Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast was first released in 2002. It was, and remains to this day, one of the best Star Wars games ever made, a near-perfect blend of the original Dark Forcesâ FPS combat with third-person lightsaber combat that even modern games could take notes from.
If you went and played the game as nature intended in 2023, it would be great! But this standalone port/version, provided youâve got the hardware, looks like a hugeâand decidedly more modernâimprovement. It takes the original Jedi Outcast and gives the player full VR support, along with the ability to wield your lightsaber via motion controls and use force powers via hand gestures.
I need to be clear when saying the original was a very good video game in every respect. But peopleâs lingering memories of it, especially in the wake of Fallen Orderâs all-ages combat, was the way you could absolutely go to town on Stormtroopers with your lightsaber, something this trailer is very aware of:
Itâs called JK-XR, and was created by fans as a âstandalone VR portâ of the original, which means this is a complete reworking of Jedi Outcastâs engine with an all-new download (though youâll still need a copy of the original for everything else). That explains why the team have been able to cater this so specifically to VR, down to the new weapon and force power menus.
You can download it here if youâve got the hardware (Pico 4 and Quest 2/Pro)on PC and want to try it out. The available demo can be played on its own, no extra download required, but like I just said if you want to play the full game youâll need a legal copy of the original, which is still available on all major PC digital shopfronts.
