More than three years later Star Wars Jedi: Fallen OrderCal Kestis resumes service in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, available this Friday. The continuation of a story created from scratch, but which is fully in line with the universe of the saga.
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away… filled with multiple characters, enemies, planets, parallel stories that multiply and intersect. welcome to the galaxy Star Wars with its films, its series, its characters, its stories, but also its video games.
Since 1978 and an unofficial adaptation on Apple II – a combat simulation game – the universe created by Georges Lucas has seen the birth of no less than forty games more or less faithful to Star Wars and its sequels, whether adapted from the films (Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back…), or move away from it to find their own style (Knights of the Old Republic, LEGO Star Wars, Star Wars Pinball…), sometimes with very big failures (The Phantom Menace, Star Wars : Masters of Terras Kasi).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lL-RfE-ioJ8
All the big names have espoused the Jedi cause over time (Nintendo, Atari, Sega, JVC, Bioware, Namco…), with the approval of George Lucas, who will also stick to it with his studio LucasFilm Games/LucasArts ( absorbed by the Walt Disney Company in 2012, closed in 2013 before reopening as a subsidiary in 2021). If Lucas had decided that video games would be part of the official canon Star Wars, Disney does not see it that way. Since 2014, any work other than an official film has made up the”extended universe” over which the famous mouse has a right of inspection.
Shooting, LEGOs and Sims
For a long time, Electronic Arts was the only dubbed holder of video game adaptation rights, a status that it must now share with others, Disney wanting a game every six months. This notably gave birth to two shooting games Star Wars: Battlefront developed by the DICE studio (reboot of those created by Pandemic Studios in 2004), a game of space battles (Star Wars: Squadrons) and an extension for her golden egg hen (The Sims 4 Star Wars: Journey to Batuu). All these games have one thing in common: they had to create a story from scratch, invent places and characters that do not exist in the saga, but slip easily into it. Not without some constraints…
“I wouldn’t talk about rules per se to design a game Star Warsbut we’re working closely with LucasFilm every step of the way to ensure the concept meets the demands of the saga”recognizes Kasumi Shishido, producer of Star Wars Jedi: Survivorthe new game from Respawn.
A little over three years after the release of the first episode Jedi: Fallen Orderthe Californian studio continues the adventures of Cal Kestis, a character who does not exist in the canonical episodes of the saga, but whose epic takes place between episodes III and IV, after the fall of Order 66. Apprentice in the first opus, this time he became a real Jedi in search of revenge. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor then embarks players across the galaxy on different planets with already known names, but hitherto little exploited like Koboh.
“When playing in a universe like Star Wars, players want the Star Wars they know. It’s gonna be something a little different in Eat: Survivorbut not that much”reassures Kasumi Shishido who explains that it was easier to create the multiple environments (mountainous, green, forest, desert…) of a planet named in the saga and thus being able to be fully exploited according to their creativity for the game.
“We found a balance between new things and other very familiar ones. We kept battle droids for example to add to the gameplay, because they are identifiable, funny and easy to eliminate for the player”adds Jason de Heras, design director of the game. “That’s one of the benefits of working with LucasFilm and Disney: we have access to a very large catalog of existing things to draw from for gameplay and to bring consistency to the whole thing.”
Finding a balance between familiar and new things
Give free rein to your creativity while respecting fairly strict specifications: by the teams’ own admission, it’s a bit of a balancing act. Thus, it is never possible to take over existing characters – which would also generate image rights to be paid to identifiable actors – (with the exception of Darth Vader and a few other villains “masked” very emblematic), and above all not to take on a hero. Cal Kestis therefore has the features of Cameron Monaghan, actor seen in the series Shameless et Gotham, but not in any Star Wars movies. This did not prevent him from making him a true hero worthy of the saga.
In this new game, his character is even deepened, older and more mature. More hardened too, but with benchmarks, Jedi attitudes, a way of wielding the lightsaber that meet Star Wars criteria. Its past, its evolution, everything has been worked out by Respawn, not without a passage for verification with Disney and LucasFilm. “They always let us go the way we wanted, especially for the character of Cal”explains the producer of the game. “We wanted him to be more marked, to understand what he went through, what makes him a survivor. We did not have any counter-order or refusal in what we had proposed”adds Jason de Heras, also welcoming the “strong relationship with LucasFilm since the first episode and the freedom that goes with it”. “Teams love the story we’ve created and trust us,” he congratulates himself.
For Respawn, having very identifiable in-game stars or universe elements would be almost a trap. “You have to be sure that they are accurate and authentic, that they make the same noises as in the films that the fans know. It is valid for the droids, the enemies, the fauna and the flora of the chosen environments, the atmosphere”, summarizes Kasumi Shishido, without hiding that it is undoubtedly more exciting for Star Wars fans like them to have the freedom to create their saga within the saga. But also with the risk of getting too carried away or being too demanding.
The Star Wars game fans have been waiting for
We were able to dive into the new action-adventure game. If Jedi: Fallen Order seemed rather commanding in the evolution of the adventure, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor brings more depth to the general framework, the characters and the decorations. Everything is darker there like what The Empire Strikes Back was compared to Star Wars. The Empire is on the heels of the hero who must do everything to survive, find allies, protect populations (there are more game options to manage resources, defense aids, etc.). The fights are tough, fluid and energetic. The lightsaber remains the absolute weapon and comes in different ways (single, double, long), being able to even improve its techniques by acquiring experience.
The wide exploration (but not in the open world) takes us through environments worthy of a Star Wars film. Rarely has a video game been able to give a player-fan the feeling of being there. Our hero climbs everywhere, alternates platform sequences, lightsaber duels and puzzles to progress. Added to this is a well-written story, a pleasant and easy-to-learn game thanks to the 5 levels of difficulty offered. A skilfully dosed tour de force.
STAR WARS JEDI: SURVIVOR – Available April 28 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X⎜S and PC
