If you like Star Wars and pre-EA era BioWare: Yes.

If you like either Star Wars or pre-EA era BioWare: Sure.

If neither of those are appealing: Eh. I mean, I like watching the Red Letter Media reviews of Star Wars more than actual Star Wars these days. And I generally like my RPGs to be several steps away from one Dungeons & Dragons rule set or another as opposed to just a couple. Also, Carth.

The twist was never great, IMO (Jade Empire's was better), and was telegraphed from SO far away. The story is fine if not a little insufferable now-a-days to me because I find Star Wars incredibly dull and lame. If you miss the pause and play style of older Bioware games though, it is pretty fun, can be legit challenging at times, still looks okay for today, and it runs on a controller REALLY well, surprisingly.

So, I voted you should play it if you like the style of game (or if you're really into Star Wars, but I feel like if you love games and love Star wars you've probably already played it unless the style turns you off). If you asked me in like 2004 or something, whenever it came out, I'd say it is a must play but today I think Sith Lords is more interesting and more worth one's time, even if it is basically an unfinished product.

@facelessvixen: @sethmode: Main reasons I'd play through it is for the environments you go to and the characters you meet. Anyways, I actually just finished reinstalling it on the Xbox One X, so I'm going to play it. I'm not sure if I'll finish it at this moment, but maybe.

It was a really good RPG at the time but hardly the best game ever made - especially since that is a constantly moving and evolving goal post. At the time of release? Definitely that was a must play game of that era, especially if you were a Star Wars fan. Today? I would say it’s a good slice of what RPG’s used to be at their prime, but it’s no longer must play material. Of course the label of a “must play” title is in of itself highly subjective and one that I would personally bestow upon very few games in the medium. KOTOR was a solid RPG but it wasn’t influential upon generations of games that came after it and it’s not a story that reverberates through time.

I don't think there is any game that absolutely everybody should play. So if you like star wars or Bioware games or RPGs then yes I think you should play it. It was a VERY good game when it came out and I'm sure it's still great today.

The sequel is a whole lot better in my mind because it isn’t just the usual Star Wars shenanigans but the atmosphere is still good in this game, and the characters are excellent.

It's a good game and absolutely worth playing but I would say as a must play I would nominate the sequel more since it's an actual interesting take on Star Wars instead of just a really entertaining standard example of that story.

Must play if you like video games, even if you end up not liking it you should see what the fuss is about for yourself.

Amazing game. Absolute classic. Must play.

EDIT: I don’t really care about Star Wars as a license...

I might try again later. I feel like it's a game that I'll at least get through at some point. That said, in playing some more of it last night, after about 30 minutes I got into an open area on Dantooine, and the game froze so I did what anyone would do and uninstalled the game immediately after, ha ha ha.

I'd say play it so you can play the sequel. KotOR 2 is one of my all time favorite games.

I'd say yes if you like RPGs or Star Wars, especially because the first one is just so damn available. If you own a computer device, you can (and probably should) play it.

Kinda. I enjoyed it at the time, but I don't think it would hold up as well anymore. A lot of what made it stand out to me was having an RPG in a well realized setting, full of character and atmosphere, and with so many options for dialogue and control over the scenarios. But that isn't quite as impressive anymore and I don't think those concepts in this game hold up as well when in comparison to modern games. It might be interesting academically to go back to an earlier stage in the development of what would amount to many modern western RPGs.

I'm really happy to see so many fellow lovers of KoTOR 2 in this thread. Good job everyone.

I have a lot of fondness for KOTOR as one of the games that got me into RPGs in the first place. It’s also arguably the game that solidified BioWare’s formula and general writing style for better or worse. I think a lot of it still holds up alright, especially if you’re into Star Wars, but I also imagine a lot of it comes off as bad or trite if you’ve seen what’s come afterward. So, if you’re bouncing off of it, maybe don’t force yourself. There are a lot of really good RPGs out there, you might as well play the ones you enjoy.

That said, i’ll echo the KOTOR 2 recommendations. For as gloomy and dour as it can be, and for as blatantly unfinished as parts of it are (especially without the restored content mod) it’s also a more interesting game to look at in 2019. If you ever wanted to see how Star Wars breaks if you put its concepts under a microscope, it’s absolutely worth a look.

i went back and played it in 2011-ish when i was coming off a mass effect/dragon age bioware high. it's enjoyable and fun to see the underlying DNA that informed bioware's future releases. so from a historical perspective, it's neat. if you're way into star wars, it's a decent story.

but it isn't necessary. it gave me appreciation and perspective, but it didn't redefine anything for me.

I never played KotOR 2...I always mostly just heard complaints about it being rushed and unfinished so I figured I'd be better off spending my time elsewhere. This thread is making me think I should remedy that.

I voted yes, replayed it last year and I think it holds up real well. Decent story, interesting locations/characters and the gameplay holds up imo.

If you like Star Wars and RPG games it is a must play yes. Also might as well play the second game while you're at it. I see a lot of people like it more, but I did not. I found all of the party members to be either uninteresting or straight up unlikeable. While I really liked all the party members from the first game, yes even Bastila.

I played through the first half of it within the last several months after an itch. The first one can be a pain to get running properly on modern PCs (with widescreen fixes and whatnot), but I got it working with a bunch of mods. Still holds up fine.

Definitely a classic in the sense that you can see the influence it carried forward to many other BioWare games. Having a really good character RPG set in the Star Wars universe was pretty novel at the time.

However it has nothing that will wow you at this point, it’s just a totally solid Star Wars game.

Nah.

Don't get me wrong. It's arguably one of the twenty best games of its era and almost certainly one of BioWare's best works.

The fact remains, however, that Mass Effect did everything KotOR did, but better. And it did so while also creating a rich new fiction whole cloth.

tbh i'd say the sequel is a must play.

also dragon age 2 don't @ me.

I don't know how well it holds up but at the time KOTOR blew me away.

It's a way better game than some people in here are saying, and in addition it captures Star Wars way better and more faithfully than the sequel, which is pretty good but very overrated at this point where you see posters come in with responses like this, all about how it's superior when the first game is being talked about.

I appreciate what 2 was doing but it's not faithful to the Star Wars mythos in a lot of ways and doesn't feel like Star Wars much. The execution in the writing wasn't so great and as is it was very unfinished and unsaitsfying in the conclusion, compared to the ending of the first game which was fantastic.

Anyways, yes it's a must play for any Star Wars fan and RPG fan who can go back to an older game with an open mind.

You aren't alone. It isn't just the more faithful to the source material take that makes me like the first game way more. You're right on about the characters, in addition to things like the areas you go, which are not as interesting at all. It starts off with such a boring slog through a generic space station for example.

It was definitely unfinished and certainly had a nightmarish mess of a non-ending because of that.

But all of the moments in that game designed to crack open Star Wars and just ask "Why?" are on a level that nothing in the first game can compete with.

And personally, I liked it more because it wasn't so faithful to the Star Wars mythos. But that was about the point that I was totally done with Star Wars and found the mythos incredibly lame, personally. So 2 felt like a real attempt to do something new with it.

The version with the added stuff is better. Not perfect, because the game was just never finished, but I still prefer the unfinished game to the game that is basically like someone read a book called "HOW DO YOU STAR WARS?"

This is probably my number 1 game of all time. Not sure if I can recommend it today though.

I still play it every now and then and it's not really aged too well. When you see past the wrinkles, you will find a beautiful masterpiece (if you like the kind of game.... obviously).

I just bought it on android for the 3rd time sooooo yes.

In 2003, absolutely. In 2019.. maybe? Its good Bioware and good Star Wars. Both of those entities have ebbed and flowed in quality, so it really does stand out as being great. Also Pazaak... sweet sweet Pazaak. I haven't played in about 15 years, so allow for nostalgia.

It's an all-time great for me personally, but don't know if can hold up to today's standards. Star Wars and RPG fans definitely give it a shot

It was so boring to get off that first planet I have zero motivation now that I'm on the second planet to continue.