IMHO.

STAR WARS™ Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II vs STAR WARS™ SHADOWS OF THE EMPIRE™

STAR WARS™ Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II and STAR WARS™ SHADOWS OF THE EMPIRE™ both land in Action on Steam, which is why they keep getting compared. The comparison below is built from each game's Steam metadata — release year, genres, categories, Steam Deck status, price, and review score — refreshed daily by imho.run's scraper. Headline differences: Both are Action games on Steam. STAR WARS™ Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II (2009) is 8 years older than STAR WARS™ SHADOWS OF THE EMPIRE™ (2017). STAR WARS™ Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II scores higher on Steam reviews (80.4% positive) than STAR WARS™ SHADOWS OF THE EMPIRE™ (72.2% positive). No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.

Which should you pick?

Choose STAR WARS™ Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II

Choose STAR WARS™ Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II if you want the Multi-player, Shared/Split Screen PvP, and PvP side of the pairing. On Steam, it carries the stronger Steam consensus at 80.4% positive across 1,385 reviews.

Choose STAR WARS™ SHADOWS OF THE EMPIRE™

Choose STAR WARS™ SHADOWS OF THE EMPIRE™ if you want an Adventure experience. On Steam, it's the newer release (2017) and ships with the modern feature baseline. STAR WARS™ SHADOWS OF THE EMPIRE™ launched in 2017.

Both STAR WARS™ Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II and STAR WARS™ SHADOWS OF THE EMPIRE™ sit in Action on Steam, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Use the side-by-side table for the feature view, or follow the "Games like" links below to see ranked alternatives for either title.

Side-by-side comparison

STAR WARS™ Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II vs STAR WARS™ SHADOWS OF THE EMPIRE™ — Steam metadata comparison
STAR WARS™ Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II — Steam game coverSTAR WARS™ Jedi Knight: Dark Forces IISTAR WARS™ SHADOWS OF THE EMPIRE™ — Steam game coverSTAR WARS™ SHADOWS OF THE EMPIRE™
Released20092017
GenresActionAction, Adventure
PlatformsWindowsWindows
Steam DeckDeck PlayableDeck Playable
Price1.49 USD1.49 USD
Steam reviews80.4% positive (1,385 reviews)72.2% positive (557 reviews)
MultiplayerMulti-playerSingle-player only
DevelopersLucasArtsLucasArts

Side by side

STAR WARS™ Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II vs STAR WARS™ SHADOWS OF THE EMPIRE™ — FAQ

Which is better, STAR WARS™ Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II or STAR WARS™ SHADOWS OF THE EMPIRE™?
On Steam reviews STAR WARS™ Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II scores higher (80.4% positive) than STAR WARS™ SHADOWS OF THE EMPIRE™ (72.2% positive). Both have enough reviews to trust the signal, so for players using reviews alone, STAR WARS™ Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II is the safer pick. Genre fit still matters — check the side-by-side table for the categories each game lands in.
Should I play STAR WARS™ Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II or STAR WARS™ SHADOWS OF THE EMPIRE™ first?
If you want chronology, STAR WARS™ Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II (2009) came out before STAR WARS™ SHADOWS OF THE EMPIRE™ (2017). If neither is a sequel to the other, order doesn't really matter — start with whichever fits your current mood, since both share enough on Steam to make either a reasonable opener.
Are STAR WARS™ Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II and STAR WARS™ SHADOWS OF THE EMPIRE™ similar?
They overlap on Action on Steam, so the catalogue groups them together — but "similar" depends on the specific mechanics. Use the genre + category rows above to decide whether the overlap matches what drew you to the one you've already played.
Does STAR WARS™ SHADOWS OF THE EMPIRE™ have multiplayer like STAR WARS™ Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II?
No. STAR WARS™ Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II supports multiplayer on Steam (Multi-player), while STAR WARS™ SHADOWS OF THE EMPIRE™ is listed as single-player only.
STAR WARS™ Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II vs STAR WARS™ SHADOWS OF THE EMPIRE™ · imho.run