You know the characters, you know the movies, the shows, the books, and even the sounds of Star Wars. There is something so iconic about the music and the characters. We all have our favorites and even some friendly conversations about some of the characters and who shot first. But we have all thought about what it would be like to be in a galaxy far far away. But the question is, if you were able to be in that galaxy, what side would you be on? It’s interesting when you think about it. But does developer ILMxLAB give us the experience in the Star Wars universe? Let’s find out with Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge – Enhanced Edition for PlayStation VR2.
Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge – Enhanced Edition lets you become the hero of your own thrilling adventure, allowing you to play your way with different difficulty levels, combat weapons, and within immersive tales that show how the actions of one person can change the galaxy. So before going out and trying to be the hero, there are a few things that you should know. First, find your favorite place to stand or sit as you can play either way. Just be comfortable. Second, you will want to make sure the sound is up. Third, make sure those Sense controllers are charged. You don’t want to be in a battle and die because you can’t fire back because you forgot to charge them. And finally, this is Star Wars, so enjoy and get ready to have some fun.
Playing as a Droid Repair Technician, you happen to crash land on the planet Batuu and happen to come to the spaceport, Black Spire Outpost. Now, before we go any further if you have never heard of Batuu or Black Spire Outpost, it’s OK. You can actually visit these locations at Disneyland and Disney World where it was created for. When I visited and saw the Millennium Falcon, Batuu, and Black Spire Outpost, I was blown away, not only from being a fan but by the amount of detail that was added.
Starting out, the ship is going all crazy, and as you try and fix what you can with your all mighty multi-fix-it tool, you receive that incoming message from Tara and she and her goons pay you a visit. But it’s when you finally meet the barkeeper Seezelslak who does like to talk a lot but does start to tell you some tales that are new as well as familiar. But somehow and someway, ILMxLAB captured the moment by putting me, the player, into this world. Even looking out the window of Seezelslak’s bar, I saw what I had seen in person, the Millennium Falcon and Batuu. This is where I became even more engaged with the story and characters. Just looking at the amount of detail that was put into the characters, close up, I can see why this is the Enhanced Edition.
If you hit the pause, you can pull up a menu that will show you everything from your gear to the characters you have met, your missions, where you traveled, your journal, challenges, and tales which you will come back to from time to time as you may get lost in the fun when you are using your blaster and different weapons to attack enemies. Not only is the aiming spot on but when you pull the triggers and can feel it with every shot, it not only feels right but makes me appreciate the Adaptive triggers that much more. And it’s not all the enemies are just going to stand there as they do know how to hide behind objects and make the battles more enticing and left me wanting more to battle with.
During your missions, there will be audio logs that you will want to listen to as they can help fill some of the small gaps. Characters will be sending you on missions and challenges where a mission might be to try and collect an artifact and bring it back. There will be containers throughout where your tool becomes necessary. From being a screwdriver to using electricity, to even a torch. Each use of the tool feels different from the haptics of the Sense controllers. Being that this is the Enhanced Edition, the DLC, The Last Call is included, and this is where the Tales continues on as you get to continue the adventures taking on unexpected alliances and deadly enemies. This is where you will experience more eras and places in the Star Wars galaxy through Seezelslak’s legendary Tales.
The tales that are being told take you to some far-out places and eras. You do also meet some familiar faces like C-3PO, R2-D2, and more along with other characters that may not be so nice. I really don’t want to spoil anything. But it’s within these adventures that allow you to be part of the story. From having to use your jetpack to get to higher locations to see things from a higher view to when a building shakes, so does your headset and you start to feel what is going on around you. During your missions, don’t forget to collect whatever you can and then visit Mubo’s Workshop. This is where you can turn in what you found and earn credits to upgrade things like your jetpack, gloves, visors, and holsters, for example.
Let’s talk about the graphics and sound. Everything is very detailed from the environments to the characters. Seeing the reflections in the glass and even the different weapons, including the lightsaber, just added to the visual beauty, that I had to stop many times just to admire everything. With the sound, we have fantastic work from Skywalker Sound. From the character interactions of their dialogue to hearing those Star Wars sounds that we all have become accustomed to when you pair all of it with the Pulse 3D Audio Headset, you are in for a real treat.
There is something that I would love to have added. First, just more adventures to be added with more characters to meet and interact with. Maybe since we are already on Batuu, adding a Smugglers Run and Rise of the Resistance missions just like the rides would be a welcomed adventure. And the only other thing, and this is more of pleading and begging would be bringing Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire to PlayStation VR2. Yes, this doesn’t really have anything about Batuu or Black Spire Outpost, but it is Star Wars and every fan should be able to experience this.
Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge – Enhanced Edition not only brings the Star Wars experience home, but brings it to us in a way that just doesn’t need to be seen, but lived. It brings the feels, the sights, and the sounds, and allows us to join in the adventure while helping make those memories even more special. We sometimes only get to wish upon a star for our hopes to come true, but sometimes if we work and wish hard enough, we might just be surprised how our dreams can come true.
Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge – Enhanced Edition is out now digitally for PlayStation VR2 and as a physical release for PlayStation VR2 with the partnership of Perp Games at the Perp Games Store and a retailer near you. A review code was provided.
To learn more about ILMxLAB, please visit their site, like them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter, and subscribe to their YouTube channel.
To learn more about Perp Games, please visit their site, like them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter, and subscribe to their YouTube channel.
Make sure to check out the Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge – Enhanced Edition interview.
Also, please enjoy the video review:
In case you missed the trailer, please enjoy. Until next time, I am going back to Batuu.
