REVIEW: Star Wars: The Old Republic's Latest Update Has an Incredible Story

Star Wars: The Old Republic recently released its 6.3 update, "The Dark Descent," and it's an excellent addition that adds some longevity to the expansive game. Adding in a new Flashpoint which continues the ongoing narrative, a new PvP season and a new Galactic Season system that offers rewards based on weekly and daily challenge completions, The Dark Descent gives players even more reason to enjoy Star Wars: The Old Republic.

The Dark Descent is the latest major update for the 2019 Onslaught expansion of Star Wars: The Old Republic. CBR was provided with exclusive access to Star Wars: The Old Republic to spend some time with the update and take a look at how the 2011 MMORPG has changed over the last few years.

When Star Wars: The Old Republic released, it had much in common with other MMOs like World of Warcraft. Players' adventures would take them to several different planets consisting of large, open areas dotted with hub zones. Characters could join up with friends and others to complete content together. Though many of the quests were pretty standard for an MMO, the individual class stories and fully voice-acted content made The Old Republic unique among its contemporaries.

With the 2015 expansion, Knights of the Fallen Empire, content shifted to a narrative-focused, solo approach. There were still areas where players could interact with one another, but these were far and few between cutscenes, isolated instances and linear sections of the game. The refocused efforts on story and narrative make it feel more like the long-awaited and never received follow-up to Knights of the Old Republic than ever before. That said, there's something to be said about the missing element of cooperation while going through this content.

With the introduction of the Onslaught expansion, new content has toed the line between the original direction of the MMO and the new narrative-focused experience introduced in Knights of the Fallen Empire. It delivers the best of both worlds, letting players enjoy an immersive story while also getting opportunities to join up with friends or other players to work towards goals cooperatively. The Dark Descent tremendously supports this, adding in a new cooperative and story-centric Flashpoint on top of a pass-based rewards system that offers incentives for complete challenges with or without others.

The greatest strength of Star Wars: The Old Republic has always been -- and still is -- its story. The Dark Descent's content picks up the narrative from where Onslaught left off, leaving players to investigate Darth Malgus' recent reappearance after their last encounter with the Sith Lord. The Flashpoint, Secrets of the Enclave, begins with the player and their companions identifying Malgus had recently paid a visit to a returning location from Knights of the Old Republic titles and Star Wars: Galaxies, Dantooine's Jedi Enclave.

As always, the story content from The Dark Descent is fully voiced and offers players the ability to make choices during conversations and cutscenes, all of which serve to further the story. The voice work maintains its quality in the new content, with actors continuing some of the best dialogue to appear in an MMO. The branching options can provide replay value for players who take on Secrets of the Enclave's challenges more than once, whether it be in the solo mode or grouped up with other players across multiple difficulties.

The narrative itself is fulfilling and continues to build on events that have already transpired in the game. Still, there's only one Flashpoint in The Dark Descent, and it's something players can complete in a relatively short amount of time. After going through Secrets of the Enclave, there's no question the experience is excellent, but it also leads to a desire for more content like it. That said, this is an update instead of an expansion, so an overabundance of new content was never expected.

Players can also take part in the new PvP season that began alongside The Dark Descent. Season 14 offers a new set of rewards to players who compete against one another, focusing on weapons. Rewards are now communicated to players at the start of the season for more transparency. Star Wars: The Old Republic offers three types of PvP engagements. There are Warzones, which involve two teams fighting for dominance on the battlefield, Arenas, which can be undertaken solo or in groups of four and Starfighter matches, which pit teams of eight or twelve against each other in intense space dog fights.

The real star of the 6.3 update is the new Galactic Seasons system. The first season, "The Stranger from Kubindi," offers players the chance at new companions, mounts, cosmetics and other resources. By completing daily and weekly challenges, on top of logging in each day, players earn progress towards new ranks on the season pass and gaining some of these rewards. Daily challenges typically involve visiting a planet and defeating a certain number of a specific type of enemy or partaking in a certain kind of Activity. Weekly challenges have proven to follow a similar formula, typically asking players to complete several of a specific type of Activity.

There are 100 ranks across the pass and two tracks for rewards to be earned. Subscribers will gain access to both tracks, while free-to-play players will only have access to the track with fewer rewards. Galactic Seasons are available to all players level ten and above. However, lower-level players will find it harder to contribute progress towards earning new ranks as challenges may require visiting a planet the character hasn't been to yet. Daily logging and completing the available challenges will allow free-to-play players to participate in Galactic Seasons, but subscribers get the most out of the system. On the other hand, many active players who have high-level characters are likely subscribers already.

Overall, Star Wars: The Old Republic has changed a lot since its initial 2011 launch. With a renewed focus on its narrative experience, its become the definitive choice for anyone looking to scratch a Knights of the Old Republic itch before a remake happens. The Dark Descent adds to the already colossal story and introduces a new season system that'll reward long-term players with unique prizes. While there isn't a ton of new story content in this update, the added Flashpoint is engaging and offers enough narrative development to keep fans satisfied while eager for more. The Dark Descent provides a perfect launching point for new players to Star Wars: The Old Republic, rewarding every step in what will turn out to be a grand adventure.