Star Wars Eclipse is the first game set in the franchise’s High Republic era, and it should borrow themes and villains from the comics for familiar fans. Announced during The Game Awards 2021, Star Wars Eclipse is developed by Quantic Dream, the controversial studio behind Heavy Rain and Detroit: Become Human. Although the reveal trailer was purely cinematic, Star Wars fans with prior knowledge of the High Republic may already have an idea of what to expect.
The High Republic story is told predominantly through comics and novels, but Disney has announced an upcoming TV show, called Star Wars: The Acolyte, which is currently in development as well. This new era in the Star Wars timeline takes place roughly 200 years before The Phantom Menace, following the Jedi Order at the height of its power during a major expansion for the Republic. As the Republic is exploring the reaches of the Outer Rim and discovering new hyperspace routes, however, a criminal organization known as the Nihil begins to interfere, considering the Republic’s advancements a threat to their freedom and the galaxy at large.
With a number of books and comics set in the High Republic world, Quantic Dream and David Cage have Star Wars content aplenty to draw inspiration from. Of course, Star Wars fans don’t want a game that simply tells a story they’ve already read. That said, connecting Star Wars Eclipse to general story beats from the High Republic seems practically to be a requirement.
Star Wars Eclipse Should Borrow From The High Republic Comics
So far, the High Republic comics have four major story arcs. The first two focus on the Drengir, a strange, sentient, plantlike species from Wild Space, a mapped but largely unexplored region located past the Outer Rim. The Drengir have a collective consciousness and are able to corrupt the minds of other sentient creatures, including the Jedi, spreading themselves throughout the galaxy to feed.
The last two arcs, which are set to conclude in February of 2022, return to the story of the Nihil. More specifically, these sets of issues focus on the Star Wars High Republic Jedi Order’s hunt for Lourna Dee, a Twi’lek leader among the Nihil, who the Jedi mistakenly believe is in charge of the entire pirate gang. All four story arcs follow the same set of characters, including the Jedi trio of Avar Kriss, Sskeer and Keeve Trennis.
Aside from the obvious crossovers with the comics, like cameos from already established characters and Jedi Masters, Star Wars Eclipse has a lot it could borrow from what fans already know about the High Republic era. Since expansion is such a large theme in the High Republic, and there are a number of unfamiliar areas and aliens outside of Star Wars' canon species like Duros and Neimoidians shown in the cinematic trailer, it’s highly likely that Wild Space or the Unknown Regions (which is similar to Wild Space but remains unmapped and rather unexplored) will play an important part in Star Wars Eclipse. Although it probably wouldn’t be the focus of the game since it’s covered extensively in the comics and novels, another threat from the Drengir would be an appropriate inclusion in Star Wars Eclipse, even if it’s only a brief appearance or mention.
Even without the Drengir, chances are high that the unfamiliar aliens beating on drums in the trailer are a threat, and considering they’re nothing that Star Wars fans have ever seen before, an origin story related to Wild Space or the Unknown Regions would make a lot of sense. This could easily connect to the Republic’s expansion into the Outer Rim or even the Nihil’s travel and experimentation with hyperspace routes. The threat would be even more exacerbated if these new Star Wars Eclipse introduced a dark side faction that these new aliens were a part of, which has begun to seem like it's a very real possibility.
Yoda & Nihil Should Be Players In Star Wars Eclipse
The cinematic trailer also shows a brief glimpse of Yoda, who has been mentioned in the High Republic novels and comics but hasn’t been featured as a main character. Although this is all a theory right now, Yoda’s appearance in the trailer could hint at a shift in power in the Jedi Order. In the comics, Jedi Marshal Avar Kriss has, essentially, been the leader of the Jedi, and perhaps in a future comic or even the timeline of the Star Wars Eclipse game itself, something happens to Kriss, causing Yoda to claim the leadership role that fans see him in by the time The Phantom Menace rolls around.
Star Wars Eclipse obviously should also borrow the threat of the Nihil from the comics and books. Even though the new aliens look like they’ll be the biggest antagonists in Star Wars Eclipse, at least with the information fans have right now, the Nihil have made an appearance in almost every piece of High Republic media thus far. It seems impossible for Star Wars Eclipse to be a game set in the High Republic era without having any mention of the Nihil at all, especially major players that fans already know like Lourna Dee or Marchion Ro, the actual leader of the criminal organization.
However, even with all this theorizing, it’s possible that fans will have no idea what to expect from the High Republic by the time Quantic Dream’s Star Wars Eclipse release officially hits shelves and online stores in three to four years. Lucasfilm has previously said that the High Republic will take place in three different phases, called Light of the Jedi, Quest of the Jedi, and Trials of the Jedi. The first phase is set to end soon in 2022, and considering Star Wars Eclipse is still in early development, everything fans know about the High Republic may be completely different by the time the game launches.
With how long video games take to develop, Star Wars Eclipse might not happen until the High Republic is in its third phase, Trials of the Jedi. If so, it would explain what seems to be an impending dark side threat from the alien species in the trailer. By this point in time, the Drengir and the Nihil might be a distant memory as the Jedi Order becomes locked in conflict with an even bigger antagonist.