There’s a reason everyone is so hyped for the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake. The 2003 game (and its half-finished sequel) remain some of the best Star Wars stories told outside the movies. With the originals now graphically dated, a remake had been rumored for some time, and there was much rejoicing when it was officially confirmed for PS5 at last week’s PlayStation showcase.
One person particularly excited is Guardians of the Galaxy and The Suicide Squad‘s James Gunn. He greeted the news with an excited “oooh”, before going to say that it’s his favorite game and that his first playthrough was one of the happiest moments in his life:
Knights of the Old Republic is worth all the praise. The games came hot on the heels of the wobbly prequel trilogy and gave disappointed Star Wars fans a new story that wasn’t linked to the Skywalker Saga and could stand alone. They provided a compelling and well-written perspective on the Force, introduced a whole bunch of interesting characters, and – most importantly – allowed players to explore the Light Side/Dark Side morality for themselves.
If you go full Dark Side you can be a real bastard in this game. Some of this is your typical snarling and kicking kittens villainy, but once you’ve got Force mind control in your arsenal you can compel characters to do things against their will, which leads to some truly monstrous scenes. Or you can be a goody-two-shoes Jedi, but where’s the fun in that?
A remake should be able to capture all that while applying a fresh coat of graphical paint and some gameplay tweaks for modern sensibilities. I can’t wait to see a new generation of gamers discover Knights of the Old Republic. Let’s hope we get a full trailer and a release date sooner rather than later.