What Jedi do remain have elected to abandon the Order and their cause in favor of exile or an attempt to re-enter society. Meanwhile, the Sith are represented by Darth Sion and Darth Nihilus, two villains who certainly look the part of bad guys but are both far too tragic to completely despise. Sion is a Sith lord whose obsession with immortality has granted him a wish that he now regrets. Nihilius was once a Jedi who survived a catastrophic battle that left him needing to absorb Force energy and those that wield it in order to survive. Together, they hunt the last of the Jedi down.

This is where your character comes into play. As a former Jedi exiled after causing the death of thousands, your character has severed his/her connection to the Force and the abilities that come with it. You begin the game alone and unaware of your past. In that regard, it is very similar to the setup of the original Knights of the Old Republic, as both see you playing a major figure with a bout of amnesia. Unlike the original game where your character was an important catalyst for the fate of the universe, here you are just another Jedi on the run who is ultimately a tool in a conflict that is without glory. An instrument that can perform great change in the universe, but a tool nonetheless.

And the person controlling this tool—besides the player—is one of the greatest gaming characters ever created: Kreia. Kreia presents herself as a mentor, but what she really is a sort of Rashomon presenter. Only rather than being an unreliable narrator, she is something of an unattached one. Her true identity as a disgraced Jedi that became a Sith Kord is secondary to her presence in the game as a twisted moral compass. Kreia may be a Sith, but she is one that is no longer interested in seeing either side survive. Her true goal is to destroy them both.

Kreia’s stance on this issue means she is a mentor that ultimately does not care about your moral direction. She will not hesitate to inform you of the futility of your actions regardless of their alignment. You will beg her to provide some guidance in a world that is devoid of such a thing, but by refusing to do so, she serves as a sadly appropriate guide through a world where right and wrong seem so irrelevant. The few moments she does lean towards one side or the other stem from regrettable old habits and a lingering belief that such sides always have existed and always will should she not intervene.

There is more to the tale that is well worth covering, but what it all boils down to is one of the most subtle deconstructions of the binding elements of the Star Wars mythology ever devised, as well as one of the most complicated and satisfying video game plots ever presented. It is a driving plot that serves as sufficient motivation for more casual players, while those wanting something deeper can easily get lost in its ambiguities.