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Parents' Guide to

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords

By Jeremy Gieske, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 13+

Choose to be a good or evil Jedi knight.

Game Xbox 2004
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this game.

Community Reviews

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age 12+

Based on 3 parent reviews

Will K.
Will K. Adult
September 3, 2016
age 10+

Since there's a lack of contextual adult reviews...

Knight of the Old Republic II, much like it's predecessor, doesn't fail to impress yet again. As usual commonsensemedia gave this game, like it's predecessor, a lowly 3 stars where it deserves well above 5, if it was possible. Unlike the first game, where I put kids the age of 8 and up could/should play, I believe this one should be bumped up to at least 10. This game is great at making you question your decisions, thanks to one of the main characters, Kreia. Regardless of whether or not you become "good" or "bad", she'll still have you question yourself, giving this game a much deeper meaning. For example, you can decide to help a beggar by giving them money in the game, however, Kreia shows you the consequences of that, which results in that beggar being attacked by another beggar due to him having undeserved money. If you choose not to help the beggar however, she scolds you for not considering the consequences to be had by not helping him. This game is easily one of the best well written and I would honestly favor this over the first game, especially given how complex it is. NOTE! If you do decide to get this game, get it for PC/MAC. When the game was under development, LucasArts rushed Obsidian (the company working on it) to push for a holiday release, when it needed at least a summer release. Despite that, they were forced to go through with the unplanned holiday release, resulting in an incomplete game. BUT! Obsidian was smart about this, and kept all the missing content included in the game files for fans to hopefully one day finish what they started... and they did. So, if you do decide to purchase this game, make sure you by all means get the "KotOR II Restoration Patch" as it adds a plethora of missing dialogue, events, items, and fixes over a thousand bugs. Though I didn't talk much about gameplay and such, trust me, it's great. I loved every minute of it.
THS1138
THS1138 Adult
June 9, 2022
age 14+

Complex, philosophical game with some dark themes. I hope it gets a remake.

This was one of the first games I ever played. It's an old game, though today's children might play it through Steam or the Switch and Mobile ports. KOTOR2 is a cult classic for a reason, but it is certainly darker than your grandfather's Star Wars. Playing it as a young kid didn't leave me traumatised or anything, but the game's villains are scary and its world is very morally grey. Some of its occasional innuendos flew over my head back then and as a young player I missed what made a lot of the characters so interesting. I'd say you could give this to a younger Star Wars fan, but they'll appreciate it a lot more as they near adulthood. Going back as an older person, there's great commentary here on topics like war, trauma, ideology, and the ways our beliefs can constrain us, as well as the Star Wars setting. Kreia, the game's mentor character, delivers the game's most interesting critiques and is a fan favourite for it. There are many hours of content breaking down her messaging on YouTube and her worldview is frequently compared to the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche. Younger players are not super likely to be influenced by her, both because she is difficult if not impossible to please and for reasons related to the plot. Older players will find that she questions a lot of our assumptions and can provoke a lot of thought. As far as gameplay goes, a lot of the mechanics are similar to the first KOTOR, with some improvements to skills and crafting. Combat and skill checks are resolved using a digitised version of Wizards of the Coast's d20 Star Wars, itself based on Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition. Honestly, the implementation is not very good and there is little to offer an engaging challenge to players familiar with the system. "Pillars of Eternity" did a much better job at offering an interesting take on digital D&D-style combat. You play this game for the characters and dialogue, not the combat and builds. The other thing holding me back from giving this game five stars is that it was made on too tight of a deadline to live up to its true potential. This was Obsidian Entertainment's first game, and set the trend of highly-rushed flawed gems the studio has been known for since releasing "Fallout: New Vegas". There are some big holes here. Quests that didn't get implemented, threads that never got to lead all the way to their end. Due to this, the base game is greatly enhanced by the fan-made project The Sith Lords Restored Content Mod (TSLRCM). This mod does not introduce anything that exceeds the content rating standards of the base game and is easily available on PC through Steam or DeadlyStream. A DLC is coming to the switch version which I understand will be free and includes the content I highly recommend it.
See all 3 parent reviews

What’s It About?

As with the original version of the game, STAR WARS: KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC II: THE SITH LORDS thrusts players into a plotline thick with twists and turns and many choices. Some of these choices lead to the "light," or good side of the force, whereas others lead down the dark path -- toward anger and ultimately evil. As the last of the Jedi knights, the player is hunted by the evil Sith, who wish to turn the player to their side or, if that fails, kill him. Along the way, the player will meet many computer-controlled characters, some who will become allies, and others who will become enemies.

The player frequently makes decisions through a text-based dialog system: Computer characters will "speak" to the player, and the player then chooses from a list of pre-determined options to reply. Based on the reply, the player can become either more "light" or "dark" -- help people or kill them, rescue or enslave, fight for those less powerful or dominate the weak, and so on.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (3 ):
Kids say (8 ):

This type of gameplay has advantages and disadvantages. While it is commendable that the game stresses how actions and decisions have consequences, there is no real guidance -- it is equally possible to play a "light" or "dark" character. Parents may wish to be active participants if they let their children play this game, stepping in to discuss decisions and the implications. The game has a considerable amount of non-violent resolutions and puzzle-based challenges to test the player's skill, but there are still plenty of combat sequences. For the most part they are not overtly gory, but there is some blood.

Some parts of the plot are rather mature for young players. In one scenario, you can gamble for a woman's freedom. If you win and set her free, you gain light side points; on the dark side, you can keep her as a slave, later extorting money from her. Alcohol and gambling are mentioned. Finally, on a technical level, the game can be buggy, locking up on occasion.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about decisions and their consequences. How do you feel about the equal value placed on the light and dark sides in this game?

Game Details

  • Platform: Xbox
  • Available online?: Not available online
  • Publisher: LucasArts
  • Release date: December 7, 2004
  • Genre: Role-Playing
  • ESRB rating: T
  • Last updated: November 4, 2015

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