A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away… full of multiple characters, enemies, planets, parallel stories that multiply and intertwine. welcome to the galaxy Star Wars with their movies, their series, their characters, their stories, but also their 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 they are adaptations of the films (Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back…), or get away from it to find your 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 Teras Kasi).
All the big names have joined the Jedi cause over time (Nintendo, Atari, Sega, JVC, Bioware, Namco…), with the approval of George Lucas, who will also join 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 WarsDisney doesn’t see it that way. Since 2014, any work other than the official film makes up the “extended universe” over which the famous mouse has the right of inspection.
Shooting, LEGO and Sims
For a long time, Electronic Arts was the sole dubbed holder of video game adaptation rights, a status it must now share with others, since Disney wants a game every six months. This in particular gave rise to two shooter games. Star Wars: Battlefront developed by the DICE studio (reboot of those created by Pandemic Studios in 2004), a space battle game (Star Wars: Squadrons) and an extension for his golden egg hen (The Sims 4 Star Wars: Journey to Batuu). All of these games have one thing in common: they had to create a story from scratch, inventing places and characters that don’t exist in the series, but slip easily into it. Not without some limitations…
“I would not talk about rules per se to design a game Star Warsbut we are working hand in hand with LucasFilm in each phase so that the concept meets the requirements of the saga”, acknowledges technology and company Kasumi Shishido, producer of Star Wars Jedi: SurvivorRespawn’s new game.
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 work, this time he became a true Jedi out for revenge. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor then it sends the players through the galaxy in different planets with names already known, but until now little exploited like Koboh.
“When playing in a universe like Star Wars, players want the Star Wars they know. It’s going to be something a little different in Jedi: Survivorbut not so much”, says Kasumi Shishido, who explains that it was easier to create the multiple environments (mountainous, green, forest, desert, etc.) of a planet named in the saga and that in this way you can make the most of your creativity for the game.
“We struck a balance between some new things and some very familiar things. We kept battle droids, for example, to add to the game, because they’re relatable, fun, and easy for the player to take down,” adds Jason de Heras, design director for the game. game: “That’s one of the advantages of working with LucasFilm and Disney: we have access to a very large catalog of existing things to take advantage of for the game and give consistency to the whole.”
Finding a balance between the familiar and the new
Unleash your creativity while adhering to fairly strict specifications: by the teams’ own admission, it’s a balancing act. Therefore, it is never possible to seize existing characters—which would also generate image rights to be paid to identifiable actors—(with the exception of Darth Vader and some other very iconic “masked” villains), and above all never stop taking become a hero Cal Kestis thus has the features of Cameron Monaghan, an actor seen in the series Shameless AND Gotham city, but not in any Star Wars movie. This did not stop him from turning him into a true hero worthy of the saga.
In this new game, his character is even deeper, older and more mature. More hardened too, but with reference points, Jedi attitudes, a way of handling the lightsaber that meets Star Wars criteria. His past, his evolution, everything has been resolved by Respawn, not without going through verification with Disney and LucasFilm. “They always let us go the way we wanted, especially because of Cal’s character,” explains the game’s producer. “We wanted him to be more scarred, for him to understand what he went through, what makes him a survivor. he did not have any counter-order or rejection in what we had proposed to him, ”adds Jason de Heras, who also hails the“ strong relationship with LucasFilm from the first episode and the freedom that it entails ”. “The teams love the history we’ve created and they trust us,” he said.
For Respawn, having very identifiable in-game stars or universe elements would almost be cheating. “You have to be sure that they are accurate and authentic, that they make the same noises as in the movies that the fans know. This applies to the droids, enemies, fauna and flora of the chosen environments, the ‘atmosphere’, summarizes Kasumi. Shishido, making no secret that it’s certainly more exciting for Star Wars fans like them to have the freedom to create their saga within a saga. But also with the risk of getting too carried away or being too demanding.
Star Wars game fans have been waiting
We were able to immerse ourselves in the new action-adventure game. If Jedi: Fallen Order seemed quite dominant 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, aid defense, etc.). The fights are tough, fluid and energetic. The lightsaber is still the absolute weapon and comes in different forms (single, double, long), and you can even improve your techniques by gaining experience.
Extensive (but not open world) exploration takes us through environments worthy of a Star Wars movie. Rarely has a video game been able to give a player-fan the feeling of being there. Our hero climbs everywhere, alternating platforming sequences, lightsaber duels and puzzles to progress. Added to this is a well-written story, a fun game that is easy to learn thanks to the 5 difficulty levels it offers. A skillfully dosed tour de force.
STAR WARS JEDI: SURVIVOR – Available April 28 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X⎜S and PC
Source: BFM TV
