Yesterday we got our first proper look at Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order in action, courtesy of a roughly 15-minute gameplay trailer that showed off the core mechanics. Reactions online were somewhat mixed, with a large number of fans thinking that the game looked a bit dull and by the books. Despite Respawn clearly cribbing from FROM Software’s Dark Souls and Bloodborne titles, it looked a lot like the late 2000s Force Unleashed games, albeit without much sense of bombast or spectacle.
EA and Respawn will clearly be hoping that this new trailer re-ignites those hype engines then. Just screened at Microsoft’s E3 showing, the preview largely recuts the gameplay we saw yesterday in a more dynamic way, along with giving us a smattering of new elements we haven’t seen in either trailer. One of the neatest things unveiled in this one is amphibious AT-ATs, who emerge from a swamp covered in reeds that make them look like they’ve got beards.
But while I’m sure this game is going to offer a decent action experience, right now Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order doesn’t appear to be boasting anything that we haven’t seen before. We’ve got the linear environment traversal of Naughty Dog’s Uncharted series married to a version of Souls combat in an extremely drab and desaturated environment.
Sure, you could make the argument that this is Alpha footage and the final product will be a bit more impressive, but presumably, this is currently the best bit of the game. Otherwise, why introduce it with this level?
Ah well, however it eventually turns out, it’s nice to see a proper single-player Star Wars adventure hitting consoles and PC. After the lacklustre Battlefront games, it’ll be a breath of fresh air to be able to enjoy the franchise without some prepubescent 12-year-old screaming in your ear.
