At this point, it’s been all but officially confirmed that aStar Wars: Knights of the Old Republicremake is happening. Earlier this week, Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier announced during a guest spot on the MinnMax podcast thatAspyr Media is working on aKOTORremake.
Aspyr is well known for its work porting plenty of classicStar Warsgames to modern platforms, including theStar Wars: Knights of the Old Republicseries. If any company were to be working on a remake of the classic RPG, it makes sense that it would be Aspyr. With the current culture of video game remakes being dicey at times, though, consumers have been wary to accept and embrace every remake in the works. That said,Knights of the Old Republic 1and2should absolutely be remade, not just the first one.
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Star Wars Game Genres
Star Warsseems to be the perfect fit for video games as so many genres can be covered with the many different moments from the movies. First and third-person shooters could be made out of thebattles waged during the Clone Wars,Sekiro-esque lightsaber fighting games would cover the climactic duels between Jedi and Sith, and/or even the controversial plots of the prequel trilogy could have their own Telltale-style decision-based adventure games.Knight of the Old Republicessentially covers all of these bases.
What a remake ofKnights of the Old Republic 1and2would do is remind people thatStar Warsgames can be so much more the, at times, underwhelming video game adaptations it’s received in recent years. As the reins ofStar Warsvideo games slowlystart being taken away from EA, other developers are hopefully going to be inspired byKOTORand create new games with interesting mechanics set in theStar Warsuniverse. The first one getting a remake could do just that, but the second one will only add more to the pile.
Star Wars Storytelling
The completewipe of theStar Warsexpanded universeback in 2014 raised quite the controversy. After that point, so much of theStar Warscanon was erased to allow Disney to create its sequel trilogy.Knights of the Old Republicleaned so heavily into much of the establishedStar Warsexpanded lore that it served as something of a jumping-off point for fans.
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KOTORis a masterclass in deep storytelling that clearly paved the way for other narrative-based games likethe Witcher, Deus Ex, and BioWare’s follow-up toKOTOR:Mass Effect. IfKnights of the Old Republicwas remade, it could either focus on the same extendedStar Warslore, helping establish the canon once again (as many Disney properties have done).
When EA took over,Star Warsstorytelling in video games was at an all-time low, but it has been steadily getting better,Jedi: Fallen Orderbeing the best example in recent years, but the cancellation ofprojects likeStar Wars 1313causedStar Warsgame narratives to take a blow. However, a return to theKnights of the Old Republicformula of narrative led by gameplay would do the franchise well at large.
Great Star Wars Game, But More Importantly, Just Great Games
In short, bothStar Wars: Knights of the Old Republicgames need a remake because the two entries are really solid games. They aren’t great because they’reStar Wars, they’re great because BioWare crafted a personal narrative that was driven by player choice and action.Star Warsgamesneed a reminder of what they can be as the license starts to be given to studios outside of EA.
With studios likeUbisoft working on new Star Wars projects, many developers would do well to look at an example of a great game that happens to also be aStar Warsgame. That look would be a lot easier for fans and creators alike ifKnights of the Old Republic 1and2were remade for modern audiences.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republicis available now.
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