The way Dark Forces II conveys scale is unlike any other game I've seen. You feel tiny in the world of enormous imperial megastructures that extend into the clouds or burrow deep underground. And, continuing the direction of the first game, this feels a lot more like an action-adventure, as opposed to straight-up shooters of the same era. You do a lot of platforming, careful balancing on thin girders, and climbing into inaccessible areas. The level design is truly astonishing and a massive improvement over the predecessor, while still following the same general approach. At almost every point there are two or three different ways to go, not to mention countless secrets, all utilizing three dimensions. A lot of the times you will see some almost inaccessible ledge and think you're not meant to go there, but after a lot of trial and error, you finally get there, and you realize that it's either a secret area or yet another path towards your main goal. It's like the developers thought through every little part of every level. Yet the levels never feel confusing. I only got lost once, though admittedly in a quite egregious example of poor design, where you had to notice a tiny button placed on some random wall. Throughout the rest of the game the progression felt more organic than most games.

As far as the combat, I would say it's somewhat worse than the previous game. The guns are less balanced, with a couple of them being clearly superior, rendering the rest kinda useless. For example, I don't think I've used the crossbow once beyond the first testing. However, now you get a lightsaber, but, sadly, melee combat here is just abysmal. You kinda just swing your lightsaber like a club, and it murders all regular enemies with one hit, which is fine. But once you get to boss battles, it becomes a shitshow. Best tactic is always to run around them in circles and mashing the left mouse button, hoping one of your hits will land. This tactic, however, doesn't work on the last two bosses, because one of them jumps around more than Irish rappers, while the other keeps going back to a place that heals him, and the only way to stop him is to literally stand in his way and take damage.

You also have Force powers now, but they're also not very useful. Force jump and Force speed are great to navigate the levels, but the levels are designed with their usage in mind, so it's not like these powers give you any specific advantage. Force heal is useful, but it sucks all your mana and takes a long time to recharge, leaving you unable to use other powers. It is way more efficient to just eat bactas instead. Force pull lets you disarm enemies, and it's funny to watch them run around helplessly, but it gives you zero advantage in battle because it's quicker to just shoot them, plus the range of Force usage is so tiny that you have to approach them pretty close, where it's hard to dodge bullets. There is a moment in the game where you're allowed to pick between the light side and the dark side, and I have no idea what exactly you're supposed to do. I somehow ended up being light side, and it felt like it just happened automatically. After I beat the game, I unlocked all powers with a cheat code just to see what they're like, and the dark powers all seem very underpowered and useless. Grip incapacitates an enemy for like 3 seconds, after which they will continue shooting you. Lightning is almost impossible to aim, and does very little damage.

Bottom line is: this game is still mainly a shooter. Lightsaber and Force powers feel like gimmicks that don't add much. Unlike the powers though, at least your lightsaber blocks enemy attacks and can serve as a torch in dark areas. But the powers are a complete waste. Even in late game, guns are still the preferable way of disposing of enemies, which is not very jedi-like. In Jedi Academy this was handled much better: your guns becoming less and less relevant as you become more powerful as a lightsaber combatant and Force user.

There is a story here with FMV cutscenes, which is really cool, especially for 1997, before the prequels were made. It's like getting a new Star Wars movie and being able to play through it. That being said, it's more like a B-movie, which, tbh, I appreciate. Because EU content often violated the themes established in the movies, and this here is not an exception. A lot of plot details here are pure nonsense from the perspective of the movie lore, so I like the fact that at least it doesn't take itself too seriously like SOME games (****cough****-KotOR2-****cough****). It's silly and fun, with some wacky characters and low-budget special effects.

Despite some shortcomings, this game is really a blast to play through thanks to its impeccable level-design. It really feels like an adventure in a world you get to explore and craft memories in, as you complete challenges and progress through the story. For 1997 I think it's phenomenal, preceding and exceeding Unreal in a lot of aspects.