A KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC Remake Is Officially Underway

long time ago in a galaxy far, far away… Except this time it is actually a long time ago. 4000 years before the saga films to be exact. 

Today at the PlayStation Showcase Sony and Lucasfilm games unveiled that they will be releasing Knights of the Old Republic — Remake exclusively for the PlayStation Five and PC at launch. The remake is a high definition return to the 2003 game of the year starring the coolest helmet in the Star Wars galaxy (sorry Boba) with the story of Darth Revan and his greatest frienemy, dark Malak. According to the interview on StarWars.com, with Orion Kellogg, executive producer at Lucasfilm Games, and Ryan Treadwell, lead producer at Aspyr Entertainment, this game is more than simply a shiny remaster. Aspyr Entertainment, having previously ported Republic Commando and Jedi Outcast, reports to be “rebuilding the game from the ground up.” Orion Kellog, of Lucasfilm Games, says, “We’re just going to be able to do more things with asset variety and fidelity and storytelling that just weren’t possible then, but are still going to meet the same goals.” For those curious about the Canonicity of the game, the story is set in the Legends continuity. That’s not to say that the story couldn’t be re-incorporated into Star Wars Canon’s ancient backstory at some point in the future, however. 

Rumors of such a remake have circulated around the underbelly of the Internet for years now, and our expectations are certainly high. The original Knights of the Old Republic was a groundbreaking game on many levels. It had a revolutionary light side/dark side choices meter in which your endgame decisions affected the protagonist’s orientation toward the Jedi Mastery or Sith Lordship. Those choices not only affected the overall story trajectory but also came with a different set of force powers: defensive skills like healing and speed for the light side and the most overpowered Force ability ever to grace all video games—Force lightning on steroids, a.k.a. Force Storm. Beyond the game mechanics, KOTOR had a rich cast of companion characters who joined the crew of the Ebon Hawk along the way: A pilot, a grumpy Wookiee, several Jedi on the fringes of the Order, a scrappy Twi'lek girl, and the ever obligatory droid companion. Oh, and we would be remiss if we didn’t mention the original murder droid of the Star Wars universe: HK-47 himself. The game is perhaps the most well-known for its massive plot twist that we won’t spoil here and if you don’t already know it, you’ll certainly want to experience it for yourself on the PlayStation Five.

Need something to bide the time? Check out our extensive reading guide to everything you need to know about the Revan and all of his adjacent stories at https://www.youtini.com/collection/revan or watch our founder, Dr. Corey Helton, struggle through the underlevels of Taris in our inaugural episode of Youtini Game Nights. We can’t wait to see what Lucasfilm Games, Aspyr Entertainment, and Sony Interactive Entertainment will do with the beloved Legends adventure, nor can we wait to spend all of release day trying to get off of Taris.