Most gamers are perfectly content playing through the carefully structured experiences that developers craft to immerse their audiences, but not YouTube personality Shesez. In his ongoing video series "Boundary Break," he shows off a number of secrets buried outside the playable areas — and just under each player's nose — in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Friday.
"Boundary Break" is a show with the premise that they can "basically take the camera anywhere we want and find secrets and discoveries to some of our favorite games." Shesez has put that creed to use looking for development tricks and unused content in a wide range of titles.
Fallen Order, the subject of "Boundary Break" episode 120, is an action-adventure title by Respawn Entertainment that was published by EA in November 2019. It is the latest in a long line of Star Wars games, out just in time for the release of Episode 9: The Rise of Skywalker.
The game follows Cal Kestis, one of the few remaining members of the Jedi Order following Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Cal, alongside a bipedal droid companion named BD-1, is led by the player down a path to completing his Jedi training and escape the clutches of the tyrannical Empire.
While the primarily story-driven game has received plenty of attention for its detailed lightsaber combat and Metroidvania-type level design, much of what Shesez and his team uncover relate to its aesthetics; both where they thrive and where corners are cut.
Some notable things pointed out in the video include the way Fallen Order masks the transition away from a planet using gradient sky domes around the ship Cal is traveling on, a memorable AT-AT Walker set-piece on Kashyyyk losing its body once the player takes over, and an unfinished texture beneath Kashyyk's map with text that says "Metroidvania Test Stay Calm" (which Shesez points out was found by a follower on Twitter).
Fallen Order is the second in a series of more experimental videos for Shesez' YouTube channel, which has been around since 2013. The creator posted a video on December 14, 2o19 titled "The Last Step For Boundary Break" in which he outlined his intent to make more regular content by hiring a team of virtual investigators and editors through support on Patreon.
It's a cause worth championing, as the work put out by "Boundary Break" is not just entertaining — it's important to see for anyone interested in creating video games, especially with new consoles on the horizon. There has been a passionate response to the YouTube channel, which currently has over 650,000 subscribers and has pulled in developers to explain certain discoveries in the games they've made.
But that deeper level to the content does not overshadow how fun it is. If nothing else it's hilarious to see things like the engineers in Fallen Order who don't actually have proper tinkering animations while waiting for potential DLC.
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is available now for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.