The Star Wars franchise has been dominating the entertainment industry since its inception, and that popularity has found its way into the gaming industry. For years now, Star Wars video games have been everywhere. Fans have been able to enjoy this universe through a wide variety of titles, and there are plenty more on the way. However, most of them fall into the same categories, and it may be time for the franchise to branch out a bit.
One genre that Star Wars has not really explored yet is the survival horror genre. There are plenty of scary elements throughout the franchise, and games like Star Wars: Battlefront 2 and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order have dabbled with spine-tingling moments. It almost feels like the franchise was made for a game like that, but no one has created one yet. The recent Dead Space remake proved that sci-fi survival horror is as great as ever, and the Star Wars franchise may want to follow its lead.
Star Wars Was Made for Survival Horror
The Star Wars franchise is primarily a family-friendly sci-fi epic that aims to entertain the masses, but sometimes it tries to break that mold a bit. While projects like Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Rebels were aimed at younger audiences, they also explored some of the spookier elements of the franchise. Specifically, they featured things like undead Geonosians, brain eating worms, creepy abandoned bases, and the powerful darkside magic of the Nightsisters. The concepts may be relatively tame compared to sci-fi horror franchises like Alien, but it will still send a shiver down viewers' spines.
Star Wars' horror elements are not contained to the animated shows as even video games have been tapping into that side of the franchise. Star Wars: Battlefront 2's Ewok hunt may seem cuddly, but it can get terrifying very quickly as stormtroopers begin to perish. The Star Wars Jedi series features plenty of jump scares and includes some spine-tingling moments involving undead Nightsisters and Vader himself. While none of them go all in on the horror concept, they serve as a great example of what Star Wars video games could be.
Star Wars is a vast galaxy filled with stories waiting to be told, and it is about time someone told a survival horror story. There are plenty of ways a developer could go about it, but one of the easiest ways would be to replicate the Dead Space formula. That game follows Isaac Clarke as he investigates a mining ship's distress signal and what he discovers is not for the faint of heart. It is easy to see why this series is one of the biggest names in the sci-fi horror genre, even if it has stumbled a bit along the way.
A Star Wars horror game could follow a simple smuggler or pilot as they investigate an abandoned ship coasting through the stars. They could soon discover that the ship is besieged by Geonosian brain worms, Kouhun, Gundarks, Dianoga, spider droids, or something completely new. Players would be forced to traverse these abandoned corridors as danger lurks around every corner. If done right, it could lead to a fantastic spine-tingling adventure in the galaxy far, far away.
There are currently no rumors suggesting a Star Wars horror game is on the way, but it needs to happen. There is a ton of potential for a game like that, so Disney would just have to be willing to let it happen. It could lead to an experience unlike any other and may be the perfect side adventure that fans have been looking for. Hopefully, the concept becomes a reality one day, but for now fans will just have to imagine what a Star Wars survival horror experience could be like.