The latest trailer for Star Wars JediL Survivor was released yesterday, showcasing the story that the game will follow.
So much of what made the first game, Fallen Order, so successful is that it told a truly great story with compelling characters, so there is a lot of hype and expectation for the story of the sequel. While we still don’t know a ton about it, we got some glimpses at what to expect when the game releases on April 28. Here are six such things that we learned.
1. Welcome back, Merrin!
We knew that Merrin would be in the game, but we had yet to see her in any of the trailers. That changed with this one, as she seems to play a pretty key role. We see her and Cal sitting together, with Merrin using nightsister magik, and then later we see her fighting a stormtrooper with her staff and the Force. Interestingly, when we see her use the Force on the stormtrooper there’s no hint of magik (typically shown through the green mist), and while it’s possible that it’s just not seen, I wonder if it’s a hint that she could be learning some things from Cal about how to utilize the Force in a different way? That would be very interesting.
We do see a team-up between Cal and Merrin in combat, facing off against a scout trooper, and I hope that it’s an indication that we’ll be able to have Merrin as a companion on the journey at times. She helped at a key moment in Fallen Order, and I’d love to see that expanded in this sequel. But it seems like it won’t just be Merrin learning from Cal, as the Jedi also has something to learn from her. We hear Merrin saying, “Cal, look into the fire. It will warm you. Keep you company. But left unchecked, it will consume everything until there is only ash.” That’s a poignant and sobering word, hinting at the fact that Cal might let these things consume him – things like, for example, the desire to protect his newfound family and friends? A desire to protect them is good, and enjoying their company is even better. But for that to become all-consuming could easily lead to a slippery slope, and I wonder if Merrin is warning him of that.
2. Greez’s new arm!
You probably didn’t recognize him because of the new arm, but Greez is back! It looks like Cal and him have been apart for a while, as they share a hug that looks a lot like a reunion. I’d guess that comes after Cal crashes the Mantis on Koboh and they are eventually reunited after that, but we’ll see. The biggest takeaway is that one of Greez’s four arms is new, a mechanical arm that wasn’t there in the first game.
It’s a reminder that this is a five-year gap in-between stories, a fact that the trailer directly addresses too, as Cal says it’s been a long five years. But what happened to Greez? The recent novel Battle Scars, a story filling in some of the gaps in-between the two games, reveals that. There’s a moment where the Mantis crew has a run-in with the Fifth Brother, an Imperial Inquisitor on the hunt. Cal is injured and Cere is in trouble, and Greez steps in to try to protect his friends. He loses an arm in the process, severed by a lightsaber blade, but he helps the others escape. It’s a heroic moment for the crew’s pilot.
3. A High Republic mystery
The first trailer for the game showed a mysterious figure in a bacta tank, and the second trailer showed that same figure in some golden robes that looked strangely similar to the robes the Jedi wore during the High Republic era. This trailer seemingly confirmed that the figure is, indeed, from that era, as on the front of those golden robes is the emblem of the Jedi from that era of prosperity (which is approximately 200 years prior to the prequel films). And it seems this Jedi is not happy with Cal. As he holds up a stormtrooper helmet and then tosses it at Cal, we hear him angrily ask, “How could you let the galaxy fall to this unworthy machine of an Empire?”
If this really is a Jedi from the High Republic era who, for whatever reason, was kept alive in bacta until the present day, there are tons of questions, obviously. But I also think it would be absolutely fascinating to see these two Jedi from very different eras interact. It makes perfect sense that a Jedi from an era like the High Republic would be upset and bewildered by the fall of the Jedi, and I think that could lead to some very interesting and thought-provoking discussion – even though this High Republic Jedi seems like he might be more of an antagonist than anything. Perhaps he lost his way long ago, which is why he was put in this tank, or perhaps seeing the fall of the Jedi upon waking up caused it to happen. Either way, it’s a storyline I’m very intrigued by.
4. A new quest?
What we don’t know a whole lot about is the main narrative that will drive this story. There are bits and pieces that we know, such as the fact that the Empire’s reign of darkness is growing and new enemies are emerging, but the specific quest that Cal and the crew are on is elusive. The trailer might disclose the biggest clue yet as to what will be the motivation, however: Cal says, “Hope may feel beyond our grasp. But I think we finally found somewhere the Empire can’t reach us.” After that, we hear Bode say, “Imagine, no more looking over your shoulder”, and that’s followed up by Cal saying, “A place that’s worth fighting for. No matter the cost.”
Those lines probably aren’t all part of a linear conversation that plays out like that, but it does give us a clue as to what might be driving things. The crew might be looking for a place where they can actually escape the Empire’s grasp, finally having the freedom and peace that they haven’t for over five years (and even longer). But a desire to avoid the Empire at all costs, as Cal says, could easily border toward an unhealthy extreme and veer toward the warning Merrin gave earlier: if Cal pursues this no matter the cost, who’s to say it won’t go unchecked and leave ash in his wake?
5. Return to Coruscant!
A planet we are going to see for sure, though, is one that Star Wars fans are quite familiar with: Coruscant. We already knew that there would be a city planet included, and now it’s confirmed that the planet is Coruscant. We see it from space (the clearest confirmation of it), but then we also see it show up at a number of points in this trailer. We see an Imperial gunship, and Cal fighting alongside some resistance fighters. That same gunship (presumably) shows up with Cal aboard, and it shows up heading toward some of the lower regions of the planet.
It’s not clear what brings Cal to the planet, but I’m sure it will be pretty interesting – especially since he was once a Jedi at the Temple during a very different era. The planet has shown up in plenty of Star Wars media in recent months, in both Andor and The Mandalorian, as well as Tales of the Jedi, and to see it in this game will be awesome.
6. Hints of rebellion?
A very minor detail that’s very easy to miss comes in a gorgeous shot of Cal grappling through the sky of a planet, toward a platform of sorts. TIE Fighters swarm around, occupied in combat, and there’s the faintest glimpse on the edge of the screen of an X-Wing in action. This game is set years before the Alliance to Restore the Republic (the Rebellion) was officially formed by Mon Mothma, but there are plenty of different rebel cells spread throughout the galaxy. Remember, this game is set during the same time period as the Obi-Wan Kenobi series, which saw another one of those cells. Might Cal run into a different one in this game, and join up with them? Or is he simply undertaking this mission at the same time there’s another conflict happening?
Even better is that there’s what looks like a Vulture Droid in the background too, so could you imagine seeing a TIE Fighter, an X-Wing, and a Vulture Droid all on-screen at the same time in the same fight? It looks like we might be getting exactly that.
Star Wars Thoughts 