Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords

A fantastic port of what just might be one the best RPGs of all time, it’s a fantastic sequel to its predecessor, and builds upon KOTOR perfectly. Your decisions in the world matter, so what are you waiting for, choose a side, and make the galaxy your own.

Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords is a fantastic RPG, and is simply a joy to play on the Switch.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: the Sith Lords expands upon the ground-breaking original. Story choices change depending on who you put into your party at the time. Conversations that take place between party NPCs can also get spicy, depending on who you bring along. Sith Lords does lean on some traditional Star Wars tropes a little harder than I would like, and the menus and UI are a bit dusty. Though I was afraid my rose colored glasses wouldn’t hold up, I fell in love with these unique characters once again.

Knights of the Old Republic II for the Nintendo Switch is a fantastic time. Aspyr does a great job, just as they did with the KOTOR port in 2021, and the experience of the story far outweighs the inconvenience that stems from the glitches.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords remains a masterful and compelling story with enough lore to keep fans satisfied, but for the Nintendo Switch port, remember to save often.

Overall, it pains me to give KOTOR II the score I have, as the core gameplay mechanics are genuinely enjoyable and well-rounded, not to mention that I found the plot and characters to be quite strong whenever the game hit its strides. However, I still can’t overlook the very noticeable glitches present in the Switch port. It’s a shame that the initial base game is a rushed, poorly edited product as well since it has all the makings of a classic and problems knock it down to just a “good” game. Despite these setbacks, the KOTOR duology is still one of my favorite Star Wars stories. It is a testament to all of The Sith Lords‘ strengths that I’m glad for those patches and am looking forward to seeing how the Restored Content DLC might improve upon the overall game experience. However, as for how the base game now stands on the Switch? I’d be hard-pressed to recommend someone purchase it until that free story DLC is released. This echo seems more akin to a dying whimper than the steady, unyielding presence the game could very well be in the future.

Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords is a classic game, considered one of the best RPGs of all time. It improves on its predecessor in many aspects, although its graphics have aged a lot. It will hook you with its plot and the decisions that we can make.

Is Knights of the Old Republic II worth playing in the default state it’s in at launch? Well, yes. It’s a fine enough game even without the Restored Content mod. But it’s a far better game all around with that mod applied, and as we know that it is coming it’s hard to emphatically recommend playing this game until then. That’s particularly the case with the somewhat buggy nature of this launch version. This will be a must-play RPG and likely the ultimate version of a game that deserves more appreciation, but right now it’s just a good one.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2 - The Sith Lords feels and plays (mostly) great on the Switch. After revisiting the first game last year, being able to continue on with the nostalgia here was a pleasure. Aspyr has once again done a good job reintroducing classic Star Wars games to brand new audiences with these ports, and honestly, this has become my preferred way to play Knights of the Old Republic 1 and 2.

Knights of the Old Republic II has withstood the test of time to still be one of the best examples of the RPG genre, even 20 years later.

Even before the free Restored Content DLC is released, Knights of the Old Republic 2 is still a great game, albeit one with some missing content and technical issues. I look forward to revisiting the game to see what was added, tweaked, and fixed when the DLC is added. If that add-on delivers, there’s a good chance the Switch version is the definitive version of this 2004 Xbox classic. Until then, this is a fine way to play a good game with some caveats. Hopefully those caveats become a thing of a past, but time will tell.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords had a tough act to follow, but does an admirable job of creating the next chapter in the Old Republic. As a sequel it fails to surpass the high standard set by the original, but it’s still a great game and a must play for Star Wars fans. The story is one of the stronger ones in the Star Wars universe and the ability to mold it through player choices is the main attraction in KOTOR II. The dated mechanics and graphics benefit a lot from nostalgia goggles, but it holds up well enough where newcomers can still enjoy it and find it a worthwhile adventure.

Though the design feels a little dated these days, there’s no denying KOTOR II is among the gold standard for Star Wars in terms of story and immersion. Look past the clunky combat mechanics and you’ll be in for a treat.

Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords is a fairly weak port of a flawed classic. The core characters and writing are still among the best in the entire franchise, but the gameplay is rapidly showing its age, and many of the flaws from the original release are still present. Fans of the franchise who may have skipped this particular entry should absolutely give it a shot, but for longtime fans, the Restored Content DLC is going to be the real game-changer.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II does a solid job of building on the foundation of its predecessor, capitalizing on engaging combat, player-driven storytelling, and deep character-building systems to make for a satisfying and very replayable RPG. The downsides of this Switch port are that it’s rather buggy in its launch state and the game is often content to simply repeat the ideas that made its predecessor successful without adding to them in any notable way. We've got hopes that post-launch improvements will come alongside the upcoming (and free) Sith Lord Restored Content DLC — a very welcome addition that will really complete this package. Despite its faults, we’d still give KOTOR II a strong recommendation, though we’d suggest you play the original game first and then move on to this one if you still want more.

Overall, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords is not the best port on the Nintendo Switch. It’s priced at $15.00, and I can’t recommend it as much as its predecessor unless you want a portable copy of KOTOR 2. Of course, updates might be made to patch the various bugs, but if you want to try out this version, be aware of the glitches and frequently save so you don’t lose anything if it crashes!

Despite 18 years passing between the original and this port, it feels like not much has changed at all — it remains a heavily flawed but interesting work. Unfortunately, I was hoping that it would right the wrongs of the original version, especially in terms of the additional content, but fails to do so. That’s a bit disappointing, but even with the game being re-released in the state it is, it remains more enjoyable and refreshing than most of Star Wars‘ more recent offerings.

Both fans of Star Wars and RPGamers will find many likable features in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, from the way each character feels fleshed out to how the dialogue choices impact the destiny of the galaxy. However, in its current state, the game is barely recommendable since crashes will be present constantly. Some polish would greatly benefit the game, and with the announcement of a remake of the first entry, it is inevitable to wonder if this one will get the same treatment. I hope it does because most of the issues with the game can be addressed and the outcome could be an outstanding game instead of an average one.

All of this adds up to a pretty good sequel – or, at least, it would if the game was in a finished state. Eventually, presumably, the developer will get around to fixing its game-breaking bug, and once that happens, then the game will deserve a much higher grade. For now, however, in its broken state, tht makes it impossible to recommend Star Wars – Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords.