It’s almost the fourth of May, or better known as May the 4th. A day known as Star Wars day. There’s no better time to look at the Star Wars games available through cloud gaming. Star Wars remains one of the most popular franchises of the world. Surprisingly, ever since Star Wars has been acquired by Disney, Star Wars games have been on the backburner. The only publishers allowed to create games using the Star Wars license was EA, however that has changed recently.
There’s no shortage of games to play though, with many classics from the pre-Disney era. Fortunatly, there’s enough Star Wars Games available through cloud gaming on various platforms. From PlayStation Now to Google Stadia. If you’re looking to play some Star Wars games to celebrate May the 4th, look no further!
Super Star Wars (1992)
First up is the classic platformer, Super Star Wars. Originally releasing on the Super Nintendo, the game follows the story of Star Wars: A New Hope with challenging action platforming gameplay. As most games of this type during the Super Nintendo era, the game is very punishing and hard to complete. A challenge to be sure.
While it originally released on the Super Nintendo, Super Star Wars has been re-released on the Wii and PlayStation 4, along with other Star Wars classics. The PlayStation 4 version is playable through PlayStation Now. There’s also two sequels, covering The Empire Strikes Back and Return Of The Jedi, however they are not available as of yet.
Star Wars: Bounty Hunter (2002)
Another cult classic, Star Wars: Bounty Hunter follows the exploits of notorious bounty hunter Jango Fett. The father of Boba Fett had a prominent role in the 2002 movie Attack of the Clones. The game is set right before the movie and explores Jango’s dealings as a bounty hunter. Star Wars: Bounty Hunter was critically acclaimed back in 2002, however the controls don’t really hold up in modern times.
The game originally released on PlayStation 2 and the Nintendo GameCube. However, like other games in this list it later got re-released for PlayStation 4. It is available on PlayStation Now.
Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter (2002)
Regard Star Wars: Attack of the Clones how you will. Despite all the critique the movie got, it introduced us to a lot of cool concepts in the Star Wars universe. Some of these concepts are further explored in Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter. For example, we saw Jedi Starfighters and the Clone Wars officially kicked off. These two themes are central in Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter. Picking up right from the movie, the game picks up right where the movie left off. A spiritual succesor to Star Wars: Starfighter, the game hoped to live up to the Star Wars: Rogue Squadron hype. Sadly, the game never reached those levels. It is still an entertaining dogfighting game regardless.
The game originally released on PlayStation 2 and the Xbox. However, like other games in this list it later got re-released for PlayStation 4. It is available on PlayStation Now.
Star Wars: Racer Revenge (2002)
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace introduced us to podracing. A high speed race in the Star Wars universe. Lucasarts capitalised on that with the game Star Wars Episode I: Racer, which was all about podracing. It was a smash hit and is a cult classic to this day. Star Wars: Racer Revenge is the sequel to this game and really didn’t live up to the hype. Most people forgot about it and always think back on the original. That doesn’t mean it’s not a fun game to pick up once in a while. And since this is the only Star Wars racing game available through cloud gaming, beggars can’t be choosers!
As with the other games, it released on PlayStation 2 back in the day but got re-released on PlayStation 4. It’s now available through PlayStation Now.
Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga (2007)
Probably the most succesful combination when it comes to Star Wars videogames is Lego and Star Wars. The Lego videogames have been a succesful format for many franchises over the years and in 2005 it was Star Wars’ turn. The prequel movies got adapted to a Lego video game in 2005 and the year after the Original trilogy received the same treatment. In 2007, both games were combined in one package called Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga. It’s a massive game taking you from Star Wars Episode I through Episode VI, offering the classic Lego gameplay.
To this day, the game is still very much appreciated and a classic among fans. Just last month, a new game called Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga released, going from Episode I through Episode IX. The game has received massive gameplay upgrades and offers a more complete package. However, since it’s not available through cloud gaming, this one will have to do! It is available with PlayStation Now.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (2008)
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is probably one of the more controversial Star Wars games. The late 90’s and early 2000’s gave us the Star Wars Jedi Knight games, introducing is to Kyle Katarn and a post-Return of the Jedi era. They remain, to this day some of the most popular Star Wars games. Star Wars:The Force Unleashed set expectations to be a spiritual successor, however it proved to be anything but. In the game, you control Galen Marek. A survivor of Order 66 and pupil for Darth Vader. Instead of being a Jedi, you control a Sith acolyte in this game. With insane force powers. He performs crazy feats such as *SPOILER* stopping a Star Destroyer mid-air and beating Darth Vader.*SPOILER*
The result is an over the top action game with fun gameplay and an original story. There are people who loved it but many Star Wars fans also hated it. The character felt way too powerful according to these fans and didn’t fit in well into canon. Fortunatly for them, ever since Disney took over it’s not considered a part of the Star Wars universe. What’s left is a fun game where you can go all out with your lightsaber and force powers. The game is playable through PlayStation Now.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II (2010)
Despite a mixed reception for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, a sequel was released two years later. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II offered more of the same, continuing Galen Marek’s story. More massive force powers, lightsaber mayhem and an attempt to smooth things over with the fanbase regarding it’s story. Fans who liked the former game enjoyed it again and it even won over some more fans. In the end though, a portion of the Star Wars fanbase remained critical about the game.
Now, years later, as with most Star Wars critique, people have grown to enjoy it for what it is. A great action game reminding people of games like God of War. It certainly did help that Disney decided to wipe the slate clean following it’s takeover of the Star Wars franchise. You can play Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II on Playstation Now.
Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars (2011)
Following the prequel trilogy, Lucasarts launched the Clone Wars animated series. Despite a slow started, The Clone Wars animated series became one of the most popular pieces of content in the Star Wars Universe. It gave the prequel movies a new sort of shine and many fans started appreciating the prequel era because of it. And how better to capitalize on that succes than with a new Lego game. Enter Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars. This third installment in the popular Lego Star Wars videogames offered more of the same, excellent gameplay focused completely on the Clone Wars. It uses material from the animated series for inspiration and turned out to be a direct hit.
The game is playable through PlayStation Now, like it’s counterparts.
Star Wars Pinball (2013)
Before the Disney takeover, Star Wars games were almost a genre upon itself. There was a game for nearly every genre, such as first person shooters, real time strategy games, roleplaying games. You name it. In 2013, Star Wars Pinball was launched. Even the (digital) pinball games received the Star Wars treatment. Obviously, there were tons of real Star Wars Pinball machines but this was the first time a digital pinball game with a Star Wars theme was launched. The game is made by Zen Pinball, experts in the genre.
Star Wars Pinball is playable through Amazon Luna on it’s Luna+ channel.
Star Wars Battlefront II (2017)
When Disney took over the Star Wars franchise, they were quick to grant exclusive game rights to Electronic Arts. The first game that EA started working on, was a remake of Star Wars Battlefront. A daring move, as the classic Star Wars Battlefront games have a massive following to this day. Expectations were high and not met for the first installment. EA decided to retry with Star Wars Battlefront II in 2017. The game was supposed to be bigger and better than any Battlefront game yet. Everything looked hopeful, until it’s release. The game was riddled with microtransactions and received massive backlash. It was so bad, Disney even reached out to EA for clarification, which ultimately led to them losing exclusive Star Wars rights.
But, there is hope! The years after it’s release saw tons of free content updates and the removal of microtransactions. What remains now is a great Star Wars Battlefront II game, which offers massive battlegrounds with a true Star Wars feel, through all three era’s. The game also offers a singleplayer campaign with an original story and hero. Hero based game modes are included and game modes where you pilot just starfighters. The end result is a must play for any Star Wars fan. Star Wars Battlefront II is playable through Xbox Cloud Gaming.
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (2019)
In 2019, a lot of Star Wars fans were sceptical of EA’s handling with the Star Wars license. Games were few and far between and when a game released, it wasn’t great. So when Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order was announced, Star Wars fans didn’t really know whether to be excited. Announced as a spiritual successor to the Star Wars Jedi knight series brought instant memories to Star Wars: The Force Unleashed which wasn’t promising persé. Due to it’s nature as a story driven singleplayer game, there wasn’t a lot of footage pre-release either as to not spoil to much of the game.
However, when it did release, Star Wars fans were treated to a game they wanted for years. It was a massive hit, offering great gameplay mechanics, challenging but fair gameplay, an interesting story true to the Star Wars universe and worlds with plenty to explore. In the game, you play as Cal Kestis. A survivor of Order 66 in hiding. Due to circumstances, his Jedi origin is revealed and he is forced to go on the run. From there, a massive adventure starts. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is easily the best Star Wars game we got in the past 10 years. Better yet: A sequel is already on the way. The game is playable on Google Stadia and through Xbox Cloud Gaming.
Star Wars Squadrons (2020)
Most of the time, a big part of Star Wars is happening in space. We all remember the massive space battles and classic dogfights. In the 90’s, games like X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter and the Rogue Squadron series of games in the 90’s gave us the perfect Star Wars dogfighting fantasy. However, it’s been years since we’ve had proper games in their spirit. The aforementioned Star Wars Battlefront II had an excellent game mode inspired by these games. The developer responsible for the game mode in Battlefront II gave us a standalone game: Star Wars Squadrons.
Star Wars Squadrons has taken heavy inspiriation from both Rogue Squadron and the X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter games. You pilot imperial or rebel fighters and go up against starfighters and capital ships alike. There are many in-game systems which go beyond traditional dog fighting games such as controlling your speed and laser output. The game offers two singleplayer campaigns with original characters and familair characters alike. Star Wars Squadrons was positively received at launch however failed to stay relevant in the long term. The game is still being played by a loyal following, so is definetly worth a try! It is playable through Xbox Cloud Gaming.
What’s next?
Unless you’re exclusively using GeForce Now, there’s multiple Star Wars games to play with cloud gaming on May the 4th in 2022. So what’s next? What else can we expect? Following Star Wars Battlefront II’s disastrous launch, Disney announced last year that they’ll allow other publishers to use the Star Wars license. This has already led to multiple new projects being announced. EA is working on Fallen Order’s sequel, a real time strategy game and a first person shooter. Ubisoft has the Division 2’s studio working on an open world game. Sony is working on a Knights of the Old Republice remake. Quantic Dream is working on a story heavy game. Amy Hennig, the writer from Uncharted, is working on an action adventuer game. And there’s a rumor Zenimax, the studio behind The Elder Scrolls: Online, is working on a Star Wars MMO.
For now, we’ll have a little drought. But the future is looking bright for Star Wars fans. Five years from now, we’ll have plenty of new games to choose from. Whether these Star Wars Games will be available for cloud gaming remains to be seen. Only Ubisoft’s game seems garantueed for a day one cloud gaming release. Until then, you’ll have the above games to keep you busy!