With a series of upcoming Star Wars games on the horizon, it is time newer titles stray away from the original trilogy and focus on the sequels. Star Wars: The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and The Rise of Skywalker introduced a conflict between the New Order and the Resistance and also altered character arcs like Luke's, but many of these additions and changes are still shrouded in mystery. How the New Order came to be and how the Republic attempted to reform after the events of the original trilogy are questions mostly left unanswered in games and movies (leaving these answers for the books and comics). And it is precisely these questions that make them ripe for exploration.
Thus far, Star Wars games appear to have not received this memo. Other than LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga and Star Wars Battlefront 2, recent releases have strayed away from referencing the most recent trilogy, and even Star Wars Battlefront 2's usage of the sequels was watered down because it features every era of the Skywalker Saga. Star Wars: Hunters - once it comes out - at least shows an interest in post-Return of the Jedi content by basing itself between the fall of the Empire and the rise of the New Order, but there is still a dearth of content regarding the sequels. As a result, the characters and stories from these films feel less fleshed out and legitimized in the Star Wars canon, especially in areas where the film lore is conflicting.
Basing new Star Wars games in the era of the sequel trilogy would be the perfect way to counteract this issue. Namely, by focusing on less explored areas like Snoke's background or the Knights of Ren prior to Kylo, these characters and stories would feel much more exciting not just in the games but in every aspect of Star Wars media. And luckily, with Ubisoft's open-world Star Wars game and Respawn's FPS still not revealing their settings, fans may soon receive games on such topics.
Where New Star Wars Games For The Sequel Trilogy Could Take Place
A compelling storyline for Ubisoft's open-world game would be a story about the Knights of Ren prior to Kylo joining them. The Knights of Ren were a faction of Force-sensitive marauders who abided the ways of the Dark Side long before the events of the sequels. They had their own understanding of the force and did not follow the way of the Sith. Instead, they believed in using their Dark Side abilities for power and destruction while following a leader known as Ren. Kylo later joined them by causing the fall of the Jedi Order and then Ren. Such a storyline would be interesting to see from either the side of the Jedi as they brush against the Knights of Ren before Kylo's turn to the Dark Side or from the side of the Knights of Ren themselves. In either case, the game would bring insight into the sequel trilogy by showing who the Knights of Ren were and how there are many different beliefs of the force other than those espoused by the Jedi and the Sith.
Another interesting route that Respawn could take would be to tell the story that shows the rise of Snoke as a leader. Star Wars Battlefront 2 does this at a distance, chronicling the time between the second destruction of the Death Star and the fight on Starkiller Base. But there is very little information on how the New Republic recovered during the time Snoke began to gain power, and even Snoke's rise is mysterious. It is known that he is a Force-sensitive artificial lifeform created by Darth Sidious and thus under his control, but how he gained power after the formation of the First Order is unclear. A game that explores the Cold War period between the New Republic and the First Order would bring insight into all of these mysteries, and given Respawn's famously strong track record with lore and storytelling, this would be great to see in a new Star Wars title.