5 Potential Star Wars Games That Could Now Happen

The recent news that Disney were reviving the gaming arch of Lucasfilm, now known as Lucasfilm Games, has been a bombastic start to 2021 as far as the gaming industry is concerned. Fans were left buzzing after the announcement of MachineGames and Bethesda working on an Indiana Jones game, but it’s the Star Wars related news that’s really shocking.

EA and Disney have a partnership where EA had exclusive rights to develop and publish games in the Star Wars franchise until 2023, but that exclusivity will not be renewed, as Lucasfilm Games are working with Ubisoft to create an open world game set in the Star Wars universe. Lucasfilm Games have also promised more games will be announced in the coming 12 months.

Naturally, Ubisoft working on a Star Wars game means that the floodgates are now open. Lucasfilm Games themselves have said that various developers are knocking on their door with their own pitches, and I have a few of my own I’d like to put out there into the universe. Here’s some potential Star Wars games that we might see in the future. Some are original, some are sequels, but they’re all my ideas so I’d like credit if you’re going to make them. Thanks, Lucasfilm Games.

 

Bandai Namco – Masters of Teras Kasi 2

Masters of Teras Kasi was an ill-fated fighting game for the PS1 that brought together various characters from the Star Wars franchise like Luke, Han, Leia and Vader, along with some original characters, and stuck them in an underwhelming 3D fighting game that looked like Tekken with lightsabers.

The PS1/early-PS2 was a golden era for fighting games, but it appears that right now is a new “golden era” with plenty of fantastic modern fighting games to choose from. With that in mind, the time is right for a proper Star Wars fighting game, potentially in the form of Masters of Teras Kasi 2 BAYBEE.

The real question is which developer would get the honour of making a follow-up to the Star Wars equivalent of Shaq Fu, but that’s an easy answer: Bandai Namco. Some would argue for Arc System Works, which makes sense considering they’re a fantastic developer with prior experience of nailing fighting games based on established properties, but Bandai gets the nod here.

First off, if Teras Kasi was a rip-off of Tekken (and it was, considering Teras Kasi is Finnish for “steel fist”, which is pretty similar to Tekken’s King of IRON FIST Tournament), why not just hand the sequel over to Tekken’s developers and just opt for authenticity? Secondly, Bandai has experience with Star Wars and fighting games already, as Vader, Yoda and The Force Unleashed’s Starkiller appeared in Soulcalibur 4. Yes, they were weird cameos, but if they’re the prototype for a Star Wars fighting game, I want in, even if Yoda is a cheap little bastard.

 

Ubisoft – For(ce) Honor

Shockingly, there hasn’t been a game that tries to properly emulate the energy and hype of a great lightsaber duel, one of the most important and recognisable aspects of the entire franchise. VR games like Vader Immortal have given it a go, but VR is such a restrictive platform to enter that not enough people can experience it. We need a real mainstream attempt here, and Ubisoft have a good template ready to go: For Honor.

The weapons-based multiplayer brawler from Ubisoft provides one of the most tense, competitive experiences on the market, as teams of up to 4 players fight each other with a variety of medieval weapons. Just swap the spears and swords for lightsabers and other Star Wars weapons and you’ve got a multiplayer game ready to go.

Of course, the process is going to be a little more complicated than “For Honor in the Death Star”, but there’s the makings of an interesting multiplayer game here. The force powers and abilities for each character could give this game an added layer that distinguishes it from the source material, and different characters would allow for various moves and stances. I realise I’m asking for another fighting game here, essentially, but it’s a good idea, even if I do say so myself.

 

PlatinumGames – The Force Unleashed 3

We mentioned The Force Unleashed earlier on, so let’s revisit that thought for a second. Back when LucasArts was still a thing, The Force Unleashed was a 3D action game that saw players take control of Starkiller, an apprentice of Darth Vader’s who began to realise that maybe the Empire isn’t all that good, actually. Or maybe he thought it was great. The Force Unleashed came out at a time where everyone loved binary moral choices.

The sequel turned the action up to 11, with an improved Euphoria engine, better combat and, oh, the game ended after 4 hours on a cliffhanger. At least we’ll always have The Force Unleashed 3–nope, the third game in the series never materialised, as LucasArts was disbanded, the extended universe was declared non-canon and Starkiller became that weird base in The Force Awakens.

Still, I’d love a conclusion to this trilogy, even if just for the sake of closure, and right now, no one is doing 3D character action better than PlatinumGames. With huge sci-fi games like Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, Astral Chain and Nier: Automata, Platinum would certainly have the chops to do a game like The Force Unleashed 3 justice. Just make sure to use the Euphoria Engine again so those force powers have some extra impact.

 

Frontier – Death Star Simulator or Elite: Dangerous but Star Wars

Frontier have established themselves at being the best when it comes to both managing high pressure situations and exploring space, and Star Wars has the range and depth to provide for games that explore both of those niches. Granted, both of these game ideas might be a bit too obscure to lure the money out of Disney’s coffers, but they’re worth mentioning.

For management sim fans, how does Death Star Simulator sound? You’d be put in control of the most iconic space station/spherical laser weapon/not moon in history, managing the day-to-day minutiae of the Death Star. You’ll need to make sure your canteen is well stocked, the portholes are closed and your defenses are primed in order to crush the Rebel Alliance, once and for all.

As for Elite: Dangerous But In A Galaxy Far, Far Away (working title), the formula would be very much the same as Elite, as you try to blaze a trail through a galaxy filled with hostile factions and other beings that want you dead. This idea could be the best depiction of how smugglers, bounty hunters and mercenaries would operate within the world of Star Wars, using the cash you make from jobs to upgrade your ship, weapons and more, or playing the Empire/First Order and the Rebels against each other for profit. One for the adults, like The Mandolorian, this one.

 

Capcom/Creative Assembly – That Vader Scene From Rogue One: The Horror Game

Speaking of one for the adults, here’s a leftfield idea. To me, Darth Vader would make the perfect horror/slasher movie villain. Basically like Jason X, but better. The slow, lumbering pace, the heavy, filtered breathing signalling he’s near and the frankly obscene levels of power he showcases in the endings of Rogue One and (spoilers) Jedi: Fallen Order, prove that he’s a nigh unkillable badass. So let’s harness that energy.

Here’s the pitch: you control a rebel spy who’s part of a strike team that’s managed to infiltrate *insert Empire base here as the Death Star wouldn’t make too much sense* to try and steal some of the Empire’s plans and secrets. Intel was bad, Darth Vader is here and he’s picking off your crew one by one. Using your stealth skills and technological know-how, you’ve got to survive against a superior foe until you can escape.

As for developers, I have two in mind. For a more action-oriented experience, Capcom would be perfect. Darth Vader could be like a Jack Baker-esque antagonist, bursting through the walls and refusing to die despite everything you throw at him. As for the stealth approach, Creative Assembly’s work on Alien: Isolation proved that they know how to create intense horror as you try to outwit and outmaneuver a smart opponent in the Xenomorph. I’m not saying that Vader will be crawling out of vents anytime soon, but there’s room in this idea for exploration.

 

Bonus – Jedi: Fallen Order 2

Lucasfilm Games have already confirmed that they’re working with EA on more Star Wars projects, so this is just a personal plea for Respawn to work on Jedi: Fallen Order 2, please. The first game might not have been perfect, but the formula is there for something truly special, so I’d welcome a second go.

Maybe not over Titanfall 3, mind you, but still.

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