Retro Review - Star Wars: Dark Forces PC Game Review 

Rogue One: Spends a whole movie getting the Death Star plans Dark Forces: Spends one mission getting them

great review. respectful and considerate for the time period, while aware of how it compares to contemporary gaming. intelligent and straightforward. subscribed.

i just realize that nar shadda is in just about every game in this series

"You're not authorized in this area!"

1:05 "The Dark Troopers are basically Storm troopers on steroids." Does this mean they can actually hit something?

I actually really liked the Soundtrack of Dark Forces, especially when you hear a remastered soundfont version like you used in the background of this video.

The very first FPS I've ever played. Probably the most important game of my life.

Light years ahead of anything Lucasarts have released in modern times. A true classic :)

One thing that bears mention about the music which you may have missed is that it dynamically changes in time to the action on screen without ever skipping a beat. This is due to LucasArt's proprietary iMuse music system where motifs are called up in response to certain kinds of triggers, and the overall soundtrack stitched together on the fly. It's pretty ingenious, and contributes nicely to the immersive, cinematic quality of the game.

This game was one of the greatest things in my childhood, next to Doom 1 and 2. And a great introduction to the whole franchise.

This was the first Star Wars game I played

Republic Commando should also be a game both Star Wars and shooter fans should play. I've only played it for a few hours, but it's really well made and keeps you playing for hours. :D

I actually like the puzzle aspect of this game. Sure, you'll get lost from time to time, but it helps give the game its own identity compared to other Wolfenstein/Doom-esque shooters at the time and also does a good job in making you remember each level once they're over and done with.

Man,the Jedi Knight series was my first real gaming experience aside from Oregon and Amazon Trails. What a series

Okay I might have a bit of fog in my nostalgia goggles, but HELLO!? The music is FANTASTIC! Also like what BillXCIII said, levels are dark but that's why they gave you night vision goggles and a headlamp. The levels are incredibly creative and it really does feel like a high end game that can even live up to today's standards, if not, raise the bar. Levels can be so uncreative nowadays in order to make it easier for casual players to navigate, but in my opinion a level design that doesn't insult the player's intelligence and requires some thinking or strategy is a beautiful thing.

Actually, the XLEngine, while a nice idea is still quite buggy and many things don't work as they should. For example, the little mouse droids don't move and can't be destroyed. Not that this is hugely important to gameplay (although they are a source of batteries), but it shows that the engine is far from finished. Using the XLEngine might make the game look a little nicer and make it easier to get running for most people, but when something doesn't work, you'll never be sure if you're missing something or if the engine just isn't working properly. I recently played through Dark Forces again using a trio of programs to give it a more modern feel. First, I played it using the Daum SVN version of DOSBox, which has save states. These worked perfectly in DF and basically give you the ability to quicksave/quickload. Next, I used a program called GlovePIE, running in the background, to map the Look Up/Down keys to the forward/back mouse movements, which gives a simulated mouselook. It's not as good as true mouselook, but it's miles ahead of having to use the keyboard to look up and down. True, DF doesn't really require you to aim up or down, but it certainly helps to be able to look up and see where the enemies are. Lastly, I used a small program called OverlayXHair to put a crosshair in the middle of the screen as an aid to aiming. As long as DOSBox's fullscreen option is set to desktop, the crosshair will stay visible in fullscreen mode. While DF has auto-aim, it still helps to have some reference for where you're aiming. Actually, the auto-aim is my biggest complaint about Dark Forces. There can be a squad of stormtroopers standing next to a bunch of exploding canisters, but you're not allowed to shoot the canisters until all the stormtroopers are dead. The concussion rifle, which should be a great weapon, is completely useless for any enemies located above you as the shot will just hit the base of the wall. If there is a powerful enemy and a bunch of weak ones, you can be sure it will target the weak ones first.

This, Dark Forces 2 (Favorite Star Wars game), and Duke3D are my favorite DOS shooters. Dark Forces 2 and Turok Dinosaur Hunter are my favorites of all time.

I've played this so much with my dad as a kid.

Fantastic review. Never played the 'Dark Forces' games before, and after watching this, I'm absolutely going to pick them up in the GOG sale on right now. Thanks!

Let's hope with the Dark Troopers appearing in the mandalorian that Kyle Katarn finally gets some deserved screen time

The level where Boba Fett appears is one of the best. There's a bit of suspense when you know he's about and about to attack but you can't see him because he's flying around.

0:29 -- While the JEDI engine indeed ran on the original Dark Forces and Outlaws games, Jedi Knight used the SITH engine.

DAMN YOU DEMON!!! I buy the sequel an hour ago and here you are following my very steps!! I shall make my sacrifices if it pleases you but leave me alone!!!

This is one of my favorite review channels. I'm glad I found it. Your so underrated, I hope you can expand your following soon.

parallel to that in 93/94 I always played X-Wing, Rebel Assault and Tie Fighter .... Lucasarts was mega at that time, if only because of Monkey Island, Day of Tentacle, SamnMax, Indian Jones. That was a good time for me back then

I 100% agree with the review and nice work by the way! As a 10-year-old kid, some of the levels were impossible to finish due to the complexity of the map design. The game on PSX was a bit scary in some places because of the dark sky backgrounds, menacing atmosphere and the dramatic soundtrack. Oh, those were the days :)

You do realize there were two ways to illuminate areas right? You started out with a headlamp and then got nightvision goggles

I love the textures used for the levels, very nice looking

There's a group of people working on a re-imagined version, which in concept is cool but when you see it it doesn't look at all familiar to the environments that you remember so the whole Nostalgia factor is kind of out the window, meanwhile they just remade Full Throttle, which was a LucasArts game, and it's amazing, it's actually a good way to do a remake because you could send it back to the classic Mode

According to an issue of PC Gamer magazine, the game was originally intended to feature krayt dragons. Since official sources identified the krayt dragons as far larger than the creatures designed for the game though, the game renamed its design as kell dragons and identified them as relatives of the former species.

Childhood Favorite I still play it never gets old

Ugh, that sewer level, tell me about it! I must have been between 8 and 9 when I got the game and I never was able to get through it....the freaking third level! As such, I never finished the game. I'll have to try that DarkXL thing since last time I tried to install my copy it didn't quite work out.

I got Dark Forces on my first PC back in 1996. I still love it to bits, I wish that Lucasarts had remade it/remastered it before they closed

I really enjoyed this game as a kid, played through more than once.

dont play with DarkXL, its not finished and its missing weapons and enemies.

So it's basically Doom: Star wars edition. I MUST have it! (I know you don't consider it a Doom clone, i mean graphicwise).

AGH! I love this game! It was one of the first games I ever played back on the family IBM MS-DOS computer. I still have it and play it to this day. My go-to gun is usually the concussion rifle when I have it. Takes care of enemies in one hit. It really got me into game design as well, mainly level design. I feel like all of the levels are so well laid out. Your comments on the simplistic midi soundtrack made me laugh because although it's true, I remember the soundtracks sounding more orchestral, haha.

One interesting bit of trivia about the game is that the disc came with a demo of the game Full Throttle. The demo took up more space than the entire game of Dark Forces.

Check out the Newly Released Force Engine, these are the same guys from the Dark Forces Xl port. It is much better looking and includes all the bells and whistles that you'd expect to see from something like a GZDoom port...

If I could figure out the levels at 11years old without RU-vid, I don't think they were that puzzle'y. I do remember literally one or two being tricky but achievable. I loved the atmosphere this game generated at the time. It was awesome!

Good old Lucas Arts games! Loved playing this one, Rebel Assault 1&2, Fate of Atlantis, etc.

Still got that 3 1/4 inch floppy (!) in my desk. I would just love to play that again... after 20 years I still remember that sewer puzzle with the switches. Wheeee...

I used to love DOOM and Star Wars, and this was my first owned game on Playstation. I loved this game, and actually, it still looks pretty good.

I've had Dark Forces on PS1 since 1997, first game I ever got and I've recently replayed it. I can't get over how good the PC version looks in comparison. Absolutely deadly game to this day

If there's one thing I can't get enough of, it's 90's fps games (or Doom clones as they were known back then). Freaking glorious

I remember buying Dark Forces off the shelf at Best Buy back in the day, the game was so much fun, but I remember it being really difficult as a 12yo gamer at the time!

This was probably the earliest FPS game that I ever played, and I still enjoy playing it every now and then!

Hey, I’m late on this, but I wanted to let you know (if you didn’t already) that it and it’s sequel is available on Steam for around $6 now!

0:35 - That stormtrooper and Imperial officer have nerves of steel!

one of the first games i played on a pc. loved it. sucked at it. seems crazy when my dad and brother were figuring out how to install it, with installing direct x etc.. the memories

Damn this game was and is still so awesome ...remember one of the T.A.'s sneaked it in and installed it on one of my high school class mac's and I would play it during lunch, and stay after school to play the hell out of it, I didn't have a PC at home so the only time I played it was at school...all I had at home was my SNES....it wasn't until years later after I graduated that I was able to get this at home on my PlayStation and still have it😊...excellent review, awesome you point out that this is NOT a Doom clone because it certainly isn't, thank you.

You said the environments are 3d, where the characters are 2d sprites. In fact, this engine is a portal engine very similar to BUILD. There's a scattered handful of polyobjects as set pieces/decoration in some levels, and for 3d bridges, but the environments themselves are not polygonal.

one of my favourite classic games and on pc and ps1

actually in the game you have both a flashlight and night vision goggles so dark areas are not really a problem. the main problem that the original version had was the controls, with key bindings scattered all over the keyboard and no vertical targeting with the mouse

Whaa.. The music is great, and so in Tie Fighter. The day John Williams is no more with us, Clint Bajakian is the person that should take over the composing.

I have this on ps1 and i absolutely loved it when it first came out. Love the video. You earn my subscription

This is the first video, where the DF game doesn't seem to have any major drawbacks. I mean, usually there is something with color and general graphics. I remember playing it for the first time, enjoying so much.

May the 4th be with you.

I had a fond memory playing it as a kid. It was a big leap from Doom with truly realistic level designs have you really immerse in the Star Wars universe. Nar Shadda was my favorite as I really feel I am running through a real space city with graffiti, TV display ads and a bar with thugs trying to shoot me.

Great review! I'm a new subscriber and love your review style and taste in games. Would love to see a Dark Forces 2: Jedi Knight review one day. Keep up the good work!

I remember as kid how the demo was so amazing. Floors above floors! hoovering death star projection! Actual animated flying shuttle coming to take me away. And the game even ran better than doom on our 486

4:21 There is a way to make the MIDIs sound better. Run setup.exe in DOSBox (it is in the same folder as dark.exe). Change Sound Setup, Custom Setup, change music to General Midi, and change Digital Sound to Soundblaster 16. The problem is that DOSBox by default is emulating an old, crappy soundcard instead of letting you use the one in your PC.

I was addicted to this game back in 96. One of my all time favorites, didn't even know there was a source port. I will disagree on the MIDI soundtrack however, I really liked it. Not so much the actual film-score renditions, but the original stuff was really good. Particularly the opening bit to the final mission before the action kicks up. The MIDI jams for the pre-Windows 95 edition of TIE Fighter was awesome too. =D

One of the best Star Wars games ever made and one of my favorite games.

Just bought a second-hand Apple G3 PowerBook (1999 Pismo model) off ebay; first thing that I installed was Dark Forces, the only game that makes me feel like a REAL man when I play it (apart from Dark Forces 2)

Ahh those were the days, thinking games won't get any better than this.

Actually, Dark Forces II runs on the Sith Engine. It is fully 3D rather than 2.5D.

Very impressive review, i had thoughts about reviewing this one eventually myself!

the music is incredibly good for me

This game's pretty good, I wouldn't recommend the DarkXL port under normal circumstances though due to its bugs and compatibility issues (one thing that always chaps my ass is the lack of music in cutscenes) and sadly it doesn't look like it's in development anymore so it'll likely stay that way.

Your reviews are awesome, thanks for your great work.

I played this when I was 4. I only got to level 3 but damn was it memorable. It blew me away

Fantastic game, and one of the best Star Wars gaming experiences out there. The creators should be proud of this game.

Damn. The black ops from star wars. Cool! I've never been into star wars games or even star wars. But this game has my attention. Might check it later.

Dark Forces' sequel, Jedi Knight, did not use the Jedi engine for obvious reasons. Dark Forces is a DOS game, whereas JK is a Windows game, and it used the Sith engine.

I don't think it's ignorant to call it a doom clone. I think any 90s game that uses quasi-3d BSP after 1993 is riding on the success of doom.

Why are your textures so smooth? o.O

Looking forward to it being remastered

A studio needs to remake this and the first Jedi Knight game. I love these games!

The Dark Troopers introduced in the Mandalorian tv show were a good callback to this game. Also looking at it right after your DFII: Jedi Knight walkthrough, in ways I think DF1 looks better than DF2. The character sprites look more like the films than the boxy polygons of DF2, and in ways better than the lumpy stormtrooper helmets in Jedi Outcast.

I have this for the PS1 and it's great but much more pixellated than the version you showed.

This was my early childhood.

Hah, there was a Rogue One ad before this video. I kinda hope that if the movie gets a sequel, it goes into the same direction as Dark Forces 2.

Probably the first real video game I ever played. Good thing Steam had it for dirt cheap. A true classic.

I wasn't allowed Doom when I was little, so I played this instead. It was a great game!

The mines are only useless if you don't know how to use them. And dude, the Concussion rifle and the Dark trooper weapons both have their utility.

Huh, come to think of it, I only played Dark Forces after I've already finished Jedi Knight and Mysteries of the Sith. Problem was, DF was indexed in Germany at the time, meaning you couldnt get it easy in stores. By chance, around 1998/99 I came around a copy on a fleamarket and *instantly* grabbed it.

This is a piece of art!

Those mine were pretty fun in Chaos From Hell tho. Especially spamming them when the boss broke..

You had me at Game over making you star the whole mission over after losing lives. My favorite next to game over with no lives and starting at the beginning. I miss when dying had consequence.

hot fucking damn this brings back memories, i played this game over and over.

Id love to see this either get the vr or the Doom 2016 treatment

I've played this so many times I can probably finish it blindfolded! Easily one of my fondest memories of old school PC gaming! MSDOS, bitches!

I loved this game - The only other game that kinda had that 'feel' was Jedi Outcast, also an excellent SW game.

You got me into classic fps games and so far I have really enjoyed all your recommendations. I think you are a little too easy on this game though. The level design is really out of control confusing in this game. Couple that with no ability to save your game and a stupid lives system and you have a truly frustrating game. Also the shooting just doesn't hold up to the id Tech 1 or Build Engine games. I would only recommend this game to people who are completionists and must play through the entire Dark Forces series, or to people who simply want to try the game out of curiosity.

i loved this game as a kid

quite amazing graphics for such an ancient pc game

I prefer the sprites over the polygonal models in the second game. I'd say Dark Forces is a better looking game. The design just holds up better.

Enjoyable review, just as I remember it, although I did prefer Dark forces 2 when it arrived.

heh, damn this was probably the first "real" (not counting a few learning games I had on our old Tandy) computer game I ever played. I remember seeing a preview article about this game in some PC magazine and begging my mom for what would become my first PC so I could play it.