‘You don’t have to limit everything the player does’
It’s an inevitability that every single action role-playing game gets compared toDark Souls. You know the type. Anything where you’re able to’t rush in head-first to every combat encounter? Then it’s just likeDark Souls, or so the lazy discourse goes.
NotStar Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, though! No, this is more like that new From Software game, the one that’s notDark Souls. Developer Respawn saysSekiro: Shadows Die Twiceis a better analog forJedi: Fallen Order. Comparisons aplenty, but at least it’s not the exact same comparison we’re usually treated to; this is mildly — ever-so-mildly- different.
In an interview withEdge magazine(and as reported byWCCF Tech), lead combat designer Jason de Heras explained howSekiro‘s success despite having no limitation on stamina really gave Respawn confidence. “I thought it was pretty badass, and a little comforting to know that you could make this type of game without a stamina bar,” de Heras said.
He continued “They let you attack, they let you roll, they do all this for free — and then the AI will tell you if you’re doing the correct thing. It just confirmed to us that you don’t have to limit everything the player does; let them have a little more agency, and then let the AI give them a slap on the wrist or a punch in the face. It was a positive thing for us to know there was a game that was similar to ours. Very similar.”
That’s not to say Respawn is looking to emulateSekiro. It’s just thatSekiroserved as proof positive that the foundation ofJedi: Fallen Order‘s combatshouldwork. And, if comparisons are going to be made, we might as well draw lines between the most applicable games.
