Maybe I’m just not very in tune with “Star Wars” or EA news, but the recently released RPG “Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order” flew entirely under the radar for me. I read some stories about it when the trailer first released, and then it was radio silence until it released on Nov. 15. I found myself browsing through the Playstation Store one night, and I saw the game pop up under “New Releases.”

I still don’t know what came over me, but I paid that $60 and was downloading the game before I could say Baby Yoda (but for the love of God, please stop posting that green thing everywhere). This was a surprise to me because firstly, I’m really not a big “Star Wars” fan. Secondly, I rarely pay the full price for a new game. But there I was, out $60, praying I didn’t just make another one of my signature, disastrously impulsive financial decisions.

Anyways, the game is excellent. You play as Cal Kestis, a Youngling who was forced to go into hiding after Order 66 demanded the slaughter of all Jedi. The game takes place five years after “Revenge of the Sith,” so the Jedi aren’t looking too hot (except for Cal and his egregious ponchos you can acquire throughout the game 😉 ).

Fallen Order is popularly being labeled a “Dark Souls”-esque game, and after completing it, I’d have to agree. The game feels like a more relaxed version of “Bloodborne” or “Dark Souls 3,” except you have a lightsaber and use the Force to do basically nothing to every boss in the game!

The main thing I noticed when playing the game was how engaging and innovative a lot of the parts felt. I never really got into the “Star Wars Battlefront” games, but I somewhat enjoyed the lightsaber combat during the Hero Battles because who doesn’t love swinging a laser sword around? The lightsaber combat in “Fallen Order” is insanely satisfying. At some parts, I felt like I was watching a “Star Wars” movie, punctuated by Cal’s stylish finishing moves and the intense boss battles.

The story manages to keep a steady and enjoyable pace that surprisingly manages not to be tedious, but actually very enjoyable. My only real complaint after finishing the game with a very impressed eyebrow raise is that the characters, including the main one, Cal, are not the most…complex?

Cal goes through some pretty traumatic stuff at the beginning of the game, and he never gives it a thought again. I don’t want to spoil the first 15 minutes for anybody, but it seems a little odd that Cal gets over it so quickly. His actions in the game are assumed to be for the good of the planets he visits, but upon closer examination, they’re really not. In fact, a lot of people would be better off in the end if Cal didn’t happen to pop in and swing his lightsaber like a wild man playing “Beat Saber” on Expert mode. The crew of his ship are fine sidekicks, and the game wants you to feel something towards them, but I didn’t find enough personality in either of the two crew members to care about them.

I think the most emotionally complex character is the literal robot, BD-1, that chills on your shoulder the whole game speaking in beeps and boops. Most of the somewhat emotionally deep scenes had BD-1 as a focus, which isn’t a bad thing, but a tad weird considering he’s made of wires and metal.

I think “Jedi: Fallen Order” is really worth your time, and this isn’t coming from a huge Star Wars fan. I’m still surprised that the game managed to fly under my radar because it was an EA game, and also because it’s “Star Wars.” When has “Star Wars” ever snuck up on anybody?