A Star Wars multiplayer FPS from Respawn
I would like to start this post by acknowledging the canceled Mandalorian FPS from Respawn that was sadly canceled by EA. Hearing about the great things that people who played the game had to say is one of the things that inspired me to make this post.
A couple of weeks ago I decided to play Star Wars Battlefront 2 (2017) in the first person view that the game has to offer for the very first time (I have played the game since the Beta). After a few days of playing the game is this state I was hooked. The immersion, intensity, and combat, felt like it had an extra "edge" to it. And after this I got the idea to try finally try out Republic Commando. While I won't go into depth here, I will say that it was an incredible experience, and is now one of my favorite Star Wars games. This got me thinking: it is remarkable that we have not gotten a darker, grounded, Star Wars FPS since Republic Commando. With Star Wars Jedi 3 on the horizon, and with it intended to be the final installment in the series, it makes me wonder if an advanced movement multiplayer FPS would make sense for Respawn's next Star Wars project.
With the studios great track record with advanced movement in the Titanfall series and Apex Legends (admittingly, I have played much more of the former than the latter), I can't help but feel that that experience would translate well into the Star Wars universe.
Imagine a game set 5-15 years after Return of the Jedi, with a campaign that has a gritty and "down to earth" tone to the story and atmosphere. We could potentially play as a bounty hunter and would have to navigate a galaxy still dealing with the power vacuum left from the fallen Empire. Perhaps we would work for and against different crime syndicates and Hutts. Or we could serve as a mercenary for the one of the Imperial Remnants or for the New Republic.
As far as the multiplayer is concerned, i think the aforementioned advanced movement mechanics would add something never before seen in a Star Wars game. You could expect wall running, mid-air jumping, sliding, grappling, and jet packs. I would expect maps tailored to 6v6 or 8v8 team sizes, with plenty of verticality to accommodate the games movement.
One of the advantages of the game being set 5-15 years after Return of the Jedi would be that it would give the the development team plenty of weapons to draw from: from the E-5 used by the Battle Droids to the A280 used by Rebel Troopers, and the pulse rifle used by the Mandalorian to the DC-17m used by the Republic Commandos, and so much more. With the game being a FPS with more focus on the gun play than say a Battlefront game, I would love for the blasters to have real recoil and sound powerful, and for each of them to feel like they're filling a specific role in the game, at least as much so is possible. I think another thing that would add to the "realism" of the game would be that if for the blasters that it would be applicable, if they switched from the overheating system of other Star Wars games to a magazine system seen in Republic Commando.
And then their would be the cosmetics. The possibility would be nearly endless: from repurposed Clone helmets for your bounty hunter to Mandalorian helmets. And of course all the different species of the Star Wars universe: from Twi'leks to Trandoshans. As well as blaster skins and maybe even different colors of blaster bolts. I would imagine the game could be able to financially sustain itself through these for a good amount of time.
Thank you to anyone who read all the way through. Here's to hoping we could one day get a game like this. I know the passion of this fan base, and how much we deserve and would support something like this.