The Underrated 83 OpenCritic RPG With the Best Plot Twist On Xbox, and More is On The Way

22 years later, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is still revered for its sprawling cast of well-written, diverse characters, its laser-focused plot, and its ability to capture the wondrous but sometimes foreboding atmosphere of the Star Wars universe. But above all else, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is remembered for its plot twist, which has gone down in history as one of the best plot twists on Xbox.

The Story Leading Up To Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic’s Big Plot Twist

For those who haven’t played BioWare’s 2003 masterpiece, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic sees players take control of a customizable, unnamed character who wakes up in the middle of a space battle above the planet of Taris with virtually no memories. It’s 4,000 years before the events of Star Wars: A New Hope, and a brutal war is being waged between the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire, led by Darth Malak.

During the course of the game’s first and second acts, players meet and recruit a variety of characters to aid in their mission of tracking down ancient Star Maps that the Jedi Council believes could lead to a powerful super weapon known as the Star Forge. Throughout the game, the player-character is haunted by visions of Darth Malak and his former master Darth Revan who is thought to have died at the hands of their Sith apprentice.

Why Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic’s Plot Twist Is The Hardest-Hitting On Xbox

Upon activating three Star Maps and being en route to the fourth, the player’s party is captured by Darth Malak and brought aboard the Sith leader’s flagship, the Leviathan. It’s here that Darth Malak reveals that the player-character is actually Darth Revan, who survived Malak’s attempted assassination and had his memories suppressed by the Jedi Council in the hopes that he’d lead them to the Star Forge. Close companion and Jedi Knight Bastila Shan confirms that this is true before sacrificing herself so that the party can escape.

The brilliance of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic‘s plot twist lies in just how multifaceted it is. On the surface, Star Wars: KOTOR‘s plot twist is immediately shocking. The revelation that the player has actually been the galaxy’s big bad the entire time is surprising, yet there are enough breadcrumbs laid throughout to ensure it makes total sense and that it rewards those paying close attention to the game’s dialogue and lore.

But Star Wars: KOTOR‘s plot twist goes far beyond that initial, satisfying shock. After escaping Darth Malak’s Leviathan, the weight of this twist sets in immediately. Companions who otherwise trusted the player-character with their life waste no time in expressing their fear and concerns that they’ve been unknowingly serving a warmongering Sith Lord. At the same time, players are fully immersed in Revan’s role as they’re just as blindsided by the revelation as Revan is, being forced to react on the spot to their companions’ interrogations.

Even after players reforge or reshape their relationships with their companions, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic‘s twist doesn’t let up. It ultimately impacts how players view their own relationship with the character they’ve created, as well as the direction they were taking that character. For instance, if players were following KOTOR‘s Dark Side path, they might view this twist as a confirmation that they’re fulfilling Revan’s destiny, while those who were following KOTOR‘s Light Side path might view their journey as Revan’s redemption following the twist. Regardless of how players decide to act following the reveal, there’s no denying that Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic‘s Revan twist is one of the most powerful in gaming, with it affecting almost every facet of the game from that point onwards.

Other Great Plot Twists on Xbox

Of course, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic isn’t the only Xbox game to feature an incredible plot twist. Here are some other Xbox console games with memorable plot twists centered around the player-character:

• Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty — Raiden is the main playable character, not Snake
• Halo 2 — The Arbiter is a secondary playable character and the Prophets turn on the Elites, leading to a Covenant civil war
• Silent Hill 2 — The player-character is responsible for the death of his wife, and the monsters of Silent Hill are manifestations of his grief
• BioShock — The player-character has been brainwashed and controlled throughout the game
• Spec Ops: The Line — The main villain was actually a hallucination brought on by the player-character’s PTSD
• Assassin’s Creed 3 — The first playable character is actually a member of the Templar Order

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic’s Plot Twist Has Set An Incredibly High Bar for Future Games

Only a handful of Star Wars games over the last four decades have put forward an original plot twist of their own, and those that have haven’t always done so successfully. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is one of the exceptions to this. Throughout Jedi: Survivor, players work alongside Bode Akuna, a mercenary who helps protagonist Cal Kestis in their search for the hidden planet of Tanalorr. Upon finding the sanctuary planet, Bode turns on Cal, killing Jedi Master Cordova and revealing himself to be a former Jedi and fellow survivor of Order 66, but one who’s been forced to work for the Empire as a spy.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor‘s plot twist is certainly shocking, and it gives Respawn’s Star Wars sequel an intense third act with high personal stakes. But even Jedi: Survivor‘s twist can’t reach the high bar that Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic set over 20 years ago.

No other plot twist in Star Wars video game history has managed to transcend the medium quite like KOTOR‘s, and even with original KOTOR game director Casey Hudson on board, Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic would have a hard time delivering a twist as powerful or memorable. Still, with the KOTOR Remake hopefully happening someday and a possible, bright future with FOTOR, Revan’s legacy and plot twist may someday be overshadowed itself. Until then, however, KOTOR is always a great game to go back to.

Released

July 15, 2003

ESRB

T for Teen: Violence