“Star Wars Eclipse” Releases Jaw-Dropping Trailer
In a shocking move to gamers, the 2021 Game Awards announced Star Wars Eclipse this week. The award show made a promise that there would be many game announcements; however, no one expected a hyper-realistic Star Wars game trailer. Not much is known about the game other than it is in its early stages, and it will be an action-adventure game set during the time of the High Republic.
The trailer opens with the Lucasfilm Games logo, which was announced in January 2021 as the sole licensing arm for Lucasfilm-related gaming. Disney disbanded the in-house studio, LucasArts, after their acquisition of Lucasfilm back in 2013. The game is instead being developed by French game developer Quantic Dream, a relatively small private gaming company with just five games under their belt since 1997. They do make it count though as all of them received positive reviews, including the game, “Heavy Rain,” which was featured in the book “1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die.”
(Kent Phillips, photographer)
The trailer itself opens on a grey-skinned drummer who looks like a cross between Marvel’s Drax the Destroyer and Harry Potter’s Lord Voldemort. We then see the titular eclipse that serves as the timestamp throughout the trailer. The clip continues through several familiar and unfamiliar star wars locations. This includes the planet Naboo, Kashyyyk, Batuu (from Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge) and Coruscant. In addition, we see some familiar faces including a Mon Calamari (It’s a trap!), the Pikes (seen in “Solo” and “The Clone Wars”), a protocol droid and even Master Yoda.
The most interesting development is the appearance of the Trade Federation. They played a major role in the prequel trilogy and “The Clone Wars,” but nothing much has been heard of them since. The game is part of The High Republic multimedia project set 200 years before the Phantom Menace and has so far only included novels and comics. The introduction of the Trade Federation is the first attempt to bridge The High Republic with the early films.
Image Credit: Lucasfilms
The trailer ends with the eclipse reaching its conclusion in sync with the drummers as a shadowy figure is born out of a black goo. It’s clear that this figure is the focus of the game. Whether he’s the hero or the villain is yet to be seen.
Image Credit: Lucasfilm
The game has no set release date and is in the very early stages. Quantic Dream has previously been a Sony Exclusive studio; however in 2019, they stated that they are done with that arrangement, according to an article by SVG. This means that the game should be a multiplatform release similar to EA’s “Jedi: Fallen Order.” Expect Star Wars Eclipse to slowly orbit onto your favorite platform sometime in the next few years.
Feature Image Credit: Lucasfilm
