Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order successfully infiltrates the galaxy’s lore

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order took a lot of potential risks in the narrative, but it all feels like it’s right at home in the galaxy far, far away.

Having just completed Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order for the second time, I am in a fragile state of needing to partake in literally every bit of Star Wars content I can get my hands on, which is convenient, because it’s everywhere.

However, with my mind still in the Fallen Order universe, I’ve also taken time to evaluate some of the bold steps this new title made to reestablish the Star Wars presence in the video game world—a presence that has been sorely lacking.

Between a solid protagonist like Cal Kestis and the galaxy’s newest (and best!) droid, BD-1, there were hardly any missteps in the story-telling side of things. And that holds true with another all of their bold endeavors, including creating two brand new planets, a new alien race, and new Jedi.

For starters, no one should ever need to create a new planet. The Star Wars galaxy is just overflowing with options there. But Respawn Entertainment did, and they did it so well that I have had to recheck about seventeen times whether Bogano has appeared anywhere else and I just missed it. The same goes with Zeffo.

That’s how good of a job they did in creating this new world.

Bogano and Zeffo have everything that Star Wars planets should have. They have a believable and convincing alien species—The Zeffo. They have adorable fauna, highlighted by the Boglings of Bogano, which have the eyes of a Pog, the body of an Eevee, and the legs of a chicken?

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And both Bogano and Zeffo also have inexplicable drop-offs into nothingness and certain death.

All of these things have become staples on nearly every planet of the Star Wars universe. Take the Zeffo for instance. Remember what I said about never needing to create a new planet? That holds true, perhaps doubly so, in relation to alien species.

There are so many alien species that you can just pick one and this massive fanbase will go along with it.

Respawn didn’t do that. They created their own to pair with their own planets. Zeffos, they called them and, as mentioned, the Zeffos feel like they’ve just always been there. They don’t feel off-brand at all. They have a rich history as a peaceful race before falling to the dark side, then going extinct. They have protected tombs that you have to dig through, Indiana Jones style, and discover their secrets.

It’s short, succinct, and convincing. And they look legit too. None of that Snivvian nonsense.

And to top it all off, the planet housed an old workshop where Eno Cordova spent his time, trying to solve life’s great mysteries with the help of his droid, BD-1. Having already gushed over BD-1, maybe it’s time to appreciate Eno Cordova and the fantastic job they did with him and his whole network of Jedi.

Through hologram recordings delivered by BD-1, Cordova came to life. And I mean that. His believable passion for saving the Jedi Order, even posthumously, is believable from the first moment you meet him.

This holds true across the board, from Merrin to Taron Malicos. Each character has enough personality, back story and motivation to make them feel embedded in a lore that isn’t exactly open to new additions. Give me any of the characters that appeared in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order in a movie and I’ll swoon.