Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic vs Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is an open-world RPG game (2003) while Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is an action-adventure game from Lucasfilm Games (2008).
Quick answer: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic has the higher Metacritic, 85 to 61.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
What each one is
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is filed under Open-World and RPG. In contrast, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed under Action-Adventure.
It is four thousand years before the Galactic Empire and hundreds of Jedi Knights have fallen in battle against the ruthless Sith. You are the last hope of the Jedi Order. Can you master the awesome power of the Force on your quest to save the Republic? Or will you fall to the lure of the dark side?
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is a 2008 action-adventure game developed and published by LucasArts, and part of The Force Unleashed multimedia project. It was initially developed for the PS2, PS3, Wii, and Xbox 360 consoles and on iOS, second-generation N-Gage, NDS, PSP, and Java-equipped mobile phone handhelds. The game was released in North America on September 16, 2008, in Australia and Southeast Asia on September 17, and in Europe on September 19. LucasArts released downloadable content for the PS3 and Xbox 360 consoles. An Ultimate Sith Edition of the game, containing both new and previously released downloadable content, was released in November 2009, and later ported to Mac OS X and Windows. An enhanced remaster of the Wii version, developed by Aspyr, was released for the Nintendo Switch on April 20, 2022.
Story, characters and reception
Plot
Plot Four thousand years prior to the Star Wars films, Darth Malak – Darth Revan 's apprentice – has unleashed a Sith armada against the Republic . Many Jedi , scattered and left vulnerable by Malak's aggression, die in battle while others swear loyalty and allegiance to Malak. The game opens with the player's character awakening aboard a doomed Republic capital ship with no recollection of their past. (Wikipedia)
Characters
Main article: List of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic characters (Wikipedia)
Reception
The general critical response of Knights of the Old Republic was overwhelmingly positive. KotOR won numerous awards, including Game Developers Choice Awards ' game of the year, BAFTA Games Awards ' best Xbox game of the year, and Interactive Achievement Awards for best console RPG and best computer RPG. KotOR has seen success as the game of the year from many sources including IGN , GameSpot , Computer Gaming World , PC Gamer , GMR Magazine , The Game… (Wikipedia)
Plot
Shortly into the Galactic Empire 's rule, Imperial spies locate a Jedi survivor of the Great Purge named Kento Marek on Kashyyyk . Darth Vader arrives as the planet is invaded and eliminates any Wookiee resistance between him and the fugitive Jedi. Reaching Kento's home, Vader easily defeats him in a lightsaber duel but senses someone far more powerful nearby. (Wikipedia)
Characters
Sam Witwer provides Starkiller's voice and likeness. Sam Witwer as Galen Marek / Starkiller — The forbidden child of a Jedi, Starkiller was adopted by his father's killer, Darth Vader, who, aware of his strong connection to the Force , raised him to be his secret apprentice. Once his training is complete, Starkiller is dispatched by his master to kill several prominent Jedi who survived the Great Jedi Purge . (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception 1. 738 million unit sales of The Force Unleashed across all platforms made it the third best-selling game globally in the third quarter of 2008; as of July 2009, it had sold six million copies. The Force Unleashed was both the fastest-selling Star Wars game and LucasArts' fastest-selling game. (Wikipedia)
At a glance
| Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic | Star Wars: The Force Unleashed | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 7.8/10 | — |
| Steam rating | Very Positive (91%, 33,918) | — |
| Critic aggregate | 85/100 | 61/100 |
| Price | $9.99 | Unknown |
| Install size | — | — |
| Steam Deck | playable | Untested |
| Released | 2003 | 2008 |
| Developer | — | Lucasfilm Games |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic vs Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
Star Wars: Knights of the Old RepublicOpen-world RPG gameStar Wars: The Force UnleashedAction-adventure gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Star Wars: Knights of the Old RepublicRPG, Sci-fi, Story RichStar Wars: The Force UnleashedNo descriptive tagsThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic ✓Metacritic 85Star Wars: The Force UnleashedMetacritic 61Metacritic's critic aggregate, from the game's Wikipedia reception where it was never on Steam.
Content and scale
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic33,918 reviewsStar Wars: The Force Unleashed—Reach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic$9.99Star Wars: The Force UnleashedUnknownRead live from Steam and subject to change.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic takes 1 of the marked rounds to 0. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The better reviewed of the two: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (Metacritic 85)
Where they differ
RPGSci-fiStory RichSingleplayerClassicAdventure
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
System requirements, side by side
| Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic | Star Wars: The Force Unleashed | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPU | 32 MB with Hardware T&L | — |
| Minimum CPU | Intel Pentium 3 1Ghz | — |
| Minimum RAM | — | — |
| Install size | — | — |
Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic · Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 0 accessibility features for Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and 0 for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed in scope?
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic has drawn 33,918 Steam reviews. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed lists little scope data.
Is Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic or Star Wars: The Force Unleashed better?
Neither carries enough reviews for us to score it reliably, so we do not call a winner. The table above shows what each does have.
Which is cheaper, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic or Star Wars: The Force Unleashed?
One or both do not have a current listed price, so a straight comparison is not possible. See the table above.
Should I get Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic or Star Wars: The Force Unleashed?
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic has the higher Metacritic, 85 to 61. It also depends on what you want: the "which to pick" section above calls out which is cheaper, lighter on storage, better on a Steam Deck and the safer bet by weight of reviews.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
All comparisonsHow we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.