The recent Game Awards show had a plethora of announcements for gamers to get excited over. While the event's pre-show had a handful of smaller premieres for various indie titles and other projects, the very first world premiere for the main show was a captivating cinematic trailer for Star Wars: Eclipse. In development at Quantic Dream, this new project in a galaxy far, far away had been rumored earlier this year. As far as most gaming rumors go, this one turned out to have a pretty quick turnaround on its confirmation, and now Star Wars: Eclipse gives fans yet another big game to look forward to.This project won't be like any other Star Wars game in recent memory, as Star Wars: Eclipse will be set in the franchise's new High Republic era. Set about 200 years before the events of the prequel films, the High Republic started as a new publishing initiative for Star Wars that included branching stories across various novels and comic books. The era has since built up a solid readership of Star Wars fans that are enamored with learning more about what happened before the Skywalker Saga, and Star Wars: Eclipse has an excellent opportunity to expand on the High Republic in a way that could bring a lot more attention to it.
The Jedi At The Height Of Their Power
The centerpiece of the entire High Republic era is the prosperity of the Galactic Republic, and the strength of the Jedi Order at the time. The prevalence of the Order is much stronger than it is in the core Star Wars films, as the Jedi are made up of hundreds of members spread across the galaxy. Because of the general peace of the time, the Jedi truly followed the peacekeeper moniker that is so frequently mentioned throughout the franchise, only taking up violence as an absolute last resort. It's a much different time compared to the Clone Wars, as Jedi were able to serve as more dignified symbols of light for the rest of the galaxy.
Seeing as the High Republic takes place long before any films, there are a lot of new faces for fans to get attached to. Jedi Master Avar Kriss is one of the characters that the High Republic puts particular focus on, as she serves as a sort of representation of the Jedi's values at the time. The one point of familiarity in the era is that Yoda is still revered as one of the most powerful Jedi in the Order at the time, looking somewhat younger but still displaying a similar level of wisdom. Overall, it's a side of the Jedi that hasn't been touched on much in other Star Wars canon, making it a fresh perspective for many fans.
An Uncharted Galaxy
While a couple hundred years may not seem like a long time when Star Wars lore can reach back thousands of years, the state of the galaxy is much different in the High Republic compared to the prequel films. The Galactic Republic is in a general state of peace, but there are many parts of the galaxy that still haven't been widely explored yet. In order to expand to these territories, the Republic builds an installation called Starlight Beacon that is meant to serve as a nexus for travel and commerce. The plan is to build numerous similar installations throughout the galaxy so that the light of the Republic might touch every known system.
The galaxy is also technologically different in almost every aspect. Hyperspace travel, while not necessarily new, has an uncertainty to it that makes every jump to lightspeed seem a little more dangerous than when Han Solo would make his escapes from the Empire. In addition to some other more primitive pieces of technology, there is a general sense that the galaxy is still in a stage of growth and that there is a long way to go before the galaxy is in the state that it's in by the time of The Phantom Menace. There's a prevailing air of mystery, which could help Star Wars: Eclipse stand out from other Star Wars titles.
A Galaxy Full Of New Foes
With how wide the Star Wars galaxy is, the Republic is bound to run into some unsavory faces, and the High Republic has them in droves. Considering there is no Confederacy or Empire, one of the main antagonists in the High Republic is a group of raiders known as the Nihil. The Nihil use brutal, unorthodox methods to ravage large ships or entire planets, and the group ends up on the Republic's radar thanks to their involvement in "The Great Disaster," a tragic hyperspace incident. They have little regard for themselves and even less regard for those that oppose them, making them a particularly dangerous threat for the Jedi.
Militaristic adversaries aren't the only threat in the High Republic, as the era is also marked by something much more monstrous. Known as the Drengir, this malevolent force is perhaps one of the biggest threats to the Jedi Order and the galaxy at large. The Drengir are a carnivorous plant-like species that spread darkness, which is in some ways stronger than the Dark Side of the Force itself. The Drengir had been kept dormant for centuries before the events of the High Republic, but unfortunate circumstances led to their release and conquest for food across the galaxy, a conquest that the Jedi must do all they can to put to an end.
There aren't any solid details on Star Wars: Eclipse other than that it will be some kind of action-adventure game. That being said, Eclipse's cinematic reveal trailer painted a pretty picture of how it could be taking advantage of the High Republic and showing a side of Star Wars that has seldom been seen in video games. With Knights of the Old Republic Remake also in development, now is the perfect time to be a fan of the deeper parts of Star Wars lore, and time will tell if Star Wars: Eclipse can bring the High Republic to tremendous new heights.
Star Wars: Eclipse is currently in development.
