I don’t think there has ever been a film franchise that lends itself more appropriately to the gaming medium than Star Wars.

From its expansive universe to its wild assortment of intriguing villains and heroic archetypes, videogames and Star Wars go together with the ease of chocolate and peanut butter. Since the original Star Wars debuted in 1977, there has been a plethora of videogames based on the franchise, yet even today, on the cusp of this medium’s technological apex, there are plenty of SW games that have yet to come to fruition; experiences still waiting to be molded and wrought by developers.

Here’s my short list of five Star Wars games we should all want.

And if you don’t like mine, come up with your own.

(Seriously though, my choices are pretty cool.)

Errant Knight: Obi Wan Kenobi  

 

Dream Developer: CD Project Red

Genre: Action/Adventure/Open-World

After being exiled and placed on extended babysitting duty, Obi Wan Kenobi had thirty years to kill before the events in A New Hope and I rather doubt he spent all of them messing with Sand People and stroking his beard thoughtfully.

I envision Errant Knight as an open world construct set on the barren but expansive planet of Tatooine. Here, a player would assume a now middle-aged Obi Wan as he quietly avoids detection yet ultimately becomes ensnared in local conflicts, unable to turn a blind eye to injustice. Be it freeing slaves or staving off bounty hunters and Imperial spies who get too close to young Skywalker, Errant Knight would offer an opportunity to play as a rogue, exiled Jedi, balancing duty with survival and featuring numerous locales and familiar faces and buoyed by a robust combat engine replete with various non-lethal options, including mind-control and disarming (literally) antagonists.

Duality

Dream Developer: Namco-Bandai or NetherRealm Studios

Genre: Fighting

It’s difficult to fathom that there hasn’t been a dedicated lightsaber fighting game based on the visually appealing, cinematic ballet of the lightsaber duel. (And no, Masters of Teras Kasi doesn’t count)

Duality would be a fighting game designed specifically to emulate the look and feel of the combat as seen in the films, with a wide offering of playable Jedi, Sith and even a few Expanded Universe additions like Mara Jade and Revan to round out the roster. Instead of merely being the equivalent of Soul Calibur with laser swords, Duality would have a combat engine where deeper techniques, including deflection, parrying, the utilization of stance, along with footwork and maneuverability, would form a unique experience similar to something like Ubi Soft’s For Honor, but with a faster pace and verticality built into the level design.

Han Solo: Enemy of the Empire

Dream Developer: Remedy or Naughty Dog

Genre: Third Person Shooter

Before he was a hero of the rebellion, husband of Princess Leia and a kabob on the end of his angsty son’s lightsaber, Han Solo was a top-notch smuggler and man of fortune.

Han Solo: EOTE would chronicle a pre-New Hope smuggling mission gone awry. When a job he takes on inadvertently intersects with a covert Imperial assignment, Han is placed in the crosshairs of the Empire and an elite, clandestine squad set on silencing the notorious rogue forever. A fast-paced, visually gorgeous shooter, (think Uncharted meets Star Wars) Han Solo would give us a glimpse at the darker side of our hero and the many exploits for which he became a reputable and feared member of the underworld.

Rogue Squadron: Ghosts

Dream Developer: Factor 5

Genre: Flight/Combat

A belated but welcome addition to the Rogue Squadron franchise set after the events of Return of the Jedi. Wedge Antilles and company battle the remnants of the shattered Empire and chronicle the years leading up to The Force Awakens, including the eventual recruitment of Poe Dameron into their fold.

Or just let us blow up shit with Tie Fighters and X-wings.

We’re easy.

The Crucible of Darth Vader

Dream Developer: Platinum Games

Genre: Third person action/combat/adventure

Sent by Palpatine to negotiate the dismantling of the criminal organization known as Black Sun, Darth Vader’s convoy is attacked and the Sith Lord is left stranded on a hostile planet with no backup. Surrounded by a legion of mercenaries and bounty hunters, all vying for a hefty bounty placed on his helmeted head , Vader must fight his way to the very heart of the galaxy’s most prominent criminal underworld and destroy its leadership, facing insurmountable odds and generally kicking all sorts of alien ass.

Utilizing a frenetic but deep combat engine that includes melee lightsaber use and force wielding, The Crucible of Darth Vader’s gameplay can best be described as a playable version of the last five minute of Rogue One.

So that’s my list.

Most of this probably won’t happen but I can dream, right?

Let me know what you think of my list or better yet, post one of your own.

 

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