EA showed off an extended gameplay demo for Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order at EA Play 2019, and we've compiled an entire description of the footage, including new details on Cal Kestis, Saw Gerrera, and the Force powers players can expect to see. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is coming to consoles and PC this year courtesy of Respawn Entertainment, a studio known primarily for their shooter games. However, Jedi: Fallen Order is being helmed by a mostly new team at Respawn Entertainment, headed by God of War's Stig Asmussen.
It's undoubtedly one of the most anticipated video games of the year, and for good reason. Jedi: Fallen Order is the first non-FPS Star Wars game to release in years. After two Star Wars: Battlefront games and multiple, disappointing cancellations, Star Wars fans were starting to become disillusioned with the franchise, wondering when the next story-based Star Wars game would truly hit store shelves. Thankfully, they don't have to wait much longer, as Jedi: Fallen Order is shaping up to be quite the release.
At EA Play 2019, Respawn showcased a 25-minute gameplay demo of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order for event attendees. The live demo contained the same 13 minutes or so of gameplay revealed online during the EA Play livestream, but also unveiled approximately another 12 minutes of new footage. Taking place on the planet of Kashyyyk, Cal is tasked with finding a Wookiee freedom fighter named Tarfful, who's been imprisoned inside of an Imperial refinery. Here's everything else we learned about Jedi: Fallen Order during the hands-off demo at EA Play.
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Extended Gameplay Demo Description
At the beginning of the Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order extended gameplay demo, Jedi Padawan Cal Kestis and his trusty droid companion, BD-1, spawn in the ocean on Kashyyyk and are tasked with completing the objective, "River of Origin". There are two AT-ATs in the distance; they're walking in the water and are filled with algae, moss, etc. Cal swims over to them, albeit using the Force to swim faster than normal, and begins climbing aboard one of them. (The traversal in this sequence is akin to the Uncharted and Tomb Raider games moreso than Assassin's Creed.)
Once on top of the AT-AT, Cal takes out the stormtrooper gunner and infiltrates the walker through the open hatch, and then begins sneaking through the vents. (Jedi: Fallen Order seamlessly molds platforming, stealth, and action, and this particular mission highlights all three in a relatively quick manner.) Once in the AT-AT, Cal encounters a trio of stormtroopers who attack without hesitation, but they appear to fit the description of an elite force than they do in the Star Wars movies. This is the first lightsaber fight that we've seen. Once Cal deals with the stormtroopers, BD-1 takes out the two AT-AT pilots in a rather humorous way, thus showing that the traditional stormtroopers are in the game.
After that, Cal begins piloting the AT-AT himself, with BD-1 perched on the dashboard. While the camera remains in third-person, it zooms in a tiny bit in order to restrict the field of view and keep it focused on what's in front of Cal and the AT-AT. (Interestingly, this heavily resembles a field of view closely associated with arcade games rather than ones played on home consoles.) Using blasters and missiles, Cal destroys the other AT-AT walker and begins moving it throughout the rest of the level, destroying practically anything in his path. However, it doesn't appear that everything is destructible, at least not in the sense that people may have hoped.
Towards the end of the AT-AT mission, Cal sees a Zeta-class cargo shuttle begin to take off, and so, he uses the AT-AT to destroy it. But once the ship loses control, it crashes into Cal's AT-AT and he quickly jumps out of it. Shortly before this sequence, Cal meets Forest Whitaker's Saw Gerrera, who was last seen in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Star Wars Rebels. Continuing the story of the Rebellion, Saw is on Kashyyyk for his own mission. And after completing the AT-AT excursion, Cal and his allies discuss a plan to rescue Tarfful with Saw. The rest of the Jedi: Fallen Order extended gameplay demo plays out like the demo that was released online earlier.
Gameplay Details We Learned During The Jedi: Fallen Order Demo
- BD-1 summons 3D holographic, interactive maps that players can use to plan their course of attack.
- A similar map can be used to look at the solar system and galaxy aboard Cal's ship.
- Similar to Dark Souls and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Jedi: Fallen Order employs a similar final kill attack known to appear in FromSoftware games.
- Cal saves the game by meditating and entering what appears to be the Netherrealm of the Force, though that part is unclear.
- BD-1 provides Cal with health stimulants that be used during or after combat.
- Cal uses various Force powers (including stopping a blaster shot in mid-air like Kylo Ren does in Star Wars: The Force Awakens) and lightsaber attacks - seemingly quick and powerful ones - which are controlled via a power bar at the bottom of the screen.
- Players can use the lightsaber as an actual light source in certain areas.
- To open up the world a bit, players can gain access to other areas either by using the Force to break open doors or their lightsaber to cut down ropes, wires, etc.
- Like many action-adventure games and RPGs, Jedi: Fallen Order has a skill tree, though we didn't see what it looks like or what's unlockable.
- BD-1 can be used to scan objects and areas to populate the game's codex.
- Running alongside walls is very Titanfall-esque, which isn't surprising since Jedi: Fallen Order is made by the same developer.
Jedi: Fallen Order appears to be the one game that truly unites various aspects of the Star Wars franchise in seamless ways. Players will see characters and droids from the TV shows and movies, including Saw Gerrera, along with objects and stories that have long been forgotten. It's an astonishing way to experience a new era of Star Wars. Hopefully it delivers the end. But as of right now, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is certainly on track to impress when it releases this fall.