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Star Wars: Dark Forces 2024
Star Wars: Dark Forces is a first-person shooter video game made by LucasArts and released in 1995 for MS-DOS and Macintosh, followed by a 1996 release for the PlayStation. Set within the Star Wars expanded universe, the narrative starts just before the original Star Wars movie and then moves forward to a year after that film’s events. Kyle Katarn is the main character and player-controlled figure, a mercenary who works for the Rebel Alliance. He uncovers the Galactic Empire's hidden Dark Trooper Project, which focuses on building advanced battle droids and power-armored stormtroopers.
The game runs on the Jedi engine, created especially for this title. This engine introduced features that were rare in early first-person shooters, including multi-level environments and the ability to look up and down during gameplay.
Initial reviews of the PC and Mac versions were mostly positive, with critics appreciating its level design and technical innovations. However, the PlayStation version was criticized due to low visual quality and slow performance. Financially, the game was a success, selling nearly 1 million copies in the United States by 1999. Its popularity led to the creation of the Star Wars: Jedi Knight franchise, beginning with Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II in 1997.
A dedicated fan community created an enhanced port named The Force Engine, which reached version 1.0 on December 20, 2022. Additionally, Nightdive Studios developed a remastered edition for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S, launching on February 28, 2024.
Crew
- Director
- Daron Stinnett
- Designer
- Daron Stinnett, Ray Gresko, Justin Chin
- Programmer
- Daron Stinnett, Ray Gresko, Winston Wolff
- Artist
- Justin Chin, Collette Michaud
- Writer
- Justin Chin
- Music
- Clint Bajakian
Details
- Developer
- LucasArts
- Publisher
- LucasArts
- Platforms
- MS-DOS, Mac OS, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
- Modes
- Single-player
- Engine
- Jedi
- Series
- Star Wars: Jedi Knight
