The reveals keep on coming at Star Wars Celebration as we were treated to information on the next Star Wars video game for consoles: Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. Developed by Respawn Entertainment and being released by EA Games, the release date has been announced as 15th November 2019.
Saturday’s panel on the game gave us some details on the game and also treated us to a story trailer:
First off, the trailer looks amazing! Much like with Star Wars Battlefront II, the visual and audio quality has never been an issue and I am super excited to see Cameron Monaghan (who I loved as Jerome Valeska when I used to watch Gotham) playing the lead role of Cal Kestis. Before this announcement and trailer, I had imagined that the lead character being a Padawan would lead to a younger character, however I like that we have a slightly more mature character as this means that they are likely a little more developed in their abilities, leading to a larger range of Force powers. I love the idea of Cal going into hiding and not using his powers until he has no other choice, and this is something similar to what we have seen with Ahsoka and Kanan in Ahsoka and A New Dawn respectively. I also really like the inclusion of an Abednedo character in this time frame as, being a Sequel Trilogy creation, they have not really featured in this era until now.
The trailer also features villains the Second Sister and Purge Troopers, who were both introduced to the canon in Charles Soule’s Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith comic. I love the use of an Inquisitor as the villain as not only does it link the game to so much of the wider canon – the Inquisitors have featured in comics, novels and Rebels – but it makes sense that an Inquisitor would be chasing a former Padawan, while also giving us hope that the game may have a happy ending for Cal. The Purge Troopers will also be a great way of varying the opponent so that we are not constantly going up against regular stormtroopers. During the panel, the combat was described as “thoughtful combat” where a player needs to work out an opponent’s weakness and use the appropriate tactics to defeat them, rather than a button masher. This really excites and intrigues me as while I loved playing The Force Unleashed, the gameplay could get very repetitive, while I am really happy that the controls were described as easy to pick up but also something that can take time to master, as it means that for someone like me who only plays the odd game, I can jump in easily but also get the enjoyment of playing over and over again to improve my gameplay.
The trailer also reveals a new droid, BD-1, who looks great. He has been described as Cal’s friend and companion but also works as a spotlight during gameplay, which I am interested to see in action as I imagine there will be times that you have to sneak in darker areas but can only use the spotlight in certain areas to avoid detection from Imperials. It was mentioned that BD-1 will be upgradable, so I am looking forward to seeing what that entails. Perhaps the most exciting news surrounding BD-1 was the announcement that his voiced has been created by none other than Ben Burtt! It was also suggested during the panel that the lightsaber in the trailer and promotional images is not actually Cal’s and that it is integral to the story and will evolve as the story progresses, so I can’t wait to see what they mean by that.
I was initially expecting more of a Last of Us vibe, with a young Padawan and a heavy reliance on sneaking. However, with the older lead, I like that the game instead appears to be more of an action game with combat rather than sneaking, though I imagine that there will still be moments where sneaking will be required.
Probably the best news of the entire panel was that the game is purely a single-person story. No multiplayer and no micro-transactions, which must be music to the ears of people who were disappointed by the way Star Wars Battlefront II was treated for so long. Though I am sure it will be a linear story for canon purposes, I a hoping that the lack of a multiplayer will mean we get a story with a good length as it did feel like Battlefront II’s story mode would have benefited from being a couple of hours longer. I’m also hoping that this being a single-player game means that we will continue to get support and updates relating to Battlefront II for the foreseeable future.
I was already looking forward to the game but now that we have some real information about it, I can’t wait to hear more and for the game to release… November can’t come soon enough!
Thanks for reading and May the Force be with you…
The Canon Padawan 