Star Wars: Uprising shows an ambitious multiplayer game can succeed on mobile

As long as you’re willing to break your enemies’ line of sight and use power-ups judiciously, you shouldn’t have any problems beating anything the game throws at you. Considering the platform, that’s fine with me; if this were a desktop game, I’d be deeply disappointed, but on the phone, I’m in it to clear a level before my next appointment.

Above: Tap. Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap. The game has just enough auto-targeting to keep it engaging.

Image Credit: Kabam

Controls are sometimes odd

This game was designed for mobile, so the controls are simple (touch to move, double-tap to roll, tap on a target to fire on it, talk with it, or pick it up, etc.). But some choices were just odd. One of the special moves requires a tap and drag … away from the target you’re trying to hit. That’s just weird. Another requires tapping on the character, which at least for me, was easy to accidentally turn into a double-tap (roll) or tap-drag (special).

Controls behaved as expected when I triggered them, but that tap-and-drag special troubled me throughout my gameplay. I always wanted to drag toward what I was hitting, not away.

Above: Missions offer difficulty choices with different rewards. Hint: Choose the hard ones.

Image Credit: Heather Newman

Steady, but not dramatic, gameplay

Kabam clearly designed SWU to be played in bits and pieces. Each mission offers a bite-sized morsel of mostly shooting, interspersed with some basic dialogue from the questgivers in town. Most of that dialogue is in print; only a few words are voice acted from each character, giving a sense of their mood at the time. Given that you’re playing on your phone, you probably wouldn’t want much more chatter.

The settings and missions, while individually rewarding, can be a little repetitive. And overall, you’re not going to find those terrific high points that you would in a desktop RPG; it’s just too difficult to build drama when your audience is likely playing in three-minute spurts.

Above: Even the characters you choose from sometimes seem a little bored.

Image Credit: Kabam

OK, enough with the reminders, already

This game really wants you to keep playing. Notifications will continuously ping you throughout the day if you don’t turn them off, reminding you of crew missions that complete or become available, daily sector battles and outcomes, and other reasons why you might want to return. “The sector is in a shambles without you,” the game plaintively informed me after a day without play.

A little is amusing, but after a while, the constant pings just get annoying. Additional in-game purchase reminders included occasional pop-ups and a tiny sparkly icon on screen outside of missions.

Above: Freemium elements are always annoying, but Kabam has to pay the bills somehow. Popups like this one weren’t too obnoxious, and mostly offered upgraded gear.

Image Credit: Heather Newman

Conclusion

My review score is based entirely on this game as a truly phone-friendly, MMORPG-style phone app. If you want an in-depth gaming experience, this isn’t the title for you. But if you’re looking for a quick taste of the Star Wars universe on the small screen, this is an easy to play, surprisingly engaging little game.

Score: 85/100

Star Wars: Uprising is available now from Kabam for iOS and Android as a free-to-play title with in-game purchases.