Electronic Arts’ exclusivity rights to creating Star Wars video games has come to an finish as LucasArts has opened its portfolio to different studios–in reality, The Division 2 developer Massive Entertainment has already introduced it is creating an open-world Star Wars recreation. This is thrilling; I’m joyful to see that different massive studios are being given the chance to strive their hand at Star Wars, and I am unable to wait to get extra video games like Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and Star Wars: Squadrons. But I additionally can not help however suppose that any Star Wars recreation we get from a AAA studio may cowl genres and storylines we have already seen earlier than. Massive Entertainment, for instance, is doing what it does greatest and making an open-world recreation. But there are such a lot of extra thrilling alternatives, and I hope LucasArts chooses to let a number of indie studios take a stab at Star Wars to appreciate them.I’ve little question that Massive can create a very good Star Wars recreation, however I additionally assume it’s going to cater to the strengths and gameplay programs that Ubisoft studios already know promote nicely. I’m keen to guess that this new recreation shall be one other open-world motion recreation with RPG mechanics and a ability tree that stars a personality who is usually a man or girl and has sufficient facet quests to maintain audiences taking part in for over 30 hours–and then painted as Star Wars. That’s not shade, I’m down for it, that sounds tremendous enjoyable, however it is not all that bizarre for a Star Wars recreation. And Star Wars is at its greatest whenever you discover the stranger components of its universe.Indie studios historically haven’t got as massive a backside line to fulfill compared to AAA builders, permitting them to be a bit extra experimental with what they make. We’ve seen this earlier than with different main movie, TV reveals, or comedian e book properties. Bithell Games reworked John Wick right into a prime down technique recreation with John Wick Hex, for example, and Telltale Games made The Walking Dead right into a choice-driven episodic journey collection. Neither are apparent style selections for his or her respective franchises–personally, I’d count on John Wick to be a shooter and for The Walking Dead to be a survival horror game–but each labored surprisingly nicely.So think about Echodog Games–developer of Signs of Sojourner, a deck-building recreation that makes use of playing cards to convey the intricacies of how relationships change by conversations–making a recreation about soon-to-be Mandalorian duchess Satine Kryze, the lady who Obi-Wan Kenobi virtually left the Jedi Order for. You may take this completely surprising gameplay format and inform a narrative about her striving to make a peaceable Mandalore and coming to phrases with needing to let Obi-Wan go. Or perhaps Happy Ray Games–the studio behind Ikenfell, a turn-based RPG that includes timing mechanics into its difficult fight, has a bangin’ soundtrack, and consists of wonderful gender id representation–making a queer as hell story-driven recreation a couple of Dathomir Nightsister making an attempt to find herself on a brand new planet.Or maybe see if MERJ Media–the crew that created Floor Kids, a breakdancing recreation the place you will need to fastidiously match your strikes to the viewers’s expectations and the rhythm of the music–wants to make a recreation the place you are a Twi’lek residing within the bowels of Coruscant in the course of the reign of Palpatine and also you’re making an attempt to be acknowledged as a gifted dancer. As a non-human who’s not good at guide labor, perhaps it is the one method a second-class citizen like you’ll be able to transfer as much as the extra prestigious ranges of the town. Hell, or what if Lucas Pope–the developer behind Papers, Please, a recreation the place you are an immigration officer at a border crossing–designed a recreation the place you are accountable for flight management for a Separatist world in the course of the Clone Wars, having to do your greatest to find out who’s allowed planetside and who’s too dangerous to be let in as a result of they is perhaps a Republic spy or terrorist saboteur?Star Wars is so large and so bizarre. And I get it, perhaps a studio like Massive does not wish to deal with a Star Wars recreation about Mandalorian politics, or an all-women society of witches ostracized for being totally different, a rhythm recreation that factors out how Palpatine’s xenophobic insurance policies formed many planets, or the totally different sides of immigration. But perhaps there are indie groups that do–folks who’ve grown up on Star Wars and have at all times needed to discover the actually area of interest components of the universe, the stuff that mainstream media normally glosses over. That’s the stuff that turns somebody from being a Star Wars fan to a Star Wars obsessive as a result of it explores relatable and precious components of the universe in surprising and significant methods.Star Wars is greater than blasters, lightsabers, house battles, the Force, Mandalorians, and Wookies, however that is what normally sells and in order that’s usually what AAA studio Star Wars video games cowl, and solely cowl. I imply, the franchise is known as Star Wars, however apart from Jedi: Fallen Order, I am unable to consider any Star Wars online game within the final decade that acknowledges {that a} galaxy that is crammed with warfare after warfare is more likely to go away behind lots of people with extreme trauma. The complete level of the Clone Wars was that one facet had droids and the opposite had clones genetically bred to not endure psychological issues, and but there have been nonetheless victims of psychological and emotional trauma on each side. And that is entering into the weeds of a very totally different tangent for a special article–my level is that there are fascinating facets to Star Wars that the video games virtually at all times overlook as a result of they don’t seem to be straightforward to convey.And like I mentioned earlier than, I get it, a AAA studio that is investing hundreds of thousands of {dollars} must make one thing that appeals to the mainstream to recoup these prices. But if that is the case, then simply let a smaller indie crew deal with riskier tales that perhaps will not promote one million copies however that also sound actually cool or enjoyable, and can create new followers or make outdated ones see Star Wars from a contemporary perspective. I’m keen to guess {that a} common AAA Star Wars recreation will discover the success that LucasArts expects, and that may additionally create room for indie video games to get experimental and attain a brand new viewers, regardless of any potential dangers. I imply, LucasArts in all probability has sufficient cash to cowl for any deficit already–it’s Star Wars, for god’s sake.Now, admittedly, I’m responsible of wanting extra AAA video games too–I say as a lot in our characteristic about Star Wars video games we might like to see, as I would like Ninja Theory or Obsidian Entertainment to make an motion RPG about Asajj Ventress. And past that, I hope EA DICE is allowed to take one other stab at Battlefront and make a Battlefront III, and that Respawn could make a sequel to Jedi: Fallen Order. I do not suppose these large AAA video games are bad–but a lot of them cowl floor we have seen in video games earlier than or make the most of recreation mechanics which were utilized in Star Wars video games earlier than. Star Wars has had shooters, it has had house battles, it has had motion video games, it has had RPGs, and it has even had racers. There are so many different recreation genres and storylines that could possibly be explored with this property. And why would not you? Especially when licensed video games can already really feel a bit redundant anyway, seeing as they cowl a longtime universe and run the chance of repeating one thing that is been performed earlier than, however higher.LucasArts opening its vault of properties to different studios is certain to result in some common video games, however I hope that a number of are no less than made by indie studios. Because it is with indie groups the place I believe we’ll get the prospect to see sides of Star Wars and storylines that even a few of the most hardcore followers of the franchise have not even considered. And that simply sounds so cool–way cooler than simply taking part in as one other Jedi or Sith or bounty hunter or soldier once more.