At PlayStation Showcase 2021, Sony is pulling out all the stops, with several games being revealed. Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, an Uncharted Collection, a Wolverine game are all in development, with much more being announced.
The announcement that caught most people’s eye is the announcement that Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is getting a remake. Sony is teaming up with Lucasfilm Games and Aspyr to bring this remake to a new generation of fans.
A short teaser trailer was also released, with Darth Revan wielding his lightsaber, and describing the game as “A legend Remake for PS5”.
This will surely excite a lot of fans. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is a beloved game within the fanbase. It is a role playing game originally released in 2003, letting players experience a brand new time period of Star Wars. Set 4,000 years before the events of the Galactic Republic, the player is set on a task to defeat the Sith army. This game pits the player as Revan, and they can either choose to remain a Jedi or fall to the Dark Side.
Several cinematic trailers have also been released to expand the era. Both the cinematic trailers and the game’s story were removed from the larger Star Wars canon when Disney bought the franchise.
This remake will also likely bring up the question of whether the events of the story are canon, but that will not matter to several fans. What is more important, canon or not, is that Disney is accepting the popularity of the game.
This remake however comes with a catch. It is a PS5 and PC exclusive, and will only be out for a limited time. This means Xbox fans will not be able to play this remake and relive what the game has to offer. This is quite disappointing, as Star Wars has an extremely large fanbase, and fans shouldn’t be forced to miss out if they don’t own the correct console.
Another disappointing aspect of its release is that the game will only be out for a limited time. Even fans with a PS5 console or PC could miss out if the game isn’t purchased within the correct time frame. This will no doubt inflate the cost of preowned copies of the game sold after launch, meaning fans will have to pay extra to experience the game.
The disappointment this generates cannot be overstated. All fans, no matter what console they play on, should be able to experience Star Wars games.
It is a huge franchise with fans spanning generations, and to see it being used as a weapon in the console debate is truly saddening. Meanwhile, the only people who lose out because of this move are fans who love Star Wars and gaming.
Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic has no release date as of yet.
By Kieran Burt
Feature image: LucasFilm/Sony Interactive Entertainment/Youtube