Star Wars: Dark Forces (1995)

As a fan of both Star Wars and old first-person shooters, Star Wars: Dark Forces has been on my bucket list for some time. My renewed interest in the Star Wars universe due to the release of The Last Jedi led me to finally taking on this 1995 classic.

The gameplay was what I expected: fast-paced, straightforward running and gunning. The experience is akin to Doom (as most MS-DOS first-person shooters were after 1993). The charm is of course that instead of hell-spawn, the protagonist is tearing through wave after wave of Stormtrooper, Imperial Office and other hostile alien races seen in the original Star Wars trilogy. The levels can be lengthy and require exploration and the occasional puzzle without compromising the excitement with enemies lurking around every corner. Dark Forces also maintained a standard PC FPS setup, although there were keys which I remapped via DOSBox. The most important was finding a comfortable way to look up and down in the game, given that mouse control is still side-to-side as in Doom. The game was had more vertical depth to its levels than I expected, which contributed greatly to level design and the dynamics of shootouts.

The story is not expansive but was overall interesting and enjoyable. Dark Forces introduces Kyle Katarn, a mercenary who finds himself aligned with the Rebels surrounding the events of Episode IV. The story is straightforward and stays true to the tone and mood of the Star Wars Expanded Universe in the mid-90s. The game's locations venture to different systems and ships, allowing for variety in level design and enemy variety. This variety went far in preventing the game from growing stale. As mentioned above, the levels were surprisingly three-dimensional with adequate use of the vertical axis. The arsenal was perhaps the best aspect of the games design - the preexisting ingenious of Star Wars' laser and plasma weapons were very satisfying to use. The variety held up well here also: in addition to the laser pistol/rifle and quick-shooting energy weapons, the inclusion of thermal detonators (grenades) and mines were interesting even if at times impractical. Additionally, some weapons had an alternate fire option which expanded combat options.

The difficulty of Dark Forces was mostly appropriate on the Medium setting. The first few levels were not terribly difficult, with the difficulty gradually increasing as new enemies are introduced and your weapon selection grown. Dark Troopers, elite Imperial units which drive the game's story, were exciting and difficult. However, their difficulty was frustrating at times given that survival during these fights is highly dependent on speed and precision while being confided to small, awkwardly shaped rooms. I found the most challenging part of some of the game's most difficult fights to be avoiding attacks while flying around the environment at break-neck speeds. The other frustrating aspect was the surprising deaths caused by an unexpected mine or turret. The occasion inclusion of these obstacles is useful for keeping the player on the edge of their seat, but some levels bordered on tedious due to overuse of these gameover inducing menaces.

These frustrations were due in-part to the game's antiquated graphics, which made detecting a mine or turret even more of a burden than it would be otherwise. Furthermore, distant enemies melt into the pixelated environments which caused me at times to spin aimlessly around attempting to determine the source of incoming fire. As a modern gamer, the graphics also impeded my progress during puzzle-solving and exploring. I enjoyed these old-FPS elements more than I expected, but there were times where I finally gave up and resorted to a guide only to find that I had seen the switch I was looking for but had never even remotely considered it as an interactive object. This also extended to the occasion platforming, where a jump-angle or platform width did not seem possible due to my conditioning from the less-forgiving physics of modern games.

The challenges of the game's graphics were almost redeemed by the soundtrack. The single most satisfying experience of the game for me was the crisp sound of the blaster, the whir of an opening door, and clever gamified scores which pleased me as both a retro gamer and Star Wars fan.

Star Wars: Dark Forces must be approached with special care due to its age and position in the development of the FPS genre. The challenges and formula are not accessible to those without an interest in early FPS games even with an interest in Star Wars. I am glad that I took the twelve or so hours for a leisurely playthrough, but I will likely not revisit it again. Someone interested in the game but lacking the dedication to acclimate to the archaic mechanics may benefit from watching a highlight reel on YouTube or even just exploring a synopsis of the story, locations, enemies, and weapons introduced. Appreciating the game for it's release year and technical limitations, the experience holds up well and feels coherent, structured, and built with care - playing this upon release must have been extremely satisfying.

A-
92/100

+ awesome Star Wars setting
+ variety and creativity
+ satisfying progression from beginning to end

- frustrating gameplay elements
- inevitable limitations of a game from 1995