Another observation...

Partially as a joke, one of the entries here mentioned by @Archlyte is; you know you're playing Age of Rebellion when at least half the characters are ex-Imperial officers. But there, the joke ends. What if we all petition for this forum (and the red-booked game line) to be renamed into "Age of the Empire"? Reskin the Ace-Pilot into an Ace-TIE/LN Survivor and the Soldier-Commando into a Soldier-Imperial Commando. That sort of thing.

In this game, and a lot of other roleplay games, the question whether the players can play evil aligned characters pops up ever so often. I can't recall how often I have had a player ask "Are there any Drow in your world?" or say "I Wanna play an anti-Paladin!". Edge is, although playing the good guys and gals, still leaning heavily on that shadier side of the Star Wars universe and we all love our Force users, who excel in running away! But what is there to love about Age of Rebellion?

I believe the Age of Rebellion line is the most restrictive in its theme. You play rebels, fighting the Galactic Empire, and you have a Duty. In Edge of the Empire, you have an Obligation, and you can try to keep running away from it, or face it head-on; there is a choice. In Force and Destiny you have only your own Morality to contend with. And let's face it, slowly turning to the Dark Side not only has its disadvantages... Again, you have a thematic choice to stay on track, or run away, far away. When you have a duty, and a military rank in the Rebel Alliance, you can't just walk away, or you'd be a deserter! One of the other threads by @Archlyte hits home with its title "How much of a leash?"; no matter how much freedom you have in your choice of missions, you're a rebel, you're hunted for that by a galaxy spanning evil organisation, your freedom ends when UNODIR (UNless Otherwise DIRected) kicks in anyways. Probably one big reason why I see a lot of people not playing AoR, but mining it for character options in the EotE or FaD games. The feeling of that leash.

So, to stay a bit on topic, you know you're playing Age of Rebellion when...

• ... the Duty game mechanic feels like it's restricting your character freedom.
• ... there's always a higher-up breathing down your neck, telling you what to do next.
• ... you feel left behind when the rest of the (EotE and FaD) characters go off treasure hunting while you have to attend a briefing of the next space massacre / ground grind-assault / hopeless base defense / etc.
• ... that 'friendly' captain / general / admiral is far more a threat to you than any drug lord, crime syndicate, or enemy trooper will ever be.
• ... 'leaving officially' probably means also leaving behind all those fancy weapons, armor, toys, vehicles, starfighters, etc.

P.S. (and before having to edit this in here so I put this down here now)... grain of salt. Joking slightly. That sort of thing. I like AoR for what it is, and it most closely resembles the Star Wars I grew up with, the nostalgia of episodes 4, 5, and 6.