GAMEPLAY

Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order is an action-adventure video game played from a third-person perspective. The player can use their lightsaber to strike at enemies, as well as blocking incoming attacks whether melee or ranged. The block meter will deplete gradually as it blocks incoming attacks, eventually opening a window of opportunity for opponents to attack. If the player is able to block just before an opponent attack, a parry sequence would be triggered against the enemy or deflect incoming projectiles, heavily depleting an opponent's block meter, opening them up for attack. Some enemies will glow red when they attempt to launch an unblockable attack. The player can either quickly sidestep or dodge to avoid being hit or use Force abilities to interrupt them. The player only has one lightsaber at the beginning of the game, though they will acquire a double-bladed lightsaber on the planet Dathomir, and eventually gain the ability to dual-wield them.

Throughout the game, the player is accompanied by a droid named BD-1. The droid will help the player access chests and terminals, as well as healing them using Stim Canisters. The game can only be saved manually at checkpoints, which appear as "meditation circles." At these meditation circles, the player can spend the skill points and "rest," which replenishes their health, Force energy, and healing items, but causes all enemies to respawn. Dying in battle will cost players experience points, though lost XP can be regained by damaging the opponent that has previously killed the player.

The player has access to several Force powers, which are used in both combat and puzzle scenarios. At the beginning of the game, the player only has an ability known as "Force slow," which can significantly slow down an enemy. Eventually, the player will acquire more powerful Force powers, including Force push and Force pull, as well as wall-run and double-jump, allowing him to reach previously inaccessible areas. The usage of these Force powers is governed by the Force meter, which will replenish only when the player damages an enemy using regular attacks. As players progress in the game, they will gain skill points which can be used to upgrade their combat skills, which are divided into three major categories: Survival, Lightsaber, and Force. Enemy types range from Imperial stormtroopers, droids, and Purge Troopers, who have been trained specifically to battle Jedi, to wild beasts that are native to each planet the player explores. The game's bosses include Inquisitors, who wield lightsabers and the Force, bounty hunters hired to hunt down the player, large vehicles such as AT-STs, and wild beasts like the Oggdo Bogdo and the Gorgara. Some of the bosses are part of the main story, while some are optional battles that players may miss.

The game adopts the "Metroidvania" style of exploration and progression. It features five major explorable planets that players can return to regularly, including Bogano, Zeffo, Kashyyyk, Dathomir and Ilum. The ship Stinger Mantis serves as the small hub area where the player can talk to other non-playable characters, and is used to travel between planets. In each planet, the locations are inter-connected, and players can find shortcuts which allow them to progress through an area quickly in subsequent visits. Some areas may remain inaccessible until later in the game when the player unlocks certain abilities, transversal techniques or navigational items. When requested, BD-1 will project the map hologram of the planet, showing players the location of the current objectives. Doors that can be opened are highlighted in green, and gates that cannot be opened yet are highlighted in red. As the player explores different locations, BD-1 will occasionally request to scan items, granting players a small amount of experience points. Through exploration, players will access chests, which unlock additional cosmetic items such as outfits for the player, new colour scheme for BD-1 and paint jobs for the ship. The color of the player's lightsabers can be modified. the player will find echoes which provide players with additional details about the game's world and story, and life and Force essences, which permanently increase the player's health and Force meter. BD-1 can be upgraded with abilities, allowing the player to navigate the environment easily and occasionally assisting him in combat, though some upgrades can be easily missed.

With the addition of a Star Wars Day update released in 2020, players can access the Meditation Arena through the meditation circles. This allows them to complete combat challenges, involving fighting multiple waves of enemies in arenas based on certain locations from the story mode; completing these challenges awards the player with one to three stars, depending on whether the player abided by restrictions on the character's health (i.e. never recovered health or took any damage), which can be used to unlock additional skins for BD-1. The Meditation Arena includes a battle grid, where the player can face off against their own custom enemy wave, while being able to grant themselves invincibility, unlimited Force, and other cheats.