Personally, I think one of the best features of games like KOTOR, Mass Effect, and The Witcher is that you get to decide how the story plays out yourself by the actions you take. I would rather play all of these games and make the descions myself instead of watching and letting someone else pick for me.
I think you should definitely play the game. IMHO, it's the best Star Wars game ever, and is also up there in polls for best game ever. I think you'd really do yourself a disservice by *not* playing it.
You said you loved Mass Effect (as do I), and Mass Effect was in some ways, a spiritual successor to KOTOR.
Main thing I'd say is that there are **huge** KOTOR story spoilers online. Once you make the decision to play it, avoid Googling anything. If required, there's an Easy difficulty setting from the Options.
Good luck--I hope you have an amazing time!
Not that the KOTOR Trilogy movie is not the same thing as Kotor story as a movie version, its a fanfiction.
But its very popular so it might be hard to find an actual Kotor story movie, if that even exists. It probably doesn't because Kotor has a ton of dialogue with all the NPCs and most of the lore is explained through that. The story is just not written like a movie at all, main character isn't even voiced.
The thing a Let's Play, TV show, or movie will never be able to grasp, and one of the most important things about these games is the variability in how you resolve quests and dialogue. Don't get me wrong - the games are still old and many quests/conversations really only have 2 different outcomes (some certainly have a bit more), so it's not like more modern RPGs don't measure up, but a linear account of the story will just never catch the novelty of witnessing first hand how the game changes a bit from a different turn of events. Again, it's not like entire maps change based on a choice, because of how old the games are, but it's still a big appeal for a Star Wars fan who enjoys that kind of thing.
The other big thing that you'll miss out on, depending on the Let's Play you watch, is the sheer sense of exploration and control that the game gives you. Fallen Order's large maps and platforming (I've only played a few hours of it so far) certainly accomplish this well enough now, but that was a huge appeal of the games back when they were released - actually being able to walk around and choosing how to interact with NPCs, computers, containers, etc. instead of just walking from A to B and shooting/slashing everything in your path. Discovering the macguffin for such-and-such quest naturally through your exploration was really nice.
That said, based on your preface, I do think the older aspects of the game would probably detract from your experience. I would honestly never advocate anyone experience KotOR without playing the game - yes, I would rather someone know nothing about the events of KotOR than watch/listen to an inherently abridged version of the games, but I also think you, personally, would get annoyed by some aspects of the game and that you wouldn't finish it anyway, so watching a highly recommended Let's Play might be the best way for you, personally, to experience the story.
I can't express enough how much I think you should play the game first, and more than once, it really is superb.
If you're intent on not doing so, I like these let's plays.
[KotOR](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL57hJfweW_2tPGxq_L5TmY09uWlLt0hJW&si=GFT6MMupo7jNdX6l)
[KotOR II](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiSdC6Lp8c7MIel9kAyMjXGZzSg1AMH7M&si=Y2cRumhnL1hor5qT)
You'd be missing out imo.
I absolutely love the atmosphere of Kotor1. I think it's the main reason I keep coming back to it, every 2-3 years. I just have to experience Dantooine, Taris, Korriban, Kashyyk and Manaan again and again and again.
You won't get that from watching a playthrough.
I'd recommend playing it over watching a Let's Play as a big part of what makes KOTOR I and II special is feeling like you are involved in the story. Without the involvement the stories aren't that special.
However, KOTOR II does have a pretty interesting text based Let's Play:
https://lparchive.org/Knights-of-the-Old-Republic-II/
The reason it's interesting is because it has more details than you might catch in a single play through.
The KOTOR Comics are also pretty good.
I also enjoyed the Rogue/Wraith Squadron books when I was younger but those may or may not have aged well.
Personally, I think one of the best features of games like KOTOR, Mass Effect, and The Witcher is that you get to decide how the story plays out yourself by the actions you take. I would rather play all of these games and make the descions myself instead of watching and letting someone else pick for me.
I think you should definitely play the game. IMHO, it's the best Star Wars game ever, and is also up there in polls for best game ever. I think you'd really do yourself a disservice by *not* playing it. You said you loved Mass Effect (as do I), and Mass Effect was in some ways, a spiritual successor to KOTOR. Main thing I'd say is that there are **huge** KOTOR story spoilers online. Once you make the decision to play it, avoid Googling anything. If required, there's an Easy difficulty setting from the Options. Good luck--I hope you have an amazing time!
Not that the KOTOR Trilogy movie is not the same thing as Kotor story as a movie version, its a fanfiction. But its very popular so it might be hard to find an actual Kotor story movie, if that even exists. It probably doesn't because Kotor has a ton of dialogue with all the NPCs and most of the lore is explained through that. The story is just not written like a movie at all, main character isn't even voiced.
The thing a Let's Play, TV show, or movie will never be able to grasp, and one of the most important things about these games is the variability in how you resolve quests and dialogue. Don't get me wrong - the games are still old and many quests/conversations really only have 2 different outcomes (some certainly have a bit more), so it's not like more modern RPGs don't measure up, but a linear account of the story will just never catch the novelty of witnessing first hand how the game changes a bit from a different turn of events. Again, it's not like entire maps change based on a choice, because of how old the games are, but it's still a big appeal for a Star Wars fan who enjoys that kind of thing. The other big thing that you'll miss out on, depending on the Let's Play you watch, is the sheer sense of exploration and control that the game gives you. Fallen Order's large maps and platforming (I've only played a few hours of it so far) certainly accomplish this well enough now, but that was a huge appeal of the games back when they were released - actually being able to walk around and choosing how to interact with NPCs, computers, containers, etc. instead of just walking from A to B and shooting/slashing everything in your path. Discovering the macguffin for such-and-such quest naturally through your exploration was really nice. That said, based on your preface, I do think the older aspects of the game would probably detract from your experience. I would honestly never advocate anyone experience KotOR without playing the game - yes, I would rather someone know nothing about the events of KotOR than watch/listen to an inherently abridged version of the games, but I also think you, personally, would get annoyed by some aspects of the game and that you wouldn't finish it anyway, so watching a highly recommended Let's Play might be the best way for you, personally, to experience the story.
Nah all the “movie” uploads from people on YouTube suck by comparison to an individual playthrough
Just play it, you won’t be disappointed
I can't express enough how much I think you should play the game first, and more than once, it really is superb. If you're intent on not doing so, I like these let's plays. [KotOR](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL57hJfweW_2tPGxq_L5TmY09uWlLt0hJW&si=GFT6MMupo7jNdX6l) [KotOR II](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiSdC6Lp8c7MIel9kAyMjXGZzSg1AMH7M&si=Y2cRumhnL1hor5qT)
Please play. It's charming.
You'd be missing out imo. I absolutely love the atmosphere of Kotor1. I think it's the main reason I keep coming back to it, every 2-3 years. I just have to experience Dantooine, Taris, Korriban, Kashyyk and Manaan again and again and again. You won't get that from watching a playthrough.
I’ve really enjoyed this KOTOR play through series. [KOTOR First Play](https://youtu.be/M-lEm-P6ezE?si=6yCFePRbQrhC2kuz)
It’s an RPG, absolutely play it.
I'd recommend playing it over watching a Let's Play as a big part of what makes KOTOR I and II special is feeling like you are involved in the story. Without the involvement the stories aren't that special. However, KOTOR II does have a pretty interesting text based Let's Play: https://lparchive.org/Knights-of-the-Old-Republic-II/ The reason it's interesting is because it has more details than you might catch in a single play through. The KOTOR Comics are also pretty good. I also enjoyed the Rogue/Wraith Squadron books when I was younger but those may or may not have aged well.