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Glorious Star Wars game Jedi Outcast coming to Nintendo Switch, here's a trailer

Get your lightsabers ready -- Kyle Katarn's adventure comes to Switch and PS4 on Sept. 24, while Jedi Academy will follow in early 2020.

Sean Keane Former Senior Writer
Sean knows far too much about Marvel, DC and Star Wars, and poured this knowledge into recaps and explainers on CNET. He also worked on breaking news, with a passion for tech, video game and culture.
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Sean Keane
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We've got a major Star Wars video game release on the horizon in November's Jedi: Fallen Order, but there's a dose of retro lightsaber-wielding action coming to Nintendo Switch and PS4 even sooner. Last week's Nintendo Direct revealed that Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast is coming to its hybrid console on Sept. 24, and StarWars.com revealed that it'll be coming to Sony's console as well. On Friday, Nintendo dropped a trailer to remind us how cool the game is.

Jedi Outcast first came out on PC back in 2002. It offers an amazing action experience set eight years after Return of the Jedi, though it's no longer part of the Star Wars canon. You play as Kyle Katarn, who wields a lightsaber and a wide array of light and dark-side Force powers as he hunts down dark Jedi Desann. He also gets to team up with Luke Skywalker for a while.

"I'm no Jedi. I'm just a guy with a lightsaber and a few questions," he says in the trailer.

You see Kyle battling multiple Dark Jedi -- there's an awesome slo-mo effect whenever he kills one -- and deflecting blaster shots from a squad of Imperial Stormtroopers. The graphics look a little plastic by today's standards, but combat looks as smooth as ever.  

jedi-outcast

Kyle Katarn -- the Chuck Norris of Star Wars -- will slay Stormtroopers again as Jedi Outcast comes to Nintendo Switch and PS4. 

Lucasfilm

Jedi Outcast has a fun, lengthy single-player campaign, but its multiplayer experience was a big part of the joy. Unfortunately, only the former will available in the Switch and PS4 versions, developer Aspyr confirmed via email.

Jedi Academy, the next game in the series, will follow in early 2020, and will include online multiplayer. It originally came out in 2003 and happens to be an incredible game as well -- it added the ability to wield a pair of lightsabers or a dual-bladed one like our new friend Dark Rey. Both games have gyro aiming support for Switch's Joy-Cons.

Watch this: Are you ready to make the Nintendo Switch Lite switch? (The Daily Charge, 8/28/2019)

"Delivering classic Star Wars games to modern consoles, with the experience maximized to take advantage of the latest controls and features, is a responsibility we take very seriously," said Elizabeth Howard, vice president of publishing at Aspyr, in a release.

Xbox One gamers shouldn't feel left out -- Jedi Academy was released on the original Xbox and it's backward-compatible with Microsoft's latest console, so you can play it right now. Jedi Outcast came to Xbox as well, but isn't backward-compatible.

Do you have fond memories of Jedi Outcast and Jedi Academy? Will you get them on Switch and PS4? Let us know in the comments.

First published Sept. 5 at 5:11 a.m. PT.
Updated Sept. 13 at 2:30 a.m. PT: Confirms that the PS4 version of Jedi Outcast won't have multiplayer, notes that Jedi Academy is on Xbox.

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