Star Wars has had some amazing games in the past, and being such a ubiquitous property, it’s a series that’s able to move seamlessly across all genres. Real-time strategy, RPG, action, racing, we have seen and played a lot, but we’ve been brainstorming, and there’s still so much more that we want to see that hasn’t been tried yet! Maybe they’ll even feature Adelaide (31 Oct – 2 Nov) and Brisbane (7-9 Nov) Supa-Stars and Star Wars video game alumni, John Boyega and Cameron Monaghan, a.k.a Finn and Cal Kestis!

Here are our top six ideas for games that we want to see in the Star Wars universe!

Asymmetrical Hunting-Style

“Monster Hunter but in Star Wars” is the coolest idea that’s never been made for some reason. It wouldn’t be a stretch at all to adapt this concept, remember all the gross beasties in the Geonosis Colosseum fight in Attack of the Clones? The universe’s vast array of different planets and climates is also perfect for a hunting-style game.

Imagine hunting a Wampa in the icy caves of Hoth, or some creepy-crawly through the jungles of Kashyyyk. Can you say fishing in the Gungan city on Naboo? Readying up with your mates as a squad of Mandalorian hunters, customising your weapons and loadouts with recognisable Star Wars gizmos from all three eras would be so fun!

But, take it one step further. What if, in addition to monsters, the ultimate prize to be hunted was a Force user? Picture you and your friends arriving on a desolate planet, perhaps with an abandoned, ancient Sith Temple, hunting the deadliest catch across the planet, setting traps against an enemy that’s just as cunning as you, and equipped with the Force and a lightsaber!

Planning your tactics in a dynamic world like Monster Hunter, where the prey have so many unique interactions with the world and each other, is a recipe for a GOTY!

Fighting Game

Here’s a fun fact: it’s canon in the Star Wars universe that lightsaber wielders practise several styles of saber combat! There’s Shii-Cho, Makashi, Soresu, Ataru, Shien and Djem So, Niman, Juyo and Vaapad, Jar’Kai, and the Forbidden Forms employed by the Sith. This is a prime setup for a weapon-based fighting game like SoulCalibur or Samurai Shodown! We don’t talk about Masters of Teräs Käsi.

Instead of hand-to-hand combat, games like SamSho and SoulCal are based around weapons like swords, and usually contain mechanics like clashing and disarming your opponent, obviously placing them at a significant disadvantage. Throw in unique weapons like the lightsaber whip we saw in The Acolyte, the umbrella from Visions, or the “TRAITOR” mace from Force Awakens, plus Force powers unique to different fighters, you’re looking at what could be an extremely in-depth fighting game!

There’s even the possibility of interactive map features like in Mortal Kombat; think about Obi-Wan and Anakin using various objects to their advantage on Mustafar. In fact, Darth Vader and Yoda have already both appeared as guest characters in previous SoulCalibur titles, so the precedent is literally right there!

Technical hack-and-slash

You may argue that we’ve done hack-and-slash action games before because we’ve had Fallen Order, and to that we say, no, Fallen Order and Survivor are fun, but their appeal is still based on the Dark Souls formula of slower combat, and that series is thriving all on its own. No, we’re talking about a Devil May Cry or Bayonetta, something that truly takes the combat of Star Wars to its peak.

No one yet has truly taken an approach to lightsaber combat that is not based on parrying and reversals. What we need is more like a Warriors/Musou-type affair, with hordes of enemies attacking at once, and the ability to dispatch them as proactively as possible. Imagine playing a Jedi with a “Dark Side Meter” that fills up as you gradually take down enemies, and you can access this gauge to use forbidden techniques like Force lightning, or spend a full gauge for a buff like Devil Trigger, or Rage Mode in God of War.

Having to inch closer towards the Dark Side to use your best moves ties the gameplay and themes together; of course, you’ll be stronger for abusing the evil powers, but at what cost? It’s not the Jedi way after all… Perhaps a morality system could be used, too! Throw in Saber Style Switching, weapon swapping to whips, dual sabers, and double-ended blades like Darth Maul’s, and it’s hard not to picture an incredibly stylish and crazy action package.

Horror

Star Wars is a universe ripe for delving into the horror genre, but it’s never really been executed on! Remember the moment in Rogue One when Vader appears in the hallway, illuminated only by his red blade? That is the closest we’ve got to Star Wars horror and literally everyone loves that scene and wanted more of it. So here’s our pitch: Alien Isolation for Star Wars.

Let’s say your character, a low-level Force-user, weak and underpowered, crash-lands on a planet that happens to have a Sith Temple on it. The only way to move ahead is to go deeper, but all the while, you’re stalked by something in the shadows… The followers of the Dark Side. Like the Xenomorph in Isolation, the Sith and their acolytes follow you, learn your tactics, anticipate and strike. You can’t fight back against this enemy for long; your only option is to run and hide.

As you go through the Temple, it would be an amazing opportunity for environmental storytelling, unravelling the mystery of the Sith and the Temple as you explore. It could incorporate puzzle elements like Portal as well!

Point-and-Click Visual Novel

Mystery, political intrigue, secret societies – Star Wars is a perfect melting pot for the Ace Attorney-style visual novel! Let us set the stage: A murder mystery in the Jedi Temple, a conspiracy to be uncovered, and a killing to be solved. Only another Jedi can hope to figure all this out, might that Jedi be you? You’ll have to explore the Temple and other locations, gather clues, press suspects (perhaps famous characters like Anakin and Obi-Wan?!) for evidence, and put it all together!

With the seeds of mistrust between the Jedi and the Republic Senators being sewn in the background, shifting motivations and allegiances make for an intriguing case indeed. You can hopefully start to see how a game like this writes itself. George Lucas already tried something similar in Episode II with Obi-Wan hunting down Jango Fett!

Stealth

Stealth has always been somewhat implied in Star Wars, but never strongly lent into. There’s Rogue One, which closes the gap of the spies stealing the Death Star plans the first time, but what about the second time? The Bothan spies, hello? Bothan society actually craves subterfuge and intrigue, so they would be perfect player characters for a Metal Gear Solid/Splinter Cell-inspired stealth game!

Like Raiden sneaking onto the Big Shell, or Naked Snake infiltrating Groznyj Grad, the setup of being a stealth agent sent on board the Death Star II to retrieve the top-secret plans is just crying out for a game! And a real stealth game, none of this open-world, Phantom Pain stuff, we need to return to stealth characters being weaker, underpowered, and being forced to stick to the shadows. No shootouts! This is THE mission that the Empire’s defeat at the hands of the Rebellion hinges on, and this time YOU will catalyse it yourself! Make the subtext, text, fill in the gap!

So, what do you think of our ideas? Have you got a better one? Tell us what Star Wars game you want to see get made next! And you can meet the galaxy’s greatest Star Wars Supa-Stars, John Boyega and Cameron Monaghan, at Adelaide (31 Oct – 2 Nov) and Brisbane (7-9 Nov), as well as Diana Lee Inosanto, known for her recurring role as Morgan Elsbeth in Ahsoka and The Mandalorian, exclusively in Adelaide.