Kyle next travels to the occupied city of Barons Hed hoping to recover the map, but upon finally tracking it down, the map is destroyed by Yun, one of Jerec's followers. Unfortunately, by the time Kyle receives his father's message the map to the Valley of the Jedi has already been stolen by Jerec, who intends to use it to find the Valley of the Jedi in order to claim the residual power of the Force users that have been laid to rest there. Jerec (center), leader of the Dark Jedi and Jedi Knight's main antagonist Taking the disk to his home on Sulon, Katarn has his family droid WeeGee interpret it, learning that his father had entrusted him with a map to the Valley of the Jedi, an ancient Jedi burial ground, and a lightsaber belonging to his friend Qu Rahn. Kyle overcomes them and proceeds to track 8t88 across Nar Shaddaa, retrieving his father's disk by shooting off the droid's arm (although 8t88 himself is ultimately able to escape capture). After attempting unsuccessfully to coerce Katarn into deciphering a disk belonging to his late father, 8t88 leaves him to be killed by a pair of hired guns. 8t88 informs Katarn that the man he seeks is Jerec, the leader of a powerful group of Dark Jedi, though it quickly becomes clear that 8t88 is under this man's employ.
As the game begins, Kyle is meeting on Nar Shaddaa with an information broker, a droid named 8t88, in order to ascertain the identity of his father's killer.
The narrative of Jedi Knight, which is told mostly through full motion video sequences that combine live actors with pre-rendered elements, centers on the actions of Kyle Katarn, a talented mercenary who was, prior to the events of the game, instrumental in helping the Rebel Alliance uncover and dismantle the Galactic Empire's covert Dark Trooper project (as depicted in Dark Forces). The game received a high amount of praise from critics upon its release, and was followed up by an expansion, Star Wars Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith, in 1998 and a sequel, Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, in 2002. Jedi Knight supports both LAN and internet play for up to eight or four players, respectively, and this component features two modes of play: deathmatch and capture the flag. The game additionally features a branching storyline that can go in one of two different directions depending on the player's overall proclivity toward either the light or dark side of the Force. In contrast to its predecessor, Jedi Knight utilizes a fully three-dimensional game engine with support for hardware acceleration, and its gameplay also differs significantly from Dark Forces, primarily in its depiction of Force usage and lightsaber combat. Set in George Lucas' Star Wars universe, Jedi Knight continues the story of Kyle Katarn, the main protagonist of the Jedi Knight franchise, as he follows the path of the Jedi while simultaneously pursuing his father's killer, the Dark Jedi Jerec.
Also, when Kyle joins the dark side, his mentor Rahn (a ghost) disowns him and stops giving introductory speeches at the beginning of the levels where Kyle fights Jerec's Dark Jedi henchmen (and ultimately Jerec himself).Released in the latter half of 1997 by Lucasarts Entertainment, its developer and publisher, Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II is a PC first-person shooter and the sequel to Star Wars: Dark Forces. The only difference is, if he joins the dark side, Kyle fights Yun again instead of Sariss. Regardless of which side Kyle joins, the player must still go through the same levels and defeat Jerec in the end. A "Morality scale" on the Force powers screen shows which side of the Force Kyle is resting on and he will automatically join that side at the end of the 14th level (where he fights Maw), after which he will only be able to use the Force powers of that side (Healing, Persuasion, Blinding, Absorb and Protection for the light side, Throw, Grip, Lightening, Destruction and Deadly Sight for the dark side).
The player can determine which side of the Force that Kyle Katarn will eventually join by whether he kills innocent bystanders and harmless droids and how much of the light and dark side Force powers he uses.