I genuinely have a great level of affection for Quantic Dream games—they're all weird, ambitious, narrative rambles with more ambition than sense. Say what you want, I don't think I've ever been bored by one.
Detroit: Become Human is a clumsy civil rights metaphor that doesn't quite handle the subject well enough to justify hewing close to it. Heavy Rain's spawned its own fair share of memes with wonky cutscenes and fumbling writing, and Fahrenheit: Indigo Prophecy is—and I mean this with all the love in the world—a hilarious mess, ageing like a tasty, funky-smelling cheese. Despite all this, I really like that they exist—there's just nothing quite like a good old spin on Quantic Dream's wild ride.
So when I heard they were making a Star Wars game, I got excited. This is a franchise that has played it safe for years—even more so now that it's an extension of the Mouse. To have that in the hands of a studio known for unhinged and shameless narratives? Now that's pod racing, baby. Star Wars: Eclipse was announced in 2021, but there's been not so much as a holo-blip since then.
A recent interview with IGN reveals that the game's still in development, however, and it'll likely have all the unique marks of a Quantic Dream game—including a world where key character deaths don't stop the story—while being the studio's first proper foray into action adventure.
"This is actually an action adventure game that has all of the elements that you would come to expect and want from a Quantic Dream title," says marketing vice president Lisa Pendse. "There's no game over. Anyone can die, anything can happen and the story sort of continues so that those signatures are still there. But what we've been doing is even more ramping up our expertise in the gameplay arena."
This is both promising and a little worrisome, considering Quantic Dream's hallmark style is all narrative. They famously lean on quick-time events, making games that are more long cutscenes with the occasional bit of walking-around to stretch the players' legs. Something between a point-and-click game and a choose-your-own adventure movie.
So to hear they're going all Star Wars: Jedi Survivor with it is wild. I am, however, so excited to see what Quantic Dream's been doing to the franchise, one that's felt like it's been locked in stasis. As far as themes go it feels like we've been treading a lot of familiar ground.
Survivor is still ultimately about a runaway jedi with a rag-tag group of plucky rebels—and Star Wars: Outlaws is looking to be Han Solo: The Video Game. Nothing wrong with that, and I happen to think Survivor told its story really well with some unique twists—but the core concepts aren't exactly fresh.
Unfortunately, it's likely we'll be waiting a while yet. “Quantic Dream has always released games when they’re ready … it's the same exact same thing with Star Wars Eclipse. So you will know, but it's too early right now to really give any update on it.” Nonetheless, Pendse described the game as "simmering", and I'm content to let the studio cook.
