Why Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order should be a huge deal for fans

Star Wars has not had the best couple of years. Whether it is the poor reception of the last movie or the general malaise that has surrounded the franchise since Disney announced it was purchasing it from George Lucas, Star Wars can’t seem to shake the nagging feeling that the magic is gone.

Who knows where it went and why, but one thing is certain: SW still makes a ton of money. And, with an aging fan base, it might be time for some new things.

That’s why we think Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order could be just the thing the franchise needs to breath new life into the IP and resurrect old sentiments at the same time.

A new start for Respawn

First off, the game is being developed by Respawn and Electronic Arts is not really involved. They’re even using Unreal Engine 4 instead of the Frostbite engine common to most EA games. In fact, the initial press for the game has gone to great lengths to separate EA from Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.

Why, you might ask? Aside from the abysmal way that EA has handled the franchise lately, it is also part of Jedi’s efforts to distinguish itself from previous video games – and even films. It’s a new start, basically.

Not only does it have a darker tone, but it is not taking the hero of destiny approach to the story. Taking place after Revenge of the Sith, it looks like Jedi: Fallen Order is going to be about surviving a world free of the Jedi and ruled by Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine. Or a universe, that is. You see, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is supposed to be a really long, in depth single-player experience… in other words, the SW game everyone has always wanted.

With a streamlined focus on the single-player narrative combined with a new, novel approach to telling a Star Wars story, Jedi: Fallen Order has all the makings of what the franchise needs. So many of the new films have either failed to impress or just failed entirely.

Jedi: Fallen Order to take fans on a different, better journey?

On top of this, the new Disney films have basically abandoned the extended universe canon established in novels and comic books for decades. A lot of that was solid material, exploring new areas of the Star Wars universe that were never even hinted at in the films. To throw all of that out the window and replace it with a lacklustre rehash of old themes just hasn’t endeared the current trilogy to fans the way it could have if it had taken a different approach (Thrawn, anyone?).

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order could right the course of the ship of state and take us on a different, better journey in the process. It isn’t that Star Wars has to be all grit and Game of Thrones to survive, but it does have to be novel, interesting and engaging. So far, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is ticking all the right boxes for us and it should be a pretty big deal for SW fans when it comes out.