Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy Coming Early 2020 On Switch, Features Gyro Aiming Support

Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy Coming Early 2020 On Switch, Features Gyro Aiming Support

Switch users are in for some classic lightsaber action when Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy launches next year!

Earlier, Star Wars: Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast has been revealed coming to the hybrid platform this month. However, it seems that Switch fans is getting one more title from the highly acclaimed Jedi Knight series.

Publisher and developer Aspyr has also announced that Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy is releasing for the system in early 2020. The game will feature online multiplayer battles and gyro aiming support. Players will take on the role of a new student learning the ways of the Force from Jedi Master Luke Skywalker.

Read on below for the details:

Star Wars fans will soon wield lightsabers and blasters on Nintendo Switch.

Two classic Star Wars games are coming back to consoles from Lucasfilm and developer Aspyr, starting September 24 with the action/adventure game Star Wars: Jedi Knight II: Jedi OutcastStar Wars: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy will follow soon after in early 2020, with Aspyr bringing back the game’s much-celebrated online multiplayer battles, and both games will feature Gyro Aiming support for Nintendo Switch’s Joy-Cons.

Released in 2003 for the Xbox and PC, Jedi Academy is Raven Software’s follow-up to the highly acclaimed Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, making it the fourth and final installment in the Jedi Knight quadrilogy that began with LucasArts’ beloved 1995 shooter Dark Forces. However, Jedi Academy is a fairly self-contained, standalone experience; you can easily enjoy it without having played the others. It also bridges the gap between retro gameplay and more modern blockbuster sensibilities. The game was built using id Software’s Quake III engine (programmed by Doom co-creator and Oculus chief technologist John Carmack), so it’s firmly rooted in the first-person shooters of the past — but it’s got plenty of lightsaber action, too.

A screenshot from Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy.

In this Legends-era story, players take on the role of a Jedi initiate named Jaden Korr. What makes Jaden an interesting protagonist is that the character is whoever you want them to be, ultimately — male or female, Twi’lek, Zabrak, human, Kel Dor, Rodian. You can choose their appearance, the style and color of their outfit. Even the design of Korr’s lightsaber hilt is up to you. There are nine hilts to choose from, along with five blade colors: purple, yellow, blue, orange, and green.

A screenshot from Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy.

When the game starts, Jaden Korr is en route to Luke Skywalker’s Jedi Praxeum on Yavin 4. Korr’s a noteworthy apprentice for having successfully constructed a lightsaber prior to any formal teachings. As the trainee shuttle arrives, it falls under attack, along with the rest of Skywalker’s academy. On the ground, Korr glimpses members of a Sith cult known as the Disciples of Ragnos, and is knocked unconscious by a mysterious flash of light. When the new student awakens, they’re greeted by Skywalker and Kyle Katarn, the reluctant Jedi hero of the previous Jedi Knight games. (In Legends, it was Katarn who first delivered the Death Star plans to the Rebel Alliance.)

Jaden Korr — in a sense, the player — becomes Katarn’s apprentice as the search for this dangerous Cult of Ragnos begins. Here, following a brief training session on Yavin, the game opens up into an episodic, nonlinear series of missions across the galaxy. Venturing to planets like Tatooine, Bakura, Blenjeel, and Corellia, you’ll fight alongside familiar faces (like Chewbacca!) in your quest to thwart the Sith cultists and achieve mastery of the Jedi arts.

A screenshot from Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy.

If you want to get your hands on a custom lightsaber and Jedi avatar that suit your personality and play style, and take on rancor beasts and followers of the ancient Sith, Jedi Academy is the old-school game for you. With its foundation of Quake-style FPS gameplay, you’ll find yourself toggling back and forth between your saber and an arsenal of recognizable weaponry like the Wookiee bowcaster, E-11 Blaster Rifle, and thermal detonator. If you’ve never delved into the world of classic Star Wars games, there’s no better time to start — and the Jedi Knightseries is a crucial piece of that history.

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