'Star Wars Eclipse' Trailer Breakdown
The creation of Lucasfilm Games, and the opening of Star Wars licensing rights to studios outside of EA, heralded a new dawn for Star Wars and the video game industry. The most recent announcement in the world of Star Wars gaming came in the form of a cinematic reveal trailer for Star Wars Eclipse. This new title from Quantic Dream is described on the game's official site as an "action-adventure, multiple-character branching narrative game set in the High Republic Era..."
The trailer (which can be seen below) is cinematically impressive, with grand, science-fiction visuals and sound design, and a breath of fresh air for the Star Wars gaming universe. The events of the trailer, including saber duels, space battles, and marching armies, are set over a seemingly ritualistic drumming that seems to coincide with scenes of a solar eclipse and the summoning of an imposing, pitch black figure. Here we will be looking at some of the more notable moments from the trailer and attempting to decipher what they could mean for the already highly anticipated game.
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While Eclipse is clearly set in the Star Wars universe, with even the most casual of fans able to recognize the familiar aesthetic, aliens, and ships of the universe, the trailer is fresh and different from other recent Star Wars content. While settings in the trailer are familiar, such as the Naboo-like architecture of the market, most of the scenes we see are exciting and new. The centerpiece of the trailer itself is unfamiliar territory for Star Wars. Not often does Star Wars storytelling delve into the occult, outside of the witches of Dathomir. However this escalating and frenzied percussive tempo certainly has some ritualistic elements to it, especially when paired with the eclipse and the seeming result of the "ceremony"; the imposing figure rising from the oily black pool in the final scenes of the trailer.
One of the things that stands out most in the trailer is the "frontier" themes that are present throughout. While Star Wars has always carried Spaghetti Western and Akira Kurosawa-like samurai themes, Eclipse seems to be delving down a new road with aesthetics and settings that are reminiscent of Pirates of the Caribbean. The marketplace, sunny and tropical locales, and adventure on the edges of civilization all convey a feeling of swashbuckling adventure. Given the description of the game as "action-adventure" and "choice driven" it would be unsurprising if the majority of the game took place away from well-regulated worlds, giving the writers and players freedom to move and interact within the Outer Rim, or similarly lawless regions.
Given what we've seen in the trailer, including several different saber-wielding characters, Master Yoda deep in thought within the Jedi Council chambers, and a female character seemingly wearing the garb of the High Republic Jedi Order, it would be make sense if Eclipse centers around the Force and its disciples. This is unsurprising given that the Jedi are often the most well-known and popular faction of the Star Wars universe, and the recent financial and popular success of Fallen Order. A key part of nearly every Star Wars story is the gathering of friends around the protagonist to form a D&D-like "party" of sorts; often composed of similar elements, such as pilots, smugglers, diplomats, droids, and a variety of aliens filling all kinds of roles. While it seems that the player will most likely focus on the will of the Force, it would be unsurprising if they met a variety of allies along the way, to aid in their journey.
Which isn't to say there won't be plenty of characters who prefer a good blaster at their side over hokey religions and ancient weapons. The Duros seen in the marketplace seems to be up to no good, potentially a spy or saboteur? In addition, one of the common sights in Star Wars, a vast, marching army is seen near the minute and a half mark of the trailer. These soldiers look similar, but still different, to Neimoidians, the species most often associated with the Trade Federation. Could this be the Federation army before their adaptation of droid soldiers? Did the Federation conquer and enslave a neighboring world, demanding soldiers from the population in the same way the Empire would centuries later? The armor units flanking the infantry column do bare some resemblance to the MTTs of the prequel era.
While the prequels immediately introduced audiences to drastically different starships from the original trilogy, with chrome cruisers and bright yellow starfighters for the Naboo and the imposing Lucrehulk battleship of the Trade Federation, the sequels coded their TIE fighters and X-Wings extremely similar to the OT, with only minor aesthetic changes. Now it is the Lucrehulk's turn to be minorly modified for the High Republic Era setting of Eclipse. The trailer's version of the capital ship first seen in The Phantom Menace is seen engaging in a massive space battle in the trailer's final moments. Could this be another blockade by the greedy Trade Federation? With the Lucrehulks in formation over an unknown planet and a fleet of blocky, twin-prow cruisers aggressively approaching while dumping fighters into the battle, this out of atmosphere skirmish certainly comes off as the fight for the planet below.
Regardless of who is the aggressor, or what factions are actually involved in this battle, it is clear that Eclipse is setting up stakes on a galactic scale. With planet-wide battles, vast armies, mysterious figures moving in the shadows, could Eclipse detail how the glory days of the Republic and pinnacle era of the light of the Jedi came to an end? Those familiar with Legends storytelling will recall the many crisis and civil wars fabricated by the Sith; Plagueis, Sidious, and Maul, to destabilize the Republic in the days leading up to Phantom Menace. This included the Yinchorri Uprising, which claimed the lives of several Jedi Masters, and the Huk War, during which a Kaleesh named General Grievous rose to power.
While the majority of fans have been caught up in the hype of the trailer, others have cautioned against setting expectations too high after a cinematic reveal. Quantic Dream has only produced choice and narrative-driven games to date. Meaning the popular combat, platforming, and puzzles of Fallen Order could be lacking in Eclipse. While relegating the Star Wars gaming experience to dialogue and quick-time button pressing type gameplay would undoubtedly be disappointing to large numbers of fans, with intriguing characters and a well-written plot, Eclipse could make up for a limited audience with high replay value. Especially if it were to feature the "thousands of choices and dozens of possible endings" of Detroit: Become Human.
With all this being said, there is plenty of lore, political events, and long reaching repercussions for the Jedi and the Republic, for Eclipse to really dive deeply into. Given the story-writing reputation of Quantic Dream after the success of Detroit: Become Human, expectations are high for the plot of Eclipse, hopefully delving into deeper themes and plot lines than your average FPS or platforming game. Hopefully, in tandem with The Acolyte, Eclipse will paint a picture of how the Republic became the cesspool of corruption, in-fighting, and cronyism that we see at the onset of the Clone Wars, and eventually led to their destruction.
Source: YouTube, StarWarsEclipse.com, QuanticDream.com
