Showcased at The Game Awards 2021, the Star Wars: Eclipse trailer takes fans to a different era filled with new locales and old characters, and is set years before the events of the Skywalker Saga. Developed in collaboration between Quantic Dream and Lucasfilm Games, Star Wars: Eclipse is an action-adventure game. It will feature an original story within the Star Wars timeline set during the High Republic era.
Star Wars: Eclipse is roughly set between 300 BBY to 82 BBY or "Before the Battle of Yavin" in the Star Wars galactic calendar. This era was a golden age for the Republic and Jedi Order, as the former expanded throughout the galaxy and the latter freely explored the Outer Rim territories. This means that Eclipse could fall anywhere in a 200-year period, either at the beginning of the High Republic, or closer toward its end. In any case, the High Republic era is different from KOTOR, which is no longer in Star Wars canon and takes place in the Legends continuity.
The 200-year gap from the height of the High Republic to its slow decline gives plenty of time for Star Wars: Eclipse to establish new lore, and flesh out more of the era until now only depicted in novels and comics. It's the perfect opportunity for a new Star Wars game, as it will be relatively unencumbered by having to navigate the continuity of the Skywalker Saga, and has the opportunity to develop new storylines and characters that may influence the galaxy on a more significant scale. The High Republic is new but familiar, and that aesthetic has been replicated in the trailer for Eclipse, as it blends the imagery seen in the publishing initiative's art with more familiar designs from Star Wars' prequel era.
Star Wars: Eclipse Depicts An Unseen Period Of The Galaxy
The Star Wars: Eclipse trailer is filled with staples of the galaxy far, far away, ranging from starships and speeders to bustling new alien cities and different lightsabers. One scene had a younger Yoda overlooking Coruscant, who is still a Grand Master of the Jedi Order during this period of the Star Wars timeline. Another scene shows off a Nemoidian and the Trade Federation battling with a new kind of faction, so it's possible that Eclipse will illustrate how the organization rose to power prior to Episode I - The Phantom Menace.
One of the most striking shots from the Star Wars: Eclipse trailer was of a vast marching army accompanied by huge floating tanks, with fighters flying overhead that looked similar to the sith vessels from Knights of the Old Republic. Their armor is adorned with an unknown emblem that appears twice in the trailer, and it's possible they could be one of the main antagonists in the game. There's still much that fans don't know about the High Republic timeline, and Eclipse puts that element of mystery front and center, showing both that faction and a more ritualistic group that has a sinister vibe.
It's unclear when exactly within the High Republic era Star Wars: Eclipse takes place, but the presence of the Trade Federation, early-stage protocol droids and a Naboo starfighter seemingly intimates that it may be set in its closing stages, similar to the upcoming Star Wars: The Acolyte series. In any case, the game's setting should permit greater narrative freedom compared to other Star Wars games like Jedi: Fallen Order, as the High Republic is still vastly unexplored. Star Wars: Eclipse is unique in that regard, as it should provide fans with their most detailed look yet at the new canon's burgeoning past.