Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Orderdebuted its gameplay first look at EA Play during E3, and with it we got around 15 minutes of the game in action. Throughout that time, we saw a variety of things that will please fans of the iconic franchise: Saw Gerrera fromStar Wars Rogue Onereturns, we will get to explore planets in the galaxy both old and new, and of course, it wouldn’t be Star Wars without a droid companion. Cal has his robot buddy BD-1 to help him throughout the demo. All that was great.
The game looks gorgeous, as expected of developer Respawn, known for makingtheTitanfallseriesas well as the recentApex Legends. But as the demo progressed, there was one striking thing that caught my attention: the combat inFallen Orderjust didn’t seem right.
[pullquote]“We saw a variety of things [inStar Wars Jedi: Fallen Order] that will please fans of the iconic franchise."[/pullquote]
What I mean by that is I don’t think the combat-style fits the game, especially as aStar Warsgame. There were rumors that the game was going to have aDark Souls-esquecombat system: while that isn’t the true beat for beat comparison for the game, it does look grounded, it looks slow, and there’s my problem. When Cal was in combat, he looked clunky and tanky based on the way he moved. This could be because the footage was of an alpha build, but I’m assuming that isn’t the case.
Now I’m nowhere near aStar Warsexpert. At best I’d consider myself a casual fan, but from all theStar Warsmedia I’ve consumed, whether it be film, television or video games, aren’t Jedi suppose to be quick and agile?
During the presentation of the game at EA Play, Respawn head Vince Zampella said that Cal is past the level of Padawan and he will progress to the level of Jedi as you go throughout the game. But even then, it just doesn’t make a lot of sense to me because we’ve seen Padawans fight, and for the most part they are just like Jedi, only less skilled. So what gives?
[pullquote]“Having grounded and heavy combat doesn’t seem like it’s the way forFallen Orderto go."[/pullquote]
Leading up tothe first reveal ofFallen Orderat Star Wars Celebration a few months back, we knew that Respawn wanted to have an engaging lightsaber combat system. Now seeing it in action, I think this was not the right direction. I’m not saying that it should be like the oldForce Unleashedgames, but having grounded and heavy combat doesn’t seem like it’s the way forFallen Orderto go either.
I have no doubt that Respawn will make a great game because they made, to me, the best first-person-shooter campaign this generation withTitanfall 2. I’m excited to see them finally take a crack at a new genre for gamers to experience, along with getting their hands on theStar Warsuniverse. As a “Gameplay is King” type of gamer, I think that they have managed to make meaningful combat, but I don’t think it fits the character you’re playing as in the world ofStar Wars.
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Orderwill release for PS4, Xbox One, and PC on June 08, 2025.
