Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Initial Impressions
The “Spinchoon 3” have been intrigued by Jedi: Fallen Order for some time, so we decided to give the early portion of the game a spin, and record our thoughts here. Sadly, Brian will not be partaking this time — knowing him he’ll have a full review done by next week — since he’s out on assignment, doing Spinchoon things (See: taking his wife to Disney World and reporting back on his time at Galaxy’s Edge for us).
So here’s Anthony and my thoughts on the Prologue (Bracca) and Chapter 1 (Bogano) of Jedi: Fallen Order.
SPOILERS FOR PROLOGUE AND CHAPTER 1 FOLLOW
Al’s Thoughts
For those of you who haven’t followed the coverage — or played the game — so far, Jedi: Fallen Order (JFO from here on) has been described as an amalgamation of Dark Souls, “Metroidvania” (a portmanteau originating with the Metroid series and Castlevania series, respectively) games, and Uncharted.
I can’t speak to the specifics of those games — I know, I’m a failure as a gamer — but from what I’ve heard and seen of all those, this feels like an accurate description so far.
To hear people talk of the difficulty of playing Dark Souls and it’s sequels suggests an unexpected honesty about one’s predilection towards sadomasochism. Different strokes for different folks and all that; I have no judgment on what consenting adults are into when it doesn’t harm anyone else. I don’t understand why anyone would play a game that is borderline impossible though. So far, in my barely over an hour of playtime with JFO, I have found it to be very difficult, though not to the level often referred to with Dark Souls. I’m not playing the top difficulty, since I have to acclimate to this foreign controller layout and play style, but I can already start to feel the game becoming more natural and organic.
Traversal, after scaring the crap out of me early on, feels incredible. Especially after you learn (or rather relearn) the Wall Run
This game has the chance to exceed even some of the best games when it comes to traversing terrain; my personal gold standard was always Spider-Man 2 (2004), but you can pick whichever you prefer. Shimmy across a beam, sprint, leap and swing across a gap on a vine, leap from the vine into a series of wall runs, and leap to a wall you can climb. While you’re not Spider-Man — this could have easily applied to any of those if you changed “vine” to “web” — this is just as empowering. You really feel like a super hero, or in this case, a Jedi. You can’t ask for much more than that.
Actually, scratch that, you can ask for one thing more. I wouldn’t have minded a little more explanation in the Prologue. Some of that even leaks into Chapter 1, weirdly, and I don’t just mean when they teach you how to Wall Run.
I don’t mind a game not holding your hand in the wide world; if you want to know how to do *everything* just watch Let’s Plays (nothing wrong with that, by the way). If you want to play a game, especially an open world game, then play it. But if your game is going to have a deep and complex traversal and combat suite, you need to teach your player all the fundamentals so that you can understand them, and then experiment and improvise with those tools later on. So while there were some helpful hints early on — concerning climbing vertical wall surfaces and swinging on cables/vines — there were some left entirely too vague, like what surfaces you can grab and mount or which you can climb.
Now, did you see how long it took that player to figure out they had to climb that cable? I’m (only slightly) embarrassed to say it took me a few more minutes to figure it out than they did, mainly because I thought it was a solid metal post not a flexible cable, but now I don’t feel quite so bad as when I was experiencing it in real time. The reason it took so long is because the game never tells you that’s a thing you should, or even could, do. It tells you to jump and mount a ledge, to jump and swing, to climb or drop down the designated walls. Not once does it indicate that you could climb a cable. And, not to nitpick, since it’s a core function, but maybe an indication as to what ledges are off limits to mount? I fell to my death several times in the next section because I didn’t know where to go to access the switch, and all the surfaces seemed eligible. Spoiler alert: they’re not all eligible.
As far as the combat goes: it can be exhilarating. While I have played a couple games with the melee/parry function at the forefront, it’s been a while. I’m far from an expert, but I’ve always had some fun with it. It feels like I’ll need to get pretty far into the game to “master” it, or at least get to play a few unbroken hours to sink into the flow. And make no mistake: flow is a key ingredient to this, befitting a more elegantly structured fencing-style combat suite. I felt very comfortable after my first couple of encounters in the Prologue, but I actually felt some regression on Bogano. It took me a bit to realize what caused it, but I realized that I don’t love fighting creatures in this format, so far. Fighting humanoid opponents swinging electrified batons triggered primal timing reflexes; the ebb and flow of parrying, and triggering kill-cam finishers, was a lot of fun, and I’m sure it will continue to be as I unlock the skill tree. For whatever reason, the more compact, animalistic strikes from the creatures has left me out of sync, resulting in an uglier game of block and hope I can swing without getting interrupted.
That’s to say nothing of my first encounter with the Oggdo Bogdo
As far as the story goes, I’m intrigued. There’s not a ton to go on so far, other than that you are a Padawan that hadn’t undergone his trials yet, in hiding from the Empire after surviving Order 66, when your master sacrificed himself to save you. They’ve teased a classic “hero’s journey” — ever the favorite vehicle for a Star Wars story, not that that’s a bad thing, per se — and you pick up the thread immediately with a call to action. They did find some fun ways to tweak the delivery, though: a parallel journey of discovering secrets left behind by another, while rediscovering some of your own, as Cal Kestis is someone who is clearly dealing with PTSD, which has damaged his connection to the Force. You regain your connection, through flashbacks and other discoveries, and I love the way they’ve started to introduce them: in cutaways and even a slick dream sequence early on.
This game looks and sounds amazing. The score nails the creepy, the contemplative, and the bombastic of a Star Wars movie. As I mentioned in my recap of The Mandalorian premiere, this game feels right so far; feel is the all important, but hard to define, hallmark of Star Wars.
While I’ve been frustrated by JFO at times so far, I can see the learning curve, and where I’m measuring up against it so far. Most of the time, I’ve realized where user error is creating my issues, and trial and error is an important part of this process. When I start to get it right, I start to have more fun; I’m intrigued to see where this continues to go. There’s a ton of game left to discover.
Bonus Impressions
OK technically this is cheating because it’s after Chapter 1, when you’re given the choice to head to Zeffo or Dathomir to advance the story. Dathomir may simply turn out to be a red herring, but if you’re up for the challenge — and make no mistake, it’s a challenge — rumors abound of a secret to be found early in the game. Click this video at your own peril to discover the secret
However, to access this secret, you’ll face some powerful enemies. I died, like, so many times. But I also finally learned the combat flow, for real now, through all the carnage. Now, I feel like a Jedi bad-ass (despite not having upgraded my skills much yet). All creatures flee before my wrath!
Stray thoughts
- I love that you can start to customize your lightsaber as soon as you begin Chapter 1, if you so choose. I don’t love Cal’s initial design, and I prefer having some more choice in the color blade I employ. A bronze/gold handle with an orange blade has piqued my interest so far.
- Further to the color choice, while blue and green are classic (seeing Luke with a green saber in ROTJ was so cool to 6 year old me), I appreciate that they offer other options — despite other colors being canonical options for Jedi, they’re so rarely used, which is a shame. Give me some yellow and orange Jedi damn it (props to Ahsoka Tano for the post-exile white blades though). And as much as I’d love to wield a double bladed red & black saber… I understand why that has been denied me, per the Star Wars canon, but I don’t have to like it!
- I’m curious to see where your interactions with Cere and Greez go. There’s a lot going on when you’re first acquainted, but there’s already some interesting tension and mystery there. And the Stinger Mantis is a worthy candidate for the Star Wars “Ship That Looks Cool But Doesn’t Make a Lot of Sense” Design Hall of Fame
- BD-1, welcome to the “Awesome Droid Companion” Hall of Fame as well
Anthony’s Thoughts
Upon firing up Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, I was immediately captivated. I’ve only recently become hands-on familiar with Respawn Entertainment. Earlier this year I got a chance to play Apex Legends; just prior, I completed the campaign of Titanfall 2. Both experiences blew me away in their own special way. That’s the thing that is special about Respawn’s work: each game is captivating, and uniquely screams fun, while also feeling comfortably familiar in its DNA. After starting Titanfall 2, I couldn’t think about anything else. The gameplay loop was incredibly satisfying, and the controls were so finely tuned. When I wasn’t playing, all I wanted to do was get back to it. Titanfall 2 was the last game I “just couldn’t put down”, until now.
In a galaxy far, far away…
From the jump it was so (Kyber) crystal clear: Jedi: Fallen Order IS Star Wars. Any time there is a new piece of Star Wars media, I have the same concerns: How are they going to do this new thing, but nail the aesthetic, emotion, heart, and nostalgia that I’ve come to demand and expect from the franchise? The music, the scenery, the characters, the tech, the epic set pieces, it’s all there… not eventually… it’s all there within the first minute of playing the game!
LEGGO
I’ve played enough video games in my life to expect the prologue mission of a single-player story-driven adventure to be nothing shy of ham-handed as the pilot episode of a TV series. Walk, in this very straight line. Deny your basic instincts, come stand right here, and click this button. Sometimes, I put off starting a game just because I don’t want to deal with that nonsense. I understand that with a modern controller you need a little bit of guidance, but there is a right way to teach the player without boring them to death: Enter Fallen Order.
This ain’t my first pod race
The game starts and you’re playing out of the gate. Maybe it’s because I’m no stranger to adventure games, but I just knew what to do and how to play. I hit a couple of snags with the action button being the right stick, but otherwise, things were fluid and familiar. I was running around, swinging on ropes, sliding down hills, climbing through passageways; you would think I was replaying the game rather than kicking off for the first time. Eventually, you reach a point where the game has to teach you combat, but even those interactions were fun and engaging, probably because the animations were so well choreographed and exciting. The intro even has you engage in a lightsaber duel… I’m a Jedi and I don’t have to wait to get into a lightsaber duel? WHAT A CONCEPT!
To boldly go…
Now that you have your bearings, the real game begins. When I stepped out of the ship onto the first planet, the breadth of the landscape was not lost on me. I immediately saw multiple paths and was excited to run out and start exploring. The game points you in the direction of the main quest without being too “in your face”. It’s more of a gentle nod, “Hey to keep the story going go over there, but when your ready, no rush”. I love this approach.
Turning in for the night
When I eventually hit the next marker in the main quest the intrigue of the story kicked in. I was torn between seeing what’s next and exploring the rest of the planet. I eventually made my way back to the ship, set course for the next planet (of my choosing) and turned in for the night. All I can think about now is getting back into it.
The good, the bad, and the relieving
The Good
- Gameplay mechanics are smooth and familiar
- Everything you see is a visual masterpiece
- The story so far is engaging
- Combat is fun and challenging without being too overwhelming
- Skill tree is easy to navigate and understand
- CUSTOMIZING YOUR GD LIGHTSABER
- BD-1
The Bad
- Dying is punishing… because the loading times SUUUUUUUCK (but fall off a cliff and you snap back into existence?)
- Texture popping, collision issues, and stuttering in animations (PS4 Pro with performance mode turned off)
- Dialog audio is too low out of the box (literally every game I have played this generation… I just had to say it)
- Dodge movement feels too slow (this is likely me being bad at fighting)
The Relieving
- I don’t know what everyone was complaining about in regards to Cal, I find the performance to fit the written character perfectly
- While there is a lot to the game it doesn’t feel overwhelming
- I haven’t finished a game in a while and I just know I’ll enjoy my entire way through this one already
We’re always trying out new things at The Spinchoon. If you liked this, check out more of our stuff, like a Retro Review, or maybe an In-Flight Review, or even one man’s unfortunate inability to get into Fortnite. We have a podcast called Flix and a Six, about movies, beer, and basically whatever the hell we want to talk about. You can follow us on Twitter @TheSpinchoon, @AlessandroB1187, & @AEJCostanzo.
