2004 video game

Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords is a role-playing video game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by LucasArts. It is the sequel to BioWare's Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and was released for the Xbox on December 6, 2004, for Microsoft Windows on February 8, 2005, for OS X and Linux on July 21, 2015, for Android and iOS on December 18, 2020 and for Nintendo Switch on June 8, 2022. Like its predecessor, it is set in the Star Wars universe 4,000 years before the events of the film Episode I: The Phantom Menace and is based on the d20 System developed by Wizards of the Coast.

The game uses the Odyssey Engine, which was originally used in Knights of the Old Republic. Initial story development began before the original Knights of the Old Republic was released, and development began in October 2003, after BioWare offered Obsidian their Star Wars license due to being confident in their previous work.

Knights of the Old Republic II starts five years after the events of the first game and follows the story of The Exile, a Jedi Knight who was exiled from the Jedi Order. During this time, the Jedi Order has been almost completely wiped out by the Sith. The game begins with the protagonist regaining consciousness on an asteroid mining facility. After the player escapes with the help of their party members, they find the person who exiled them ten years ago, who sends the protagonist on a mission to seek out the remaining Jedi to fight against the Sith.

The game's critical reception upon its release was generally positive; praise was given to the story, characters, and writing, which were noted to be more morally ambiguous than the original Knights of the Old Republic. The game was included in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die. Particular praise was given to the character of Kreia, with GameSpy naming her the best video game character of 2005. However, the game received criticism for being too similar to its predecessor in terms of graphics and gameplay systems, as well as being launched in an incomplete state. The game has since gained a cult following.