The festivities of E3 2019 are finally underway Saturday, and we just got our first look at one of 2019’s most highly anticipated titles: Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order.

Taking place between the events of Star Wars Episodes III and IV, Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order chronicles the story of Cal Kestis; one of the few Jedi to have survived Emperor Palpatine’s genocidal “Order 66”.

With the Jedi nearly extinct, Cal must fight for survival as the empire ruthlessly seeks to hunt him down, along with any other remaining Jedi or members of the fledgling Rebel Alliance.

Gameplay in Jedi Fallen Order is a single-player experience that has a far greater resemblance to the Uncharted or Tomb Raider games, rather than a loot-box laden, “gotcha” experiences that EA has been feeding us throughout the duration of their agreement with Disney.

Saturday’s demo featured a mission taking place within the lush, forest landscapes of the Wookiee home world of Kashyyyk. Right off the bat, Cal demonstrated a number of “Force”- related powers that will be used throughout Jedi Fallen Order. There were plenty of telekinetic exhibitions of manipulating objects as mundane as a vine, used to swing over a ledge, as well as far more challenging fare, such as large machines, or reinforced steel doors.

However, the real star of the game was the combat.

Plenty of Light Saber prowess was showcased, as Cal deftly reflected blasts from Storm Troopers, and engaged thrilling duels with Purge Troopers – a new enemy being introduced to the Star Wars cannon through Jedi Fallen Order. The most impressive moments came when Cal combined his knowledge of the Force with his Light Saber Skills. There were tantalizing instances of Cal “Force pulling” a Storm Trooper to close range, and then running the poor jerk through with the saber, as well as being able to throw enemies into each other. The variety of combat on display was indicative of what the game’s producer, Vince Zampella, referred to as “thoughtful combat“;  providing players with enough tools to create a number of different options while engaging enemy forces.

The combat definitely had a fluidity to it that has been sorely missing from Star Wars games. The depictions of truly prolific knowledge of the Force that we have seen throughout the Star Wars films have had a graceful, almost ballet quality to them; something that has been difficult to replicate in gaming. From what we saw today of Jedi Fallen Order, we my finally be as close as we have ever been to walking in the shoes of a Jedi.

Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order will be released on PS4, Xbox One, and PC on November 15th, 2019.

Be sure to catch all of NerdBacon’s live coverage of E3 2019 right here!

Written by The Watchman

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