When people think of Star Wars, Darth Vader is often the first character that comes to mind. Now that players finally have a chance to jump into Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, many are wondering if he is in the game. The short answer is that yes, Darth Vader does appear, but his screen time is only a few minutes in duration and does not occur until the end of the game. Despite only being directly present for a short while, the plot of the game is almost completely fueled by Darth Vader.

The Galaxy After Order 66

Early into Fallen Order, players relive Cal’s experience during Order 66, whereby the clone army turned on and effectively destroyed the Jedi order. This flashback occurs during the events of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. At this point Anakin Skywalker has recently joined the Dark Side and is assisting the clones in their attack on the Jedi Temple, and shortly after he loses to Obi-Wan Kenobi on Mustafar.

Via: polygon.com

As Order 66 purged most, but not every Jedi, Darth Sidious commanded that Darth Vader find and destroy all the remaining Jedi in hiding. This became Darth Vader’s primary goal for years to come, and while he did much of this on his own, even the powerful Sith could not be everywhere in the galaxy at once. To make his search more efficient, Vader tortured and turned several Jedi to the Dark Side rather than eliminate them, each who would become an Inquisitor tasked with the same mission of locating and destroying any remaining Jedi in hiding.

Darth Vader Pulls The Strings

When Cal is revealed to have knowledge of the force, two Inquisitors are sent to eliminate him, the Second Sister and Ninth Sister. Although Darth Vader is not the one in direct pursuit of Cal and his friends, it might as well be. The Inquisitors are nothing more than an extension of Darth Vader, they do exactly as he commands and have no agency of their own. The Second Sister, eventually revealed to be Trilla Suduri, is killed by Darth Vader without a second thought when she is discovered to have failed in her task.

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When Darth Vader tries to finish the task at hand, players should understand only then that they have had it easy throughout the game. Cal and Cere are no match for Darth Vader, who tosses them around with his domination of the force as though they were children, and one could argue that they lived only because Darth Vader was curious to see the potential of Cere as a candidate to turn to the Dark Side after he feels her rage in using the force.

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At its core, the plot of Fallen Order is completely tied to Darth Vader and his principle mission of wiping out the Jedi. If he himself had been the main antagonist in the game, Fallen Order would feel much different, with less battling and more running away, as it would be impossible to believe that Cal, Cere, or anyone could match Darth Vader. Fans of the Star Wars universe may have wanted more screen time for the character, but there is no doubt that he was the primary force fueling the action from behind the scenes.

Source: starwars.fandom.com

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