Jedi Outcast is the best Jedi Knight game, and Dark Forces II is a hair behind it. Critics put them two points apart, 89 and 91 on Metacritic, so the tiebreak is how they play in 2026: Outcast's saber combat is the one people still measure new Star Wars games against, and it runs on Windows 11 after four console commands. Dark Forces II needs more coaxing. Jedi Academy is third and has the liveliest community of the lot. The original Dark Forces is fourth, and the 2024 remaster is now the only way to buy it.
All four are cheap. On GOG this week, as of September 25, the whole series costs $24.06, and more than half of that is the Dark Forces remaster.
How we ranked them
The same three questions as our other rankings, in this order:
- What did critics say? Metacritic's PC score where one exists. Dark Forces came out in 1995, before Metacritic, so we used its remaster's score and the period reviews.
- Can you buy it, and does it run? A great game you cannot get working is only a history lesson.
- Are people still playing? Steam's own user review percentage, plus our tracker's busiest reading between September 14 and 20 for the two games we follow.
Mysteries of the Sith does not get its own slot. It shipped in 1998 as an expansion that needed the Dark Forces II disc to run, and GOG only sells it inside the Dark Forces II package. It is covered in that entry, with a note on whether to pay extra for it on Steam.
The series at a glance
| # | Game | Year | Metacritic (PC) | Steam reviews | Steam price | GOG, Sep 25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jedi Outcast | 2002 | 89 | 91% positive | $9.99 | $3.49 |
| 2 | Dark Forces II (with Mysteries of the Sith on GOG) | 1997 | 91 | 81% positive | $5.99, expansion $2.99 | $2.09 |
| 3 | Jedi Academy | 2003 | 81 | 96% positive | $9.99 | $3.49 |
| 4 | Dark Forces Remaster | 1995/2024 | 78 (remaster) | 89% positive | $29.99 | $14.99 |
GOG's regular prices match Steam's. The GOG column is this week's sale; our guide to buying old Star Wars games has the dates and the rest of the shelf.
The ranking
Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast 2002
Raven Software
- Metacritic
- 89
- Playing now
- 38
- Sold
- 390,000 US (PC)
The lightsaber game. Raven Software built it on the Quake III engine in 2002 and gave the saber three stances, fast, medium and strong, each with its own speed, damage and combos. Duels with Desann's Reborn hold up, and the saber throw and Force pull feel good twenty-four years on. The PC version scored 89 on Metacritic, and 91 percent of its Steam reviewers recommend it. It sold 390,000 copies on PC in the US alone by 2006.
The complaint critics made in 2002 still stands: the start is slow. Kyle has given up the Force when the game opens, so the first two missions are a blaster shooter with puzzles, and he only gets his powers back at the Valley of the Jedi. Push through those and the game opens up.
- Why it beats Dark Forces II: two points lower on Metacritic, ten points higher with Steam's players, and far easier to run. The four console commands in our Jedi Outcast setup guide get it to your monitor's resolution in about a minute.
- Which version: PC, on GOG or Steam, for $9.99 list. Aspyr's 2019 PS4 and Switch ports are fine for the campaign but dropped multiplayer.
Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II 1997
LucasArts
- Metacritic
- 91
- Playing now
- not in our tracker
- Sold
- 247,036 US in 1997
The best-reviewed game in the series and the one that decided what the rest would be. Dark Forces II gave Kyle Katarn a lightsaber, went fully 3D, and told its story through live-action cutscenes, which include the first lightsaber footage shot since Return of the Jedi. How you play, sparing innocents or not, and which Force powers you take, pushes you to a light side or a dark side ending. Computer Gaming World named it Game of the Year for 1997, and it holds a 91 on Metacritic.
It ranks second because 1997 shows more than 2002 does. The saber is clumsy next to Outcast's, and 81 percent positive on Steam is the lowest figure in the series. PCGamingWiki warns that the camera updates at only 30 frames a second even when the game runs faster, which reads as stutter.
Mysteries of the Sith is the 1998 expansion, with a campaign split between Kyle and Mara Jade. It averaged 75.6 percent on GameRankings from five reviews, with PC Zone's 95 at the top. It is worth playing, and it is free with the GOG package. On Steam it costs $2.99 extra and sits at a Mixed 67 percent, so we would buy the pair on GOG.
- Who it is for: anyone who wants to see where Outcast came from, and anyone who wants a choice that changes the ending.
- Before you start: the GOG and Steam versions are patched for modern Windows and include working music, but PCGamingWiki still rates it as a game that "may require multiple steps and workarounds." The fan-made OpenJKDF2 source port is the tidier fix: it works with both store versions, runs at full frame rate, and scales to wide screens. It is still in beta.
Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy 2003
Raven Software
- Metacritic
- 81
- Playing now
- 123
The one people still play. You make your own Jedi, Jaden Korr, choose a species, and get taught by Kyle Katarn, now an instructor at Luke's academy. Later you can pick a second saber or a saberstaff. Critics liked it less than Outcast, 81 on Metacritic, and the story is thinner. Players like it more: 96 percent of nearly 14,000 Steam reviewers recommend it, the best figure in the series.
It also has the busiest community. Our tracker's peak between September 14 and 20 was 123 players on Steam, more than three times Jedi Outcast's 38. Its best-known mod, Movie Battles II, has kept a multiplayer scene going for years, and the fan-run OpenJK project keeps the engine maintained for modern systems.
- Why it is third: it is the better sandbox and the weaker campaign. In our Steam ranking we said Academy is the one to start with, and for multiplayer and saber duels that holds. For the story, play Outcast first.
- Which version: PC for the mods. Aspyr's March 2020 PS4 and Switch ports kept online multiplayer, unlike Outcast's.
Star Wars: Dark Forces 1995
LucasArts
- Metacritic
- 78
- Playing now
- not in our tracker
- Sold
- 952,033 US by 1999
Where Kyle Katarn started, in 1995, as a mercenary hired by the Rebels to recover the Death Star plans, and then chasing the Empire's Dark Trooper project. No lightsaber, no Force powers: this is a Doom-era shooter with jumping, crouching and a map screen. It was a hit: by 1999 it had sold 952,033 copies in the US. PC Gamer gave it 92 percent and PC Zone 95.
The version you can buy is Nightdive Studios' remaster from February 2024, which runs at up to 4K and 120 frames a second, supports controllers, and has a toggle to the original visuals. It scored 78 on Metacritic and 89 percent of Steam reviewers recommend it. The original 1995 release is gone: Steam stopped selling it on April 14, 2026, and GOG dropped it too. If you already owned it, it is still in your library.
- Why it is last: it is a good game from the series' first chapter, before the lightsaber that defines the other three, and at $29.99 it is the most expensive by a distance. Wait for GOG's sale price, which is $14.99 this week.
- Which version: the remaster, on anything. It is on Steam, GOG, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and Switch.
Where this sits against our other lists
Our all-time ranking puts Dark Forces II third and Jedi Outcast eleventh, and our 1990s list has Dark Forces II above Dark Forces. Those lists weigh each game against its era and its influence, and on those terms Dark Forces II wins. This list puts four games from the same family side by side and asks which one to play now, so Outcast's easier setup and better saber move it ahead of a game two points higher on Metacritic. Our 2000s list agrees on the other head-to-head here: Outcast above Academy.
Who should play which, and in what order
You want one game: Jedi Outcast on PC, then read the setup guide.
You want the whole story: play in release order, Dark Forces Remaster, Dark Forces II, Mysteries of the Sith, Outcast, Academy. Kyle Katarn is in all five, as the lead in four and as your teacher in Academy. Set up OpenJKDF2 before the 1997 game.
You want saber duels with other people: Jedi Academy on PC, and go looking for a Movie Battles II server.
You play on a console: the Dark Forces remaster first. Then Outcast and Academy through Aspyr's PS4 and Switch ports, knowing that only Academy has online play there. Dark Forces II was only ever released on Windows.
What to buy: on PC, buy all four on GOG. Dark Forces II is the one where the store matters, because GOG includes Mysteries of the Sith and Steam charges for it separately. Everywhere else the list prices match, and our guide to buying old Star Wars games covers the sale.
The details
- Metacritic scores are each game's PC score. The Dark Forces entry shows the 2024 remaster's; the 1995 game has no Metacritic score. Mysteries of the Sith has no Metacritic score, so we quoted its GameRankings average.
- Steam review percentages and prices are Steam's, and GOG prices are GOG's, both in US dollars as of September 25, 2026.
- Player figures are our tracker's busiest Steam reading between September 14 and September 20. They count Steam only, and we do not follow Dark Forces II or the Dark Forces remaster.
- Sales are as published: PC Data's US figures for Dark Forces (to September 1999) and Dark Forces II (to the end of 1997), and the US PC figure for Jedi Outcast to August 2006.
