Finally, we have a sense of what Respawn’s Star Wars adventure looks like. And since it dropped during the weekend, let’s take the chance to chat about it.
Before we go any further though, I have to point out this one moment that – even if you didn’t know who was making the game – had Respawn’s fingerprints all over it:
Look at that! It’s the most out of place object imaginable, a sheet of iron just … hanging there. Not attached to anything, not a part of any structure, just floating, very obviously so the player has something to wallrun off.
Beyond that, the other bits and bobs look intriguing. The game description pitches the combat as a more considered affair, almost a little akin to the lightsaber duels from Dark Forces 2 and Jedi Knight:
Jedi: Fallen Order delivers the fantasy of becoming a Jedi through its innovative lightsaber combat system – striking, parrying, dodging – partnered with a suite of powerful Force abilities you’ll need to leverage to overcome obstacles that stand in your way. This combat system is intuitive to pick up, but takes training and practice to fully master its nuances as you gain new powers and abilities along your adventure.
There’s also mention of backtracking to locations so you can “re-traverse map in new ways” after unlocking abilities, although whether that’s talking about actual Metroidvania-style design, or simply being able to go back and run through levels faster, we don’t know. The game certainly doesn’t mention any form of open-world, so my bet’s on something closer to the latter.
The Purge Troopers and their Sith Inquisitor served as the primary enemies, and we got some shots of a cinematic battle that lasted for a few seconds. Cal tries throwing a crappy Force Push at the Inquisitor, only to be chased down later on. He doesn’t appear to have a lightsaber at that point, which makes me wonder a) if he’s lost it or b) that doesn’t come until much later in the story.
The main sticking point I have over all of this is how much weight lightsabers will actually have. Traditionally, if you get hit by a lightsaber, you’re buggered. But the old Jedi Knight games always allowed the player – and bosses – to have some degree of sponginess. How much damage can the player cop in one of these cinematic Force combat/lightsaber fights? And is there going to be a light/darkness system, akin to the older games (someone going for Force Resistance wouldn’t be able to get Force Lightning, for example).
What did you think of the Jedi: Fallen Order reveal, and what would you like to see next? (At E3, basically.)
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