Over the years, Telltale Games has made a name for itself crafting some pretty intriguing stories based on pre-established IPs. The studio started out with titles based on IPs likeSam & Max,Back to the Future, andJurassic Park,but it was thrust into the spotlight with its award-winningThe Walking Deadseries. Players have been drawn to these titles because of the intriguing characters, the heartfelt stories, and the ability to shape the trajectory of the tale. While the studio had some financial issues in 2018, it has been revived and continues to chug along on IP-based stories, but it has yet to turn toStar Wars.
Telltale Games has touched IPs ranging fromGame of ThronesandThe Walking DeadtoBatmanandGuardians of the Galaxy,but the studio has barely explored the world of large-scale science fiction. It will soon explore the universe ofThe Expansein a brand-new tale which will be its first foray into a sci-fi galaxy outside of Marvel Comics andBorderlands, and it should not be the last. The writing style and choice-based gameplay would lend itself well toStar Wars.Star Warsis filled to the brim with stories waiting to be told and characters waiting to be explored which makes it a great sandbox for Telltale Games to mess around in.
RELATED:Telltale’s The Expanse Opens a Lot of Puzzle Opportunities with Zero-G
Telltale Games Knows How to Write a Story
Telltale Games has created some of the most exciting stories in the gaming industry. While the games have been critiqued for their basic gameplay and graphics, they are often praised for the writing and choices that are forced upon the player. The studio has been able to adapt this storytelling to all sorts of different IPs from across different media, and it is continuing to expand its catalog with the upcomingThe ExpanseandThe Wolf Among Us 2.
Many players will not soon forget the heartbreaking story of Clementine and Lee inThe Walking Dead, the tragic tale ofHouse Forrester inGame of Thrones, the fantastical tale of Bigby Wolf inThe Wolf Among Us, and Bruce Wayne’s adventures in Telltale’sBatmanseries. While the games themselves have all ranged in quality, the writing has mostly stayed pretty consistent and cemented Telltale as a go-to studio for episodic adventures. Time will tell if the new Telltale Games can uphold the same level of writing that the pre-2018 Telltale was known for, and if it can then Disney should consider letting the studio roam around in its playground.
Star Wars Could Benefit From an Episodic Adventure
Star Warsis one of the largest franchisesin the world right now, and it will only be getting larger as Disney plans all sorts of Disney Plus shows and movies. It has also made a decent impact in the gaming world throughout the years with games likeStar Wars Battlefront 2andStarWars Jedi: Fallen Order, and a whole host of newStar Warsgames are in varying stages of development. While a lot of these games are taking the form of action-adventures or shooters, there are very few that are going down the episodic route.
Telltale Games has seemingly mastered the art of episodic choice-based games, andStar Warsmay be the perfect fit for a game like that. The galaxy is filled with stories and characters that have yet to be explored, anda Telltale Games seriescould do just that. It could whisk fans off to an uncharted corner of the galaxy and tell a whole new story in the franchise. Players choices would then impact the trajectory of this story and shape the universe that they have fallen in love with over the years.
The expansive galaxy ofStar Warsmixed with the great writing of Telltale Games could result in a great science fiction episodic game. While the studio has not had much experience with galaxy spanning adventures outside of Marvel, it does have a lot of experience with playing in someone else’s sandbox.The upcomingThe Expanse: A Telltale Serieswill show players if Telltale can craft an exciting large-scale sci-fi tale, and if it can, thenStar Warsshould be the next step.