Few RPGs were as surprising to hear in development as Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic, a return to one of the most interesting settings from the legendary sci-fi franchise. Being made by Arcanaut Studios and being led by former Knights of the Old Republic director Casey Hudson, there’s a lot to be excited about when it comes to this return to Star Wars‘ celebrated past. However, this game has a chance to be even bigger if it takes some features from other titles that have defined the genre within the last few years.
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Some rumors originally put Fate of the Old Republic‘s release as far off as 2030, disappointing fans with an absurd potential wait for the RPG. Thankfully, Casey Hudson quickly offered some reassurance, promising that the game would launch far sooner than that based on current production goals. That being said, some statements about the game being a “focused, single-player action RPG” leaves some room to what the final product could look like.
Fate Of The Old Republic Could Be Excellent By Following Baldur’s Gate 3’s Approach
Statements regarding Fate of the Old Republic have made it seem like it will take a similar approach to Final Fantasy 7 Remake, creating a tightly focused action experience. At the same time, an argument can be made that fans would rather want a pure RPG out of an Old Republic title. For anyone who has played Baldur’s Gate 3, the design of that 2023 Game of the Year winner would help elevate the quality of Fate of the Old Republic significantly, giving players more freedom of choice to craft their journey in a galaxy far, far away.
Baldur’s Gate 3 has an approach to its story telling that is dynamic based on the player’s choices, which is reflected greatly in the past Old Republic games. This was especially present in Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords, which saw developer Obsidian Entertainment craft complex characters that almost flipped the themes of Star Wars on their head. While its combat may be a direct translation of D&D, the way BG3 allows players to interact with its world has few restrictions.
One of the most compelling parts of BG3 was its density across three meaningful story Acts. Given the amount of lore surrounding the Star Wars universe during the timeframe of the Old Republic titles, its latest game might benefit from adopting a similar attention to detail in its setting. Larian Studios’ masterpiece was designed to include many moving parts, creating a level of immersive quality that Fate of the Old Republic could be inspired by to encourage players to engage with everything the game has to offer.
RPG Elements In BG3 Fit Well In A Star Wars Setting
There are a number of RPG mechanics that Baldur’s Gate 3 uses to keep players engaged, mainly in how it approaches its characters. Fate of the Old Republic might benefit from BG3‘s approach to companions, whose personal story lines and quests create some of the most compelling figures from the past decade in the genre. Each character has a stanch identity that allows them to connect to players, with enough charm and depth to keep people interested in what they say or do.
Given the number of Jedi, Sith, bounty hunters, smugglers, and simple people making their way through the universe in Star Wars, this all-in approach to character interactions could easily flesh out Fate of the Old Republic‘s world. Finely tuned crafting of NPC quests and side content are also great examples of this RPG mechanic coming to life, as you see in BG3 with how it keeps many characters relevant. Seeing how your decisions changed a character’s story dozens of hours after you met them is a unique feeling, and one that perfectly suits an Old Republic world.
Other RPG mechanics are incredibly potent in a Star Wars game too, such as the ability to change aspects of your character as you grow stronger. Becoming a dark side wielding Sith or a altruistic Jedi are important qualities to any Old Republic game, even if you are a character with a defined story. The room for a variety of gameplay options or dynamics within a party of characters is crucial for Fate of the Old Republic to succeed, or at least to compare with the iconic titles that came before.
Complete Narrative Freedom For Players Might Create The Best Old Republic Game Yet
The biggest reason why Fate of the Old Republic should follow in Baldur’s Gate 3‘s footsteps is how the latter game allows for complete narrative control to be placed in the hands of its players. Multiple endings are determined by the player’s path, with every character reacting appropriately to the decisions you made based on their personalities and goals. This combines to make BG3‘s world feel as real as possible, which is ironically what would feel best for the fantastical world of an Old Republic game.
With the proper guardrails to keep things on track, BG3 makes every player choice feel significant in the story’s development, or at least the progression of specific characters. Translating this in Fate of the Old Republic could be as simple as letting players choose their path between the Light Side and the Dark Side, similar to past games in the RPG series. Having consequences for these choices, though, may help Fate of the Old Republic have a long-lasting narrative players will remember, mainly because they are the ones who caused its end results.
The richness of Baldur’s Gate 3‘s story and setting helped craft it into a game players still create new playthroughs for, investing thousands of hours to see everything. A similar approach to Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic would easily make it the best Star Wars game to date, even better than the ones that fans loved before it.
Do you think Fate of the Old Republic should be like Baldur’s Gate 3? Leave a comment below or join the conversation in the ComicBook Forum!
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Official art by Bastien Lecouffe-Deharme -
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