My immediate reaction to thereports about Respawn Entertainment apparently working on a new Mandalorian video gamewas unadulterated glee. No matter how old I get, I can’t help but pay attention when I hear about newStar Warsvideo games. I never had a strong attachment to the original trilogy as they came out long before I was a twinkle in my parents’ eyes, and my only strong feelings about the prequels is that Hayden Christiansen is very good looking, wooden acting be damned. But I loved Star Warsas a kid anyway, because I playedKnights of the Old Republic. It didn’t matter to me that the game wasn’t canon, because it was my introduction to the universe and my strongest tie to it. It was so formative for me that I’ve written about it more times than I can count. Who needs films and TV shows when you’ve got a BioWare RPG?
And I’m doing it again. Sorry.
That pattern of caring more about games than other forms of media has persisted to this day – if anything, it’s only gotten more established. Thanks to theMCU-ification of Star Wars, the majority of the media coming out of the IP has been kind of… bad. Star Wars now churns out TV show after TV show full of easter eggs and fanservice, connecting each to another so that to fully understand what you’re watching, you have to watch other Star Wars shows and movies. That’s how the company maintains relevancy and makes money.
As is the case with properties that get turned into interconnected universes, the quality has largely declined. Star Wars’ shows, for the most part, all meld together into one big samey web, each lacking a distinct identity or standing out as standalone shows. I’ve found the shows unappealing for the most part with the exception of Andor, which leans into genre-play outside of the typical fantasy sci-fi of the franchise and is also the most blatantly political in its story and characters.
The games excite me for the same reason that Andor excites me. When I think of Star Wars games, there’s a prestigious legacy to draw from. Some were just fine. Some were very well-loved. Some were medium-defining (cough, Knights of the Old Republic). But right now, with the Star Wars games that have most recently come out and those slated to be released soon, we are in what could be considered a new golden age.Respawn Entertainment’sStar Wars Jedi: Fallen Orderwas good, and its sequelSurvivorwas even better. I’m optimistic aboutUbisoft’sStar Wars Outlaws, despite no longer considering myself an Ubisoft fan, while you’ve also got underrated bangers like Star Wars Squadron and digital releases of older classics on digital storefronts. Dark Forces is even making a comeback in a few weeks courtesy of Night Dive Studios.
Such optimism comes from the fact that games aren’t TV shows. It’s a simple, obvious distinction, but one that makes a huge difference. I feel safe in the knowledge that even though the growing slate of shows may blur together, games will always be as distinct as the studios that make them, inherently giving each game individuality. Shows for streaming are also largely made to be as bingeable as possible, but you can’t mindlessly put on a video game in the background while you do other things – the experience is entirely different. Mediocre and mindless doesn’t cut it as often as it does in television.
That’s why when I think about Respawn’s new game, I am excited, despite definitely not caring about the show or having watched it. Is it drawing inspiration from the show? I don’t know, and I don’t care. Do I know anything about Mandalorians? Not really, apart from what Canderous Ordo told me in a game released over two decades ago.
But the game apparently focuses on “style” and “mobility”, and Respawn madeTitanfall, a game all about style and mobility. The studio is playing to its strengths, and that’s why I know it’ll probably be great. Every Star Wars game will, at the very least, be distinct from the ones made by other people – they won’t just be mush in the Star Wars soup, half-absorbed by people during their mealtimes. I’ve always cared more about the games in the franchise than anything else, and it doesn’t seem like that’ll be changing any time soon.
