6 Star Wars Games That Let You Become Darth Vader

With Revenge of the Sith re-released in theaters, many fans have been reminded of what a fan favorite character Darth Vader truly is. For us gamers, playing as the Dark Lord of the Sith is always an exciting experience, but surprisingly, there are only a few games that let you do this.

6

The Star Wars Battlefront Series

Perhaps one of the most notable Star Wars game series to give you control over heroes and villains from the IP, Star Wars Battlefront has allowed players to take the reins of Darth Vader for twenty years across multiple games. In fact, Vader has been a playable villain in every Battlefront game except the very first entry in 2004. Every other entry, including the 2005 Battlefront II, Renegade Squadron, Elite Squadron, and both “newer” Battlefronts from 2015 and 2017, has Vader playable.

In these massive, generally third-person team-based shooters, players fight against each other in teams, playing as regular, everyday soldiers from factions like the Galactic Republic and Empire, Rebellion, or Separatists. You can fight as infantry on the ground, take control of iconic vehicles or starfighters, and, of course, even play as legendary figures like Obi-Wan Kenobi or Darth Vader. All of the Battlefront titles are also excellent Star Wars games to play with mods.

Playing as Vader is an exception rather than the rule in most cases: obviously, only one player can be Vader at a time, meaning you might have to compete for the spot in multiplayer modes in the newer games. If you go back to the older titles, there are plenty of single-player modes that allow you to take Vader’s mantle without competition. Either way, you’ll be able to hack and slash through enemy grunts, choke those who dare oppose you, and generally instill dread in the enemies of the Empire.

Just don’t let all of that power go to your head—as strong as Vader is in these games, you’ll have a bad time getting shot in the face by a rocket, and players will generally focus fire on a dangerous threat like you if you give them the opportunity!

5

The LEGO Star Wars Series

Weirdly enough, one of the most notable game series that allows you to play as Darth Vader is LEGO Star Wars. As far as I’m aware, there is not a single entry in this series that does not feature Vader as a playable character, though he was only accessible after clearing most of the game in the very first title.

I know a lot of people would take one look at a LEGO game and just assume that it’s childish and immature. Why would any adult want to play such a game? Well, first of all, come on: let your inner child have the fun they deserve! Being an adult is hard enough as it is, there’s no reason to police your fun out of fear of being judged. Secondly, LEGO-themed these games may be, but they’re surprisingly deep and have a lot of content to pursue.

Many of these games have well over a hundred characters to unlock, plenty of other collectible items, dozens of well-designed stages that require simple but fun puzzles and platforming, and oftentimes, they’re just genuinely funny. Where else are you going to find a secret area where a bunch of Stormtroopers are throwing a disco party?

Once you unlock Vader in these games, you’re free to take him to any level you want, so that’s a big plus too.

4

The Force Unleashed

Sadly, you don’t get to play as Darth Vader for very long in the first Force Unleashed game. As far as the story mode goes, you only play as Vader for the tutorial level, in which he leads an Imperial attack on Kashyyyk in search of a rogue Jedi.

Yeah, it’s a little brief, but it’s also one of the best gaming segments focusing on Vader ever. The Force Unleashed was the first Star Wars game to go really bombastic and extreme with the Force, and letting Vader introduce you to that is nuts.

Blast a dozen Wookies off the bridge with the flick of a wrist. Throw massive objects like they weigh as much as a feather. Throw your lightsaber through hordes of enemies, choke ’em, or just cut them down with ease befitting of the Dark Lord of the Sith. You can even go fully in character and strike down your own subordinates for their incompetence. Talk about lore-accurate.

There are a few other opportunities to play as Darth Vader in The Force Unleashed, mostly through bonus modes such as Force Duel and Historical Battles, though these were only available on the PSP version of the game, which, weirdly enough, may actually be the most content-rich version of this game with multiple versions. At any rate, you only get to play as Vader a little bit in TFU, but it’s well worth the power fantasy, and the game itself is worth it outside the one level for sure.

3

Masters of Teras Kasi

Star Wars has dipped its toes in a dozen genres of gaming, but one thing they always seemed to steer clear of was fighting games… except that one time they didn’t. In 1997, Masters of Teras Kasi made its debut as LucasArts’ very first fighting game as well as the first title they made for the PlayStation.

There were some good things about it: it had a unique combat system where characters could switch between weapons and hand-to-hand, featured a lot of cool Legends characters, and looked good for the time.

But it just wasn’t a very good game, and it definitely didn’t feel like a logical Star Wars entry. The Emperor wants revenge for the destruction of the Death Star, so he sends some guy to beat up rebel leaders with his fists? And why would Darth Vader put his lightsaber away and resort to space kung-fu instead? Combined with sluggish movement and some testy controls, Masters of Teras Kasi is, admittedly, a bad game at worst and completely mediocre at best.

On the one hand, there are plenty of much better classic Star Wars games to play. On the other hand, it’s the only official Star Wars game where you can control Darth Vader and make him whoop Luke Skywalker with martial arts, so that’s gotta count for something.

2

Revenge of the Sith

One of the best parts about gaming in the prequel era is that each movie got one, if not multiple, tie-in games released around the same time as the movies. Out of all the titles released over the years, Revenge of the Sith, a tie-in for the movie of the same name, was probably one of the best, and came much closer to being a legitimate fighting game than anything else in Star Wars history.

Technically, it’s a hack-and-slash action game where you go through iconic environments from the film (including a bunch of stuff from deleted scenes, which is really cool), controlling either Anakin or Obi-Wan as they tear through all sorts of enemies with fancy lightsaber combos or force powers. Every once in a while, you end up in an actual duel with another lightsaber-wielding foe, and the game’s melee combo mixing, grapples, and clever Force usage really shine.

There are a few ways you can play as Darth Vader in this title. There’s a special duel you can access at the end of the game where you fight against Obi-Wan on the Death Star just like A New Hope. The game also has a versus mode against AI or players, where you can pick Vader as your character. But most notably, this is one of the few Star Wars games where you can play as “Vader” before he lost all of his limbs and got stuck in the iconic suit.

There are very, very few games that let you play as Anakin when he storms the Jedi temple during Order 66, but Revenge of the Sith allows that. So you might not have the suit and the red lightsaber, but you do get to be “Darth Vader” when he was at his peak, playing through events that rarely get any attention as playable segments in Star Wars gaming.

1

Soulcalibur IV

Alright, so Soulcalibur IV is obviously not a Star Wars game. But it is a renowned fighting game series that was well-known for its crazy crossovers from the second game onward, and in Soulcalibur IV, Star Wars was the guest of honor, though which character you got to play as depending on what console you played the game on.

Yes, back then, the console wars were a lot more prevalent than they are now, though Vader was eventually made available as DLC for all versions of the game.

It’s a bit odd to acknowledge this, but considering how few games Vader appears in as a controllable character, it’s weird how many of them are fighting games, something Star Wars isn’t even particularly known for. But if you do love Star Wars and you love fighting games, then Soulcalibur IV is the only way to play Vader in a dedicated, traditional fighting game that’s actually good, mods notwithstanding.

Sure, the sticklers among us will complain that a lightsaber should obviously cut through a sword made of metal, but look, you have to make sacrifices for the sake of fun, and it’s not like lightsabers are very consistent in modern Star Wars anymore as it is. Besides, Soulcalibur IV is also one of the only places where you can have a full-on fighting game duel between Darth Vader and Yoda. Just be warned: fighting someone two feet tall in a fighting game actually really sucks.

There are a few other Star Wars games that allow you to control Vader, though not directly, such as Star Wars Galaxy of Heroes or Empire at War. It’s odd, but the games I’ve listed here today are some of the only ones that allow you to play as the franchise’s most iconic character, though there are probably a few obscure titles lurking somewhere off of this list.