You’ve probably noticed we’re a bit Star Wars bonkers here at Respawning, and I’d say that Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is probably one of the only games that more than 2 of us have picked up on release day, and it’s easy to say this is a strong, strong contender for game of the year. One thing that’s extremely enjoyable is how hard this game is; I’m playing on Jedi Master which is the 3rd out of 4 difficulties, and I am getting dicked by Stormtroopers and I am bloody loving it. We did a video about our worries on this subject, and unfortunately that very well made video is wrong. Very, very wrong. Here’s why…
There are some minor spoilers ahead, so be wary young Padawan.
Firstly Jedi’s not being strong is pretty historic isn’t it? Well not being unbeatable anyway. When we’re first introduced to the Jedi in what is now Episode 4, they’re a barely functioning force (excuse the pun) who have to live in hiding lest they be decimated by the Imperial force; they obviously triumph, but eventually will get successfully challenged again by the Sith. In the prequels we’re also shown how the Jedi’s just fail miserably to maintain any sort of threat, and get rushed by a bunch of clones… So it makes sense that this runaway Padawan will struggle against enemies, and can’t just go in being all Starkiller about it! Especially as he hasn’t been able to practice his skill for a fair few years, something which also lends itself to the story.
Playing this game on… Let’s call it ‘Hard’, I feel is definitely the best fit. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed that every enemy is a real challenge, even the most basic critters are a challenge when in a group much like my now beloved Soulsbourne games. I really feel like I’m a Padawan learning the ways of combat and the force, who is slowly getting better the more I fight, but then is pushed back when coming up against a new enemy or challenge. It’s fantastic that I’m having to plan attacks on groups of enemies, choosing to Force push weaker enemies off ledges to focus my combat on the tougher opponent for example, and when I get this wrong it’s very easy to be killed and reset back to the checkpoint, which are meditation spots.
Respawn have managed to make the Sekiro element (not Souls element as corrected by Luke) work extremely well as the majority of a Jedi’s way of combat is about timing and parrying, patience, and waiting for the right opportunity. I really feel that by playing this game on Hard makes you have the Jedi experience, as you have to take battles carefully and these troopers have much better aim than those in the films! Not only does it give you a better Jedi experience, but a better game experience. Another thing that works very well is the enemies coming back when you rest; this is because the areas are just so fun to do combat in, and most of the time I’ve found myself respawning the enemies just so I can have fun with the combat and try different things out, not really doing it for the experience.
The crazy thing is I’m only a few hours in and I have so many more abilities to unlock and things to learn in this game, however if I unlocked no more powers, I’d have a lot of fun with how the game plays right now. Obviously I’m very much looking forward to unlocking way more and becoming a much stronger and more capable Jedi. Having a game play this way with a Lightsaber is arguably perfect, and I want to once again thank the whole Souls concept as it’s meant we’ve got another masterpiece due to that system.
Well done Respawn, you’ve made me pretend Lightsaber battle for the first time since I was a kid, and have made the inner child very happy as well as the Souls loving adult!
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