lightsabers haven't been perfected in Star Wars games, typically either being an overwhelmingly powerful weapon or just a regular sword that glows.
Many past Star Wars games tend to either make the lightsaber an overpowered weapon that can one-shot most enemies in-game or weaken the weapons for gameplay purposes. For instance, in games like Battlefront 2, allowing lightsaber-wielders to one-shot everyone else would be unfair. So, despite lightsabers still being powerful, it takes multiple hits from this weapon to fell an opponent.
Another huge problem with lightsabers in Star Wars games is the combat itself. Whether it's against damage sponge enemies, or when players are easily slicing through waves of droids, the combat usually leans toward a hack-and-slash style of combat in which saber hits don’t connect all the time. Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy’s combat is arguably the best, and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2 handles lightsaber combat very well, but they both employ this hack-and-slash style of combat.
Star Wars Lightsaber Combat Can Still Be Perfected
While this hack-and-slash style can be a great tool in making players feels like a Jedi Master as they move from one enemy to the next, it ultimately lacks any sense of danger. Once the combo moves have been memorized, it becomes even easier. Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy arguably has a fan-favorite combat system with the different saber styles. However, its combat system is quite outdated. There are few animations, and the ones that are there aren't very smooth and are a bit glitchy. Sometimes hits don’t connect, or combos don’t string together as intended. There’s also no parry system and trying to block can be a hassle. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2's combat system was also upgraded in of being able to connect saber swings against opponents, but it still consisted of mostly button mashing and lacks a variety of melee animations, which makes it repetitive.
Jedi: Fallen Order has the most recent combat system which takes a more realistic approach to lightsabers than past games did. Hits feel like they connect, most enemies aren’t spongey, and animations are smooth, but melee combat is very simple in of combos being much more grounded, and methodical. Freedom of play is limited compared to Jedi Academy or The Force Unleashed 2. Players need the acrobatic freedom and skill variations of Jedi Academy or The Force Unleashed mixed with the smoothness of Jedi: Fallen Order’s combat system.
It could be a great idea to add a fight stance system like Ghost of Tsushima's in which players can swap between the seven combat forms on the fly. Adding Star Wars combat forms could engage players even further by allowing them to pick a more offensive or defensive stance depending on the situation. Paired with a freer acrobatic system and the smoothness of the lightsaber combat in Jedi: Fallen Order, this would open the door for new and unique animations, more fluid combat, better hitboxes, and more freedom of play.
