It’s All So Deliciously Star Wars
EA and Respawn Entertainment finally gave us a good look at their upcoming Jedi jaunt during EA Play. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order already has all the trappings of a singularly Star Wars experience, at least on the aesthetic front. On the other hand, will the gameplay get its hooks in us on launch day?
There’s a bevvy of force powers on full display here. The dev running the demo leaned pretty heavily on slowing down time and power slamming troopers with his lightsaber, which I understand. It looks like wicked fun after all. Also on deck were some force pulls, artful dodges, and even a little saber throwing. In fact, the live demonstration and the published footage have a few distinctions in their execution. In other words, we’ll have a hot mess of different moves to play with when Fallen Order comes out this year.
Another curious addition is your droid companion. They’re a constant presence, affixed to your back and offering all sorts of help in tight situations. We saw said droid manipulate electrical systems, chuck out health drops, and act as a copilot. You can even jazz them up with upgrades, although we only saw the one. Like the skill tree, the droid’s blueprint for future growth was carefully kept off-screen. Also, they’re utterly adorable, which is a plus.
Everything we saw in the demo was confined to a single mission on Kashyyyk. There were massive AT-ATs, Wookie prison breaks, a new trooper design, and a lot of climbing. Truthfully it was only a single sequence of crawling up things, but it felt a little stretched out. So what’s the verdict?
The Force is Pretty
So far, Fallen Order looks gorgeous. All the sights and sounds are absolutely Star Wars, which is something EA has gotten good at delivering. Some of the character animations came with a little chop, but these are standard E3 demo woes bubbling to the surface. The combat has the potential for major depth (assuming the skill tree has many branches), and the world-building touches are numerous. I was especially fascinated by the storm trooper dialogue. It was a pleasant blend of mundane and insightful, a refreshing trait that carried over to all the background interactions. Yet, there was a very linear feel to the whole thing.
Maybe it was just the railroad nature of the demo, but I got the feeling that all those worlds we glimpsed in the holo-table weren’t open for exploration. Instead, they’re likely going to be a whirlwind buffet of isolated set pieces. At least, this was the impression given off by the demo. Perhaps the final game will reveal a new side to the game, but what we saw was on rails and moving fast. Whether or not this appeals to you, we’ll know for sure what we’re in for when Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order gets closer to release.