Star Wars: Uprising is an action RPG based on the Star Wars universe and set between the movies Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Following the death of Emperor Palpatine and the Battle of Endor, the Imperial Governor Adelhard has set up an iron blockade around the Anoat sector so the planets remain in the dark about the emperor’s death. In the shadows of the blockade rebels, smugglers, bounty hunters and gangsters band together to form an uprising against the presence of the Empire in the sector. The player is a young smuggler who works for Happy Dapp on the impoverished mining planet Burnin Konn where people turn to the local crime bosses to obtain the goods the blockage prevents them from acquiring.
At the start of the game the player creates a character choosing from four races (human, Miralian, Twi’lek or Zabrak) with the option to pick a sex. The character can be given a name and is further customized for the face, hair, skin tone and tattoos. Starting as a smuggler under the radar, fights quickly erupt when the smuggler is caught transporting contraband in the Anoat sector. From a central hub missions can be taken on that are played out in small environment with a dungeon crawler mechanic. The characters defeats groups of enemies, locates the level exit and gathers loot. Sometimes there are bosses to defeat. Based on experience the character levels up influencing base damage and health. There is a skill progression system for different playing styles (for instance melee versus ranged) based on the gear, weapons and abilities. Five different types of abilities can be developed: targeted, directional, self, ultimate and passive. These mainly come into play during combat.
Combat is similar to Spirit Lords, an earlier title by the same developer. Battles are done in real-time but with different tactics based on the gear, weapons and abilities. It is based on gestures for movement and attacks. A character is moved around by tapping once. Tapping twice performs an evasive roll, to gain distance or to dodge attacks. By tapping enemies once, they are attacked automatically. There is a ranged attack, with a cooldown time, based on tapping and holding with dragging to change the direction of the shots. The ultimate ability becomes available after sustaining a set amount of damage.
The game is free-to-play without in-game advertisements, an energy/stamina system or items that can only be bought with real money. All content is available to non-paying players, but with a grind factor as the loot drops are random and gathering the needed items may require multiple mission runs. The Chromium premium currency with real money can be used to get around this and buy specific items right away at a trader. The character can collect different types of weapons and gear that can be equipped for body parts. Upgrades for weapons to improve offensive, defense and utility require different types of components that need to be collected. Only when all components are present can weapons and gear be leveled up. There is a limited amount of storage in the inventory, but this can be expanded over time. There are different types of tasks: story missions, assault misssions, opportunity missions and cartel missions. Some levels have a requirement and others can only be done a few times per day. Experience can also only be gained two hours per day.
There is a crew system based on recruiting and sending out followers who complete missions for you. Another element is sector battles that can be accessed when a battle-readiness gauge is filled up for a planet. The gauge increases when players performs assault missions on the planet and sector battles are eventually won by completing battle missions. Although this aspect can be ignored, the game is in fact largely a light MMORPG as other players are also present in the hub world and it is possible to do cooperative missions through real-time multiplayer.
