New gameplay from the upcoming Star Wars Jedi: Survivor appears to disclose that, not like within the first recreation, the sequel will lastly let Jedi Cal Kestis slice up stormtroopers and different human enemies. And that’s a very good factor, as this much-wanted change makes lightsabers really feel highly effective and lethal once more.
The lightsaber is without doubt one of the coolest items of Star Wars tech and genuinely the most effective fictional weapons ever created. Immediately iconic, the weapon and its sounds are so ingrained in our minds that when grown grownup actors in Star Wars films or exhibits are handed a prop lightsaber they make all of the hums and whoosh noises like they have been eight years outdated once more. And I don’t blame anybody for loving the lightsaber. It’s a robust laser sword that may minimize off limbs, slice by way of steel doorways, and it is available in rad colours. What extra might you need? However for a very long time, most Star Wars video games—together with 2019’s Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order—haven’t allow you to actually slice and cube with these iconic laser blades, treating them extra like glowing bats.
Nonetheless, in new gameplay launched by IGN yesterday, we see that this doesn’t look like the case in Survivor. In a neat video going over how the sport’s fight stances work, the devs showcase Cal preventing completely different enemies whereas explaining how his numerous strikes will work and the way stances issue into fight.
That’s all advantageous and dandy. However extra attention-grabbing to me is what occurs in the course of the battle in opposition to some Imperial scout troopers at round 4:14:
Have a look at that! Cal simply minimize a dude’s leg off. And should you look across the ground at that time within the video you’ll be able to see a minimum of two extra cut-off limbs, probably from earlier within the battle. That is thrilling!
Kotaku reached out to EA and Respawn about this dismemberment and was instructed “The footage is what it’s” and that the writer wouldn’t present any further remark.
For a few years now, Star Wars video games have made lightsabers really feel fairly weak as it might probably typically take dozens of hits to kill a random enemy and also you by no means get to chop off limbs or do actual injury to your goal except they’re a droid or random animal. In an interview in 2019, Respawn senior designer Justin Perez appeared to suggest Lucasfilm and Disney weren’t okay with lightsabers chopping off arms or legs. This was additional backed up by individuals who labored on season 7 of The Clone Wars, which can also be talked about in that IGN interview from 2019.
So, I had assumed that was simply how issues would work. Cal might kill all of the harmless animals and aliens he wished, however he couldn’t chop any limbs off of stormtroopers. However it seems that Disney and Lucasfilm have both relaxed this rule or given Respawn a cross.
Both approach, I’m excited to play Star Wars Jedi: Survivor and minimize off some legs when it launches on April 28, 2023 for PS5, Xbox Collection X/S, and PC.