Nintendo Switch Online Users Can Now Play One of the Best RPGs of All Time for Free

Nintendo Switch Online users across Switch, Switch Lite, and Switch OLED can now play one of the best RPGs ever released for free, or at least some Nintendo Switch Online subscribers can. Right now, the deal is limited to the Europe region, but in the past when this has happened the deal comes to North America not long after. There is no guarantee this will happen this time, but this is the expectation based on previous examples. Until then, between now and May 9, Nintendo Switch Online subscribers in Europe can play an all time great game for free. [UPDATE: It's been made available in North America as well]

The deal is part of the Nintendo Switch Online Game Trial program. Unfortunately, while the trial period in the past has usually been long enough to see and play the entire game, this time it's going to be a tight squeeze for anyone who wants to complete the RPG in question before the trial expires. And that is because the mystery RPG is Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, which is one of the best RPGs ever created, but also an RPG that takes roughly 30 to 50 hours. These numbers are based on factors like whether or not you mainline the game versus dive into side content. Of course, the high end of the range is for those who want to 100% the RPG. 

If you are somehow unfamiliar with Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, it was released back in 2003 via BioWare and LucasArts, the former being the team who would go on to create the Mass Effect and Dragon Age series. As you may remember, when the first released it was as an OG Xbox console exclusive. At this time, it garnered a 94 on Metacritic. Almost two decades later the game came to Nintendo platforms for the first time with a Switch port. As Wikipedia's "List of video games considered the best" notes, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is lauded as one of the greatest games ever made and a monumental release for the RPG genre. Better yet, it stills holds up in 2024, though there's also no denying it is dated. 

"Four thousand years before the Galactic Empire, hundreds of Jedi Knights have fallen in battle against the ruthless Sith and you are the last hope of the Jedi Order," reads an official blurb about the game for all those unfamiliar with it. "Can you master the awesome power of the Force and save the Republic? Or will you fall to the lure of the dark side?"

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