Hands-on review: Star Wars Jedi Challenges

Recently I had the opportunity to get hands-on with Lenovo's exciting new AR headset and the Star Wars Jedi Challenges game.

Now as a Star Wars mega-fan, I expected two things; a great soundtrack, fun gameplay, an immersive story and, well, lightsabers.

So from the moment, I laid my eyes on the shiny lightsaber I was almost entirely sold.

But first I had to set up the device…

After quickly downloading the app I started the setup process, and though it was a bit daunting to start off with, after a few minutes of fiddling I was ready to start my journey…

The moment I put the headset on I felt my heart skip a beat as iconic Star Wars music stated drumming in my ears.

To my surprise, the game had very impressive visuals for something run on a phone.

And while I was playing in a dark room the characters and objects were all very cleared and defined.

I was surprised by the fact that there is actually an interesting story here, where you take on the role of a Jedi Padawan after you discover an ancient Jedi Holocron. 

On top of this there are three really interesting game modes:

Lightsaber battles

In which players can perfect their lightsaber skills by taking on some of the most menacing villains in the galaxy, like Kylo Ren, Darth Vader and Darth Maul.

Holochess

In this mode, players aim to outwit their opponents in the ultimate game of concentration and strategy.

Players direct their holographic alien pieces across the board as they battle for territory on checkered game tables.

Strategic combat

In this mode, players lead their forces in large-scale ground wars.

Players command an army as they build out their outposts to withstand the forces of their enemies.

While playing the game I found that each of these modes became increasingly challenging with each level, especially the lightsaber combat, as the game quickly introduced new mechanics for players to contend with.

This difficulty curve means that there is a lot of fun to be had for both adults and kids.

Overall I had a blast with this game, and so far this is the closest you'll ever come to being a Jedi in real life.

After all, there is nothing quite as satisfying as chopping a battle droid to bits with a lightsaber.

I can wholly recommend this game to any fan of the franchise.