Exploring in games has always been a mixed experience for me.
At it’s best, exploring hearkens back to younger days as I can fulfill childhood curiosity through the game. At it’s worst, it becomes a slog through a dense or dull world.
Few games, for me, find themselves on the positive end of this spectrum, but Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order did a fantastic job at reminding me why I love exploring in games.
As I sit back and analyze this, I find it curious that this game would do this for me. After all, I loved Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom, and Horizon Zero Dawn. Each game offered a bevy of opportunities to explore vast worlds with minimal restrictions.
Each of these games was great, but I think they were a bit too wide for my exploration tastes. Don’t get me wrong, they each held a lot of fun secrets, but I couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed at times.
Fallen Order didn’t feel that way. It embraced a more linear map that offered extended “hallways” to explore. It often felt like those Scooby Doo mansions that has myriad doors to explore.
I think it was this narrowing that really spoke to me to explore. It eliminated the sense of overwhelm that comes with wider maps and streamlined the process. Furthermore, there were minimal chances for fast travel.
Games like Horizon Zero Dawn thrive on fast travel often because their maps are so big. Fallen Order still embraced a larger map, but it was small enough to make backtracking much more bearable while still giving you a longer path back.
At first, this was annoying, but it quickly became a highlight of the exploration for me. I’ve compared this game to the Metroid Prime series and that still holds true for the exploration.
Prime games embrace a 3D Metroidvania approach that allows players to return to find all of the secrets embedded in the map. Fallen Order did the same thing and the lack of fast travel enticed me to make those returns.
Unlocking each secret added purpose to my exploration. Sure, Breath of the Wild sparked a curiosity in me that would have me wandering a single mountain range for hours, but I often felt like I wasted a play session doing this if I didn’t have anything to show for it.
Fallen Order uses the more linear map to give purpose to exploration. Whether you are tracking down echoes, health slims, or Force essence, there was always a purpose to your exploration.
I’ve found that collect-a-thons do a great job at giving me purpose in my exploration. It’s why the Marvel’s Spider-Man games are so enjoyable. I wanted to track down all the backpacks or science experiments so I would explore the city to do so.
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, in my opinion, takes the best of these games and combines it into the perfect package for me. I readily admit that this approach to exploration won’t be for everyone. Such is life.
We’re all not created the same so our preferences and approaches to gaming will always differ. Some might have found Fallen Order‘s exploration dull, but for others, it was just what they needed. I found myself feeling the latter on this.
Exploration will always be hard for me, but Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order reminded me why I actually do love it. It’s always nice to come across a game like that as I think we all need reminders as to why we love to game.
What about you? What did you think about Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order‘s exploration? Which game has your favorite approach to exploration? Let us know in the comments below or head over to our our Discord channel to join the conversation.
Featured Image: Electronic Arts (via Gaming Bolt)
Boss Rush Podcast – A Podcast about Video Games
The Boss Rush Podcast – A Podcast about Video Games – is the flagship show of the Boss Rush Network and Boss Rush Media. Each week, hosts Corey Dirrig and LeRon Dawkins are joined by friends, fellow creators, indie developers, and industry veterans to discuss the latest in the world of video games, including news, rumors, new releases, and what they’ve been playing. They also answer listener questions, debate important industry topics and Boss Rush Banter discussion points, and feature a rotating weekly segment. New episodes post every Monday.
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