Summary
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Orderfound itself neatly snug in its 3D Metroidvania corner whereasStar Wars Jedi: Survivoris much more complicated to parse out in terms of its gameplay genre identity.Star Wars Jedi: Survivoris an action-adventure game perhaps first and foremost, but it retains 3D Metroidvania designs while also widening some of its explorable environments to create sweeping vistas on two planets in particular: Koboh and Jedha. Both planets are large and content-dense enough to sustain their own remote open worlds, and how that could be extrapolated in a third game is exciting to consider.
Anyone who preferred the tighter, more linear maps inFallen Orderwill likely still be fulfilled bySurvivor’s Coruscant, Shattered Moon, and Nova Garon, and yet players aren’t getting the whole sequel experience if they aren’t engaging with at least a bit of the rumors and exploration in Koboh and Jedha’s furthest corners, which mostly requires late-game abilities/equipment. A third entry in theStar Wars Jedifranchise being confirmed means Respawn must choose whether it wants to continue pursuing planets that have a semi-open world Metroidvania design and doing so would arguably be a boon.
Survivor’s Koboh and Jedha are Divisive Based on Star Wars Jedi’s History
Koboh’s enormity encourages explorationimmediately and while some areas are accessible right away there are just as many if not more blocked passages players will run into, which can then be discouraging if players want to scour the map before they’ve acquired every ability for Cal and BD-1. Jedha is no different, spanning a great distance of mere desert that players trek on spamels or simply bypass by fast-traveling between meditation points.
That said, even with story campaign progression being necessary to get as much out of exploration as players may want, it’s great to see how Respawn was able to enlarge these maps to encompass a lot more content and not sacrifice its Metroidvania integrity at all. Players still need abilities or tools to access certain areas and therefore it never seems like they’ve suddenly been dropped into a freely open-world game, though the sheer real estate ofKoboh and Jedha can be alarming if players prefer whatFallen Orderachieved with less.
Fallen Order’s maps aren’t necessarily small themselves—Zeffo is massive by most measures, for instance, and like Kashyyyk and Dathomir it is split into segments with players needing to travel elsewhere and return with a means to continue onto a new part of the planet. InSurvivor, Coruscant is surprisingly elaborate and it’s wonderful to be able to come back and explore it after players spend time there in the tutorial sequence, especially if players want thegame-changing BD-1 abilitythat allows them to slice sentry droids.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor’s Shattered Moon and Nova Garon are Refreshingly Compact
Contrasting Koboh and Jedha, the Shattered Moon and Nova Garon are relatively smaller labyrinths packed with enemies. This is a relief since Koboh and Jedha are so enormous, making them quick detours with brand-new scenery that doesn’t simply emulate cavernous deserts.
However, Respawn went light on these planets compared to Koboh and Jedha and the difference in quality is undeniable when so much ofwhat fuels progression inSurvivor’s side content are NPCs and their rumors. Indeed, rumors are introduced inSurvivor, along with the variably lengthy and dynamic side quests that they sometimes lead to, and are great overall since they invite players to explore regions that they might not have been prompted or inspired to otherwise.
A third game will probably want to have its cake and eat it too when it comes to how it approaches planets, and a balance of both nonlinear, semi-open-world maps and linear maps could be its best bet again to have each planet be authentic from one another. As long as planets maintain the franchise’s inherent Metroidvania essence it won’t matter how expansive their maps are, allowing for the best of both worlds in terms of level design.
