Star Wars is ripe for adaptation thanks to its vast universe and multiple avenues for storytelling, but it’s overrun by one family: the Skywalkers. Most of the Star Wars medium has been handheld by this flagship name, failing to explore the extravagant and lush worlds that blossomed from George Lucas’ mind. Now that the Skywalker storyline is complete, creators have been dipping their toes into other aspects of the universe, namely the High Republic. A time when the Jedi were at their peak, and there was relative peace throughout the galaxy.
Quantic Dream takes a stab at the High Republic era, and we got our first glimpse at the anticipated project during the 2021 game awards. The cinematic trailer was devoid of gameplay, but it was one of the most successful and exciting trailers at the awards show. The quick flurry of divergent scenes across the galaxy captured various aspects of the High Republic, enticing even the most average Star Wars fan. It’s almost a shame that Quantic Dream, a studio known for mediocre writing and absent gameplay, made such a great trailer. Though the final product may be questionable, the trailer gives us some hope. Here’s is everything we could glean from the high-octane trailer as we wait in anxious optimism.
Quantic Dream
Before we jump into the trailer itself, let’s reflect on what we know about Quantic Dream. The studio developed the hilarious Heavy Rain, the weird Beyond Two Souls, and the pretentious Detroit Become Human, all of which are known for silly writing, branching storylines, and realistic visuals. Star Wars Eclipse will probably follow the same trend but with a slight action-adventure bend. Quantic Dream describes Eclipse as an “action-adventure, multiple characters branching narrative game,” which falls in line with what we know about the studio. As we play multiple characters, we will see all sides of a storyline and make decisions that directly impact not just the characters, but also the story. The action-adventure portion of the description does signify something a little different than what we’ve come to expect, something that may include action gameplay beyond precise quick time events. If there’s a Star Wars game, we should be able to control the lightsaber swings and laser blasts, at least we hope that’s the case.
New Territory
As we’ve mentioned, Star Wars has dived into the High Republic era, exploring the concept through novels, comics, and now video games. Centuries before the Sith wove themselves into the very fabric of the Republic, the Jedi were the main peace bringers of the galaxy. The sith are absent and the Jedi are accomplishing their mission of bringing peace to the galaxy. Besides the presence of Master Yoda, it’s difficult to connect this thriving era to anything we’ve seen before. Even beyond that, Eclipse takes place in an unknown section of the galaxy, bringing an all-new identity to Star Wars. There will be new species, new worlds, new politics, new enemies, and, hopefully, new supernatural abilities. Without the ties of established content, Quantic Dream can make Star Wars their own, finally reaching into the depths of a rich, unexplored galaxy.
Uncharted but Familiar
Though we are experiencing a new era of Star Wars, it’s still Star Wars. The trailer included some species and locations that we’ve seen before, keeping Star Wars fresh but familiar. The first planet we see exemplifies peace and extravagance with tall golden towers and a deep blue river running throughout. Though this might be a new planet, it is quite similar to Naboo and even features the crowded hubs we’ve come to expect from Star Wars. Here several species scamper about accomplishing various daily tasks, trading, and resupplying before a possible voyage. A Duros with an eye patch walks to the camera and immediately reminds us of one of the best Star Wars: The Clone Wars characters, Cad Bane.
Additionally, someone with a large sombrero sits in the corner, unfazed by all the passersby’s. This character reminds us of Embo, another bounty hunter from The Clone Wars who uses his hat like Captain America’s shield. After the city scene, we see Yoda standing in the Jedi council chambers located on what is presumed to be Coruscant, a planet prequel fans are all too familiar with. Later on, we also see some recognizable ships like a crashed Naboo fighter and Trade Federation vessels. The Neimoidians, the greedy species heavily linked to the Trade Federation, are a focal point of the trailer. They were also featured heavily in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. Eclipse will have some established concepts and species but we’ll get to see them function in all new physical and social environments. They also won’t, as far as we know, draw any connection to the prequels, original or sequel trilogies.
A Galaxy of Questions
With all that said, watching through the trailer will definitely bring more questions than answers. The biggest of these is one of the antagonists or adversaries. A common enemy in the High Republic is The Nihil, a group of marauders who set themselves apart from the law of the Jedi. Though we saw some glimpses of enemies, none were confirmed to be a part of this organization. Instead, we see an army of soldiers menacingly marching toward the camera. They adorn robotic Esque armor and wear a “Y” emblem on their chest. The identity of these soldiers is unknown but we also saw their presumed home base, a tower overseeing the rough seas of an icy planet. The main threat looks to be a man who emerges from black goo to the pounding beats of drums. We don’t know much, but we do know that this person is not a Sith, since their presence was a secret during the High Republic.
And then, equally as important, who are the heroes? We saw a lot of Jedi throughout the trailer, but no confirmation of the main protagonists. Only one shot gave us protagonist energy: that of a woman with a three-barred hairpiece and multiple necklaces. This doesn’t give us much to go on, but we do know there will be several protagonists, which may or may not include this woman, a Jedi, a bounty hunter, a smuggler, or even the creature rising out of the goo. The Trade Federation may even function as something other than an antagonistic role. Their ships are seen getting attacked by the “Y” shaped ships of the evil army we mentioned earlier.
This all goes without saying that the Eclipse trailer gave us a lot to chew on, raising several questions and the possibility of several different story directions. Quantic Dream, for all its misgivings, can surely provide an excellent trailer; we just hope the game lives up to it. Until we can answer that question, which will probably be in 2023 at the earliest, Star Wars fans will continue pausing and analyzing this trailer in search of more information about the new era of Star Wars.
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