Star Wars games have always been popular. From the classic Lucasfilm arcade tie-ins in the ’80s to modern blockbusters like Respawn Entertainment’s Star Wars Jedi Survivor, while they may have had its ups and downs, Star Wars will always hold a place in gamers’ hearts. The fun of exploring a galaxy far, far away has always been in bringing the iconic sights, sounds, and sensations of the big screen to life on the small screen, and firmly putting the player in control of the action. However, in solely sticking to the heroes, locales, and threats of the movies, Star Wars games are inadvertently limiting their potential, and run the serious risk of retreading old ground. Which is where the High Republic comes in.
The High Republic was an era of stability and peace in the new Star Wars canon, a golden age for space exploration and the time during which the Jedi Order was at its most powerful and influential. The era was at its height roughly 200 years before Episode I, but encompasses more than 400 years of galactic history previously unexplored and rife for adaptation. So far, the High Republic has only been explored in novels and comics, but Star Wars Jedi Survivor has given fans their first proper look at this “golden age” on screen through Cal Kestis’s ability to glimpse the past and its new characters, Jedi Dagan Gera and Santari Khri.
While these glimpses only make up a fraction of the game’s story, they have certainly whet fans’ appetites and fuelled the imagination of what a High Republic game could be. The Age of the Empire has had its turn in the sun, it’s time to look to the past.
There are many new faces awaiting in the High Republic.
Setting – The High Republic Era
One of the main limitations with the majority of current Star Wars video games (not to mention TV shows) is the refusal to let go of the Empire. While slicing up Stormtroopers will never get old, games and their stories need innovation to keep from stagnating. Iconic imagery from the Prequels and Original Trilogy will always get pulses racing, but far too many games are set in the same 20-year gap between Episode III and Episode IV, and it’s starting to feel a little overcrowded.
Taking fans to a brand-new time and setting did wonders for the Knights of the Old Republic games, so why not try to recapture some of that old magic again? A games studio that chooses to set a game during the High Republic would take fans to an unexplored and unrestricted part of the galaxy. These planets and cultures are so far removed from anything seen in the movies that almost anything could happen. Without having to stick to the events of the movies, the outcomes are no longer a known quantity – worlds could end, villains could prevail or be wiped out completely, entirely alien worlds and cultures could be explored, and new, never-before-seen threats could emerge from the shadows. Anything is possible.
That being said, games set during this illustrious era could also foreshadow or shed new light on the events of the movies. The High Republic was a time of prosperity, peace, and technological innovation – a utopia, in other words – but the games could show what life was really like in a galaxy-spanning Republic, whether it was truly fair for all or whether some benefitted more than others. It could show a growing disillusionment in the Republic’s authority, a disillusionment that would eventually lead to the rise of the Separatists, the Clone Wars, and the Empire. Or perhaps it could hint at the Jedi’s eventual fall from grace. We know this was a time when Jedi were at their most powerful, but also when they spread themselves out the thinnest – could it be a stretch to imagine splinter groups forming? Infighting that eventually led to the lean and embittered Order we see in Episode I?
Friends and enemies are everywhere in the High Republic.
Gameplay – Play as a True Jedi
Another problem with setting games within the gap between Episode III and Episode IV is that players love roleplaying as Jedi, and as the Jedi were supposed to have been wiped out during Order 66 and the Great Purge, contrivances have to be made. Either developers choose to cast an existing character and known survivor as their protagonist (Obi-Wan, Yoda, etc.), or they create a new Jedi who “just happened” to survive the Purge. The problem with the former is that of constraint – these characters have fixed arcs and backstories, and so there is limited freedom when trying to force them into a compelling new narrative. The latter may not have this problem, however, the more Jedi that survive the Purge, the less impact it starts to have.
It is during the High Republic that the Jedi Order reaches its highest potential, becomes the force of good, justice, and order it had always promised to be. These are Jedi Knights in their prime, in tune with the Force and masters of the lightsaber, protectors of the galaxy, the true wandering samurai of the Star Wars universe. And this is long after the Old Republic – the Sith are a thing of the past, a myth; the Jedi aren’t busy fighting, they can look outward, to the plights of others. And it’s long before the Clone Wars, when the Jedi become nothing more than soldiers and survivors.
A game set during the High Republic would give players the chance to live out a true Jedi fantasy. Players could begin their adventure as a fresh-faced Padawan, learning the ways of the Force, the blade, and diplomacy as they go on rip-roaring adventures on new worlds with their masters. They could progress and test their skills in the Jedi Trials to become a fully-fledged Jedi Knight. Then they could either strike out on their own – like the wandering gunslinger from Westerns of old – or take on an apprentice and pass on what they have learnt to the next generation. Perhaps, they could ascend to the rank of Master. Basically, players could experience the life of a Jedi as it was always meant to be.
Not that it would be easy. With countless new worlds and characters to introduce, as well as no defined history or key movie plot points to stick to, the High Republic opens players up to all manner of moral dilemmas. Just like in the Old Republic games, setting a game so far away from the known gives writers almost infinite freedom, which means (as long the game is in the right hands) that freedom could be passed onto the players. Moral choices, characters that react to dialogue and decisions, as well as entire branching paths would all be on the table in a truly original story.
Become a true Jedi in the High Republic.
Enemies – New Threats
A new era also means new threats. As previously mentioned, the Sith are out of the picture by the time of the High Republic, and the Empire is a long way off, so who or what are the main threats to the Republic’s order and peace?
The main threat of the time comes from a band of fearsome marauders known as the Nihil. These bloodthirsty anarchists spread a philosophy of fear and chaos which puts them at direct odds with the Jedi and the rulers of the High Republic. Their ability to travel through mysterious and untraceable hyperspace routes knowns as “Paths” makes them highly unpredictable – no planet (especially those on the outer rim) is ever truly safe from a raid. Their motive of “take everything and kill all who get in their way” makes them great secondary or low-level antagonists – grunt enemies who are a joy to take down. Unless the plot revolves around tracking down and taking out a division leader, or an all-out war, the Nihil would likely serve as secondary villains in a game.
A more mysterious, yet far more terrifying threat comes from the Nameless. These disturbing, nigh-Lovecraftian monsters feast on the Force itself and prey on Force-sensitives. Their mere presence drives Force-sensitives mad, causing them to hallucinate and clouding their connection to the Force. Any unfortunate enough to be caught by a Nameless aren’t just killed, but instead have their life literally drawn out from them, until they are turned to stone or crumble to ash. If a game set within the High Republic ever wanted to go full-on horror, these would be the creatures to use. However, in a more traditional action-adventure, they could be used as a Weapon of Mass Destruction, a tool that must be kept out of the Nihil’s hands or destroyed before it can be unleashed.
Many threats dwell both without and within the High Republic’s borders. With such a vast galaxy at their disposal, the limit to what players might have to face is truly the developers’ imagination. Of course, if they want something a little more familiar, they could always use a fallen Jedi. As Jedi Survivor proved, Jedi have always felt the pull of the Dark Side, and an ally turned enemy always makes for an engaging villain.
The High Republic is a period teeming with adventure and possibility. While Disney is slowly pushing this exciting new era into the limelight with upcoming shows like The Acolyte, games development studios would be remiss not to get in on the action. Will Quantic Dreams’ Star Wars Eclipse be the first High Republic game to release? Or maybe Ubisoft’s unannounced open-world epic will bring the era to life like never before. With the Summer Games Fest just around the corner, we might not have to wait too much longer to find out.
