The game's protagonist and playable character is Kyle Katarn, a mercenary working on behalf of the Rebel Alliance who discovers the Galactic Empire's secret Dark Trooper Project, which involves the development of a series of powerful new battle droids and power-armored stormtroopers.

The engine adds gameplay features that were uncommon to the first-person shooter genre at the time of release, including level designs with multiple floors, and the ability to look up and down.

The player controls Kyle Katarn from a first-person perspective, with a focus on combat against various creatures and characters from the Star Wars universe, although the game also includes environmental puzzles and hazards.

In addition to combat, Dark Forces provides physical obstacles for the character, such as jumping from ledges or traversing across flowing rivers,[13][15] and includes multi-step puzzles such as mazes controlled by switches.

Prior to the game's events, Kyle was preparing for a career in agricultural mechanics like his father, but ended up joining the Imperial Academy after his parents were supposedly murdered by Rebels, whom he grew to hate.

This revelation caused Kyle to distrust the Empire, and he eventually defected in order to rescue Jan, who had been found to be supplying information to the Rebels and arrested.

[11] Dark Forces begins with Kyle and Jan being hired by the Alliance to recover the plans to the Death Star, the Empire's space station outfitted with a superlaser capable of destroying an entire planet.

Rebus' interrogation leads him to a weapons research facility in the mountains of Fest and the Gromas mines where minerals are extracted for the Dark Troopers.

Kyle and Jan later learn that Crix Madine, a former Imperial Commander who defected to the Alliance, has been captured by the Empire, and the former infiltrates a high security detention center on Orinackra to rescue him.

Afterward, Kyle also destroys a robotics facility on the icy planet Anteevy, the second stage of the Dark Trooper production line.

Kyle and Jan's mission is temporarily halted when they are captured by the crime lord Jabba the Hutt, one of the main financiers of the Dark Trooper Project.

Masquerading as a smuggler, Kyle infiltrates the Super Star Destroyer Executor and then the Arc Hammer starship, General Mohc's headquarters and the location of the Dark Trooper Project's final stage.

[10] Originally Luke Skywalker was intended to be the main character in the game, however the developers realized that this would add constraints to gameplay and storyline.

[19] The Jedi game engine can create gameplay and graphical elements such as fully 3D objects, atmospheric effects such as fog and haze, animated textures and shading.

[15] Stinnett indicated that the developers wanted these elements to be part of an "active environment," and features were included to create this: "ships come and go at the flight decks, rivers sweep along, platforms and conveyor belts move and much of the machinery functions.

Hasbro produced Kyle Katarn and Dark Trooper toys, which are among Star Wars in other media items to be turned into action figures.

[22] In September 2009, Dark Forces was re-released as a downloadable version on Valve's Steam network for Windows XP, 2000 and Vista, and OS X Mavericks.

[28] Steven Kent of The Seattle Times believed that the general aspects of the game appeal to most computer gamers, not just Star Wars fans.

While they can be occasionally frustrating, Dark Forces' diverse gameplay requirements make this title more mentally challenging than your average key hunt.

[25] GameSpot wrote, "Though the speed of the Playstation allows for smooth movement, Dark Forces boasts a horrendously choppy frame rate.

"[29] IGN made a similar point; "Unlike the PC and Mac versions, PlayStation Dark Forces is grainier than a loaf of bread.

"[34] Next Generation reviewed the PC version of the game, and stated that "Dark Forces will be judged by Doom's standards and, in most of the crucial areas, it falls just short.

"[33] Next Generation reviewed the Macintosh version of the game, and stated that "Purposeful mission objectives [...] and various neato features [...] lift Dark Forces out of the faceless swamp of first-person crawlers and into a place of honor.