The computer RPG Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, released by Obsidian Studios in 2004, transcended its rushed release and incomplete gameplay with a spectacular story, centered around the disturbing possibility that the Force was the true antagonist of the Star Wars universe. This shocking possibility is explored through its complex characters and the constant struggle of Jedi vs. Sith.

"May the Force be with you," is a prominent line in every Star Wars movie, used by parting friends or as a blessing. Is the "Force being with you" a good thing, though?  This is the question that Kreia, the cynical mentor figure from KOTOR II, urges players to consider.

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Chris Avellone, writer and designer for Star Wars Knight of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, loves writing philosophical, character-driven RPGs centered around quandaries of life, death, power, and society. For him, grand moral statements in a story are less important than grand moral questions, and in KOTOR II, Kreia is keen on asking the player very tough questions.

KOTOR II's Characters Are Skeptical of the Force

star wars project luminous kotor 2 kreia

At the start of Knights of the Old Republic II, the player character, a former Jedi banished for committing war crimes, encounters a blind, old Force-user named Kreia who joins the party to help the protagonist reunite the Jedi Order and relearn the ways of the Force. A wise, brown-robed mentor? So far, so good, except that Kreia doesn’t fit the Obi-Wan Kenobi archetype. Her words betray a bitter disdain towards the selfless code of the Jedi and the selfish passions of the Sith. She urges the player character to master non-Force skills, and expresses distaste towards depending on others – be they party member or the Force itself, a power that, in her view, only manipulates those who use it.

The Force Compels Players to Go to Moral Extremes

Darth Nihilus in Knights of the Old Republic 2

Knight of the Old Republic II inherits a karma system from its prequel, the Bioware-helmed Knights of the Old Republic, in which good/bad deeds increase a Light Side/Dark Side rating and unlock certain Force Powers. A mechanic like this incentivizes players to grind powers through rigid moral decisions – giving coins to every beggar unlocks Force Heal, and burning down an orphanage leads to Force Lightning.

We see this in the narrative of KOTOR II as well. Jedi cling to dogma for fear of falling from the Light, and Sith torture bystanders just to increase their affinity with the Dark Side. The Force rewards Jedi and Sith for clinging to opposing extremes of philosophy. From the view of Kreia and other characters, this drives them to battle each other across the galaxy, a cycle of war that never ends.

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The party members in KOTOR II all bear some form of secret past: a lovable rogue who tortured Jedi, a probe droid who runs a criminal syndicate, etc. Kreia, the most secret of all, hides her nature up to the end, but we see hints of her own agenda revealed in certain scenes: self-loathing towards her hypocritical reliance on the Force, hope that the player character can break the status quo, and a desire to end the conflict of Light versus Dark permanently. Without the Force to draw on, the wars between Jedi and Sith would end – or perhaps all life in the galaxy would be extinguished...

For all the advice and wisdom Kreia purports to share with players, she gives no clear answers at the climax of Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords. Does the existence of the Force make the Star Wars galaxy better or worse off? Do the good deeds of Jedi outweigh the cruelties of the Sith? Only the players of KOTOR II can answer these questions: Chris Avellone and Kreia only care that their questions are given serious thought.

Next: Why Knights of the Old Republic 3 Hasn't (& Probably Won't) Happen

Source: Lightspeed Magazine