Since Disney purchased Star Wars and all Lucasfilm properties in 2012, the legendary franchise has resumed its conveyor belt of new content. Reaction to the new films has been polarizing, but other aspects of the Star Wars renaissance have been better received, like the Mandalorian and the video game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.
Recently, Ubisoft announced their partnership with Disney and Lucasfilm Games to craft a new open-world Star Wars game. Other than the announcement of its existence and a developer, we know almost nothing about the upcoming title. Whatever comes, we hope it takes a few cues from this list, focusing on the publisher's strengths and leaving out numerous cliches for which they are known.
10 Want: Co-Op
Massive Entertainment is set to develop the project. The company's two most recent titles were The Division and its sequel, The Division 2. While a living game is not exactly what we have in mind, the fact the developer has experience with cooperative gameplay is promising for co-0p prospects. Imagine venturing through a giant, open-world Star Wars adventure with a friend. Other open-world Ubisoft games include co-op, such as Far Cry 5.
9 Don't Want: Towers
The formulaic nature of some Ubisoft open-world games puts off a lot of gamers. Each game generally includes a high point in every region players climb in order to get a look at the surrounding area and unlock side quests and bonus activities. This method of discovery feels archaic, especially after the organic way it is done in newer titles like Breath of the Wild. We have faith Massive Entertainment will bring something new to the table in this respect.
8 Want: Combat Variety
We have no idea what type of character the protagonist will be, or if players will be able to create their own character. One way to significantly increase replay value while making cooperative play more interesting is to have numerous gameplay styles available.
Being able to go through the campaign either as a Jedi or bounty hunter, both with different abilities, would be awesome, and the ability to experience the Star Wars universe from numerous perspectives would bring a lot to the game.
7 Don't Want: Making Side Quests Mandatory For Continuing The Story
Some open-world games are structured in such a way as to make you do side quests before unlocking future story missions. Locking main missions away behind this defeats the sense of freedom to which many open-world games aspire. Some enjoy going through side-quests after doing the main story, or not doing them at all. If bonus activities are good enough, players will want to do them without being forced. Massive Entertainment's Star Wars story should not utilize this mission structure.
6 Want: Civilization And Nature Side By Side
Star Wars' universe is so incredibly unique for its variety, and the new game needs to showcase this. Players would get a kick out of exploring both a big city and vast expanses of natural terrain. This will also help gameplay variety and provide more opportunities for interesting missions. Think about how much better the missions in Grand Theft Auto 5 are than in its predecessor because of the metropolitan area being next to the forests and mountains.
5 Don't Want: A Map Full Of Question Marks
This one is closely connected to the disdain of towers leading to a formulaic form of open-world progression. We want a game that encourages exploration, something on par with Breath of the Wild. Immortals: Fenyx Rising is at least a step in the right direction, and the next game should take a few steps further. Having a bunch of question marks on the map feels too much like a checklist instead of actually finding secrets and quests on your own.
4 Want: Multiple Planets
This would be a tall order for an open-world game. Crafting one open-world is impressive enough, but taking place on multiple planets would go above and beyond many other games of a similar ilk. Maps in games like Assassin's Creed: Odyssey are big enough that they could be split into chunks to make it several different planets, each with a sizable map of their own.
While not the most in-depth open-world, Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain also takes place on two separate maps, so it is not unprecedented to ask for multiple planets from Massive Entertainment.
3 Don't Want: Over-Bloated Length
It might seem weird to wish for shorter games, but this is the way some people feel when it comes to open-world adventures. Modern Assassin's Creed games stretch to well over sixty hours, sometimes taking more than a hundred to reach credits. Those who play fewer games appreciate the amount of content jammed into a single game, but many burn out before reaching the credits. We don't mind if the Star Wars game is similarly long, but it all has to feel valuable and not repetitive.
2 Want: Taking Place Either Before Or After The Movies
Plenty of Star Wars stories are set in between the first two trilogies, and the Mandalorian is doing a good enough job on its own fleshing out the narrative between Episodes 6 and 7. With this in mind, the game should take advantage of uncharted time periods like before the prequel trilogy or, perhaps even bolder, after The Rise of Skywalker. Maybe Disney would not give Ubisoft license to continue the overarching lore, but it would definitely pique interest more than squeezing yet another story between the trilogies.
1 Don't Want: Trying Too Hard To Connect To Other Star Wars Stories
The galaxy far, far away is a big place, and not every story needs to interact with each other. The more they do, the more implausible everything seems. No one would take issue if the new game did not intersect with any major characters or events from the films or series. Lip service here or there would be fine, but the developer should not feel like they need to explain how Luke's Lightsaber ended up in Maz Kanata's cantina.