While expectant fans were given an impressive showing of gameplay footage of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order at E3 last week, it seems that the entire game is akin to a Metroid style progression system, with players given command of a ship with a crew and the ability to explore planets in any order they desire.
This is significantly different from what we were shown at E3, making us wonder how on earth this was not discussed. From everything we have seen up until this point, the game appears to be a linear story with one chapter following another, similar to Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, but this changes everything with regards to how players can choose to experience the game. Unlike Game Freak’s omission of Pokémon from the upcoming Pokémon Sword & Shield, this revelation from GiantBomb’s Beastcast is something players can eagerly look forward too.
During the Beastcast, Brad Shoemaker described in detail how Fallen Order feels far more like a Metroidvania than a simple linear action game, especially when it comes to map and planet exploration. Although planets can be accessed from the start, each map needs to be fully explored by the player, but at first there will be certain paths that are locked until a prerequisite is met.
This means that players may visit a planet once for a main mission but may need to return later if they wish to unlock everything the game has to offer. As the storyline deals with a post-Order 66 universe, there are bound to be countless secrets to unlock, and that the Empire seeks to discover for themselves. This could be the way to find the best upgrades your character, to master Jedi skills through sacred texts, to upgrade your Droid companion, or simply to learn everything about the story.
Everything that has been revealed after E3 sounds fantastic, but it makes us truly wonder why the game was presented in its more bland, linear structure. The report was also confirmed at Kotaku by Jason Schreir, who states that “Someone from Respawn told me about some of this stuff last week and I was baffled – the demo looked fun but I have no idea why EA would show linear, Nathan Drake-ish action-adventurey footage when it sounds like this game is so much more than that.”
Since the game was first announced to be in development and touted a rich, story-driven, single-player experience, we have been dying to learn what that would entail. For the sort of simple, Uncharted style of gameplay to be shown at E3 rather than this expansive world that can be explored as we choose seems like the oddest of choices.
Still, this is great news all around. Hopefully we will be provided with more information soon, but overall there do not seem to be any downsides to the new information.
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order will release on November 15, 2019 on PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4.