Knights of the Fallen Empire”, you can find it on our Star Wars: The Old Republic theme page.
