Star Wars Celebration Chicago: Jedi: Fallen Order looks dynamite

Ahead of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, EA and Respawn want to take up your time with Jedi: Fallen Order, and Celebration’s panel brought it.

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order has been mysterious since its announcement. We’ve seen bits and pieces of art, but thankfully, Star Wars Celebration Chicago pulled back the veil, dropping a trailer and some really great details. Here’s what we now know.

“This is a Jedi fantasy story game,” Respawn’s Vince Zampella said. Yes, that means “no multiplayer, no microtransactions.” After the issues with Star Wars Battlefront II, that was a welcome announcement to the crowd at the Celebration Stage.

The trailer shown at the panel was “in-game engine,” although it specifically focused on telling some of the story of the game. We got our first look at Cal Kestis, the hero of the game, who is a Padawan trying to survive after Order 66.

Check it out below:

In the trailer, he lists his rules to survive: “Don’t stand out; accept the past; trust no one.” But as he avoids imperials hunting for him, he learns more about the Force. By the end of the trailer, he concludes: “Trust only in the Force.” He then ignites a lightsaber, and he is back. He works “as part of the scrapper guild,” and he bears a close resemblance to Rey in terms of what he does — and his powers.

Actor Cameron Monaghan is playing Cal, and he spoke about how much he’s been a fan of Star Wars since childhood. “He felt really distinct,” he said of Cal. “He has this sort of grit to him; he’s street-smart, he’s wary […] ultimately, he’s a very good-hearted person.” Monaghan did both motion-capture and voice acting for the character, and Cal is modeled quite strongly on him. Concept art showed BD-1, your droid companion, who is a little bipedal droid. “They’re equals,” Asmussen said of their relationship. “One of his functions is a spotlight,” but there are more features. Ben Burtt, legendary sound designer, worked on Beedee. Additionally, you can spot a female mentor in the trailer, who is a former Jedi Knight herself.

As for the lightsaber, it will “change and evolve” during the story, but that’s about all the panelists could say.

An antagonist is the Second Sister Inquisitor, who is also a Force-sensitive, so it’s not like Cal is going to be overpowered. However, there are also new purgetroopers, who investigate any sightings of Jedi; you can see them in the trailer. The panelists brought out physical representations of the troopers on stage, and yes, they are exactly as intimidating as you think. “They’re basically kinda born out of the stormtrooper,” director Stig Asmussen said, but “the game is not a button-masher.” Enter the purgetroopers for a more in-depth, “thoughtful combat.”

If you’ve felt burned by EA before, even this trailer should reassure you somewhat. This isn’t meant to be yet another big, sprawling game — it’s no surprise that the “no multiplayer, no microtransactions” line was dropped early. Lucasfilm Story Group’s Steve Blank was on the panel as well, and it sounds like the group has worked closely with Respawn Entertainment.

Zampella concluded: “It takes a village to raise a Jedi.”

Here’s hoping more than a village will be there to play the game when it arrives.

Jedi: Fallen Order launches Nov. 15 on PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4.