Because Cal Kestis and BD-1 were together throughout almost all ofStar Wars Jedi: Fallen Orderand not much time was spent with Cere Junda or Greez Dritus outside the Stinger Mantis, the Jedi and droid were able to sufficiently grow close and actually seem like companions.BD-1 literally and figuratively has Cal’s back as he hangs onto it in gameplay, and can even chirp and trill about having landed an electrically charged hit on none other than Darth Vader to defend Cal. A lot more happens inStar Wars Jedi: Survivorwith many more characters introduced, and BD-1 interactions sadly fall by the wayside.
Indeed, with a population of NPCs living in or near Rambler’s Reach on Koboh,Survivorhas its hands full with characters Cal can meet and interact with back at Pyloon’s Saloon. Likewise, Cal had a whole crew he was previously working with whom all perish in the opening couple of hours, and much of the game consists of Cal seeing if he can get the gang back together. Not a lot of time is allotted for Cal and BD-1 to have fun, thrilling moments and, gameplay-wise, it’ll presumably be difficult to make the adorable droid more effective or resourceful inStar Wars Jedi: Survivor’s sequel.
Star Wars Jedi’s BD-1 Doesn’t Have Much Higher to Ascend to in Gameplay
Respawn’s work is going to be cut out for it regarding where it intends to go fromSurvivorwith BD-1’s technological abilities.BD-1’s slicing gimmickhas been prolific with players able to find terminals or skills allowing them to override many droid enemy types, for example, as well as laser gates or other machinery.
Of course, BD-1 has also been instrumental in traversal when Cal needs to hop on a zip-line.
Fallen Orderis chock-full of chests BD-1 can slice with an upgrade obtained, whereasSurvivorhas a better balance of chests and Force-related interactables. Likewise, environmental puzzles are rampant in the sequel, particularly in endgame exploration in Koboh and Jedha’s farthest nooks, whereSurvivor’s Koboh matter spray and electro darts become paramount BD-1 functions.
One featureSurvivordebuts that goes highly overlooked is BD-1’s binoculars, chiefly due to howBD-1’s 3D holomapsprovide the same environmental information and context on a wider scope with richer detail.Star Wars Jedi’s final chapter may be able to get some mileage out of binoculars if reevaluated and redesigned, and yet it might not be a worthwhile endeavor or a feature that BD-1 desperately needs.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor’s Sequel Should Make BD-1 More of an Active Companion
Interestingly, aside from BD-1 kicking or zapping enemies in scripted beats, the lovable droid has never had a passive skill enabling it to attack or temporarily incapacitate enemies whom players are fighting. This could be a great way of having BD-1 play a fundamental role in combat besidesejectingStar Wars Jedi’s stim canisters at Cal’s beck and calland also letting the droid feel like a participant in combat rather than an accessory.
Nonetheless, it may be challenging to make BD-1 more important to the story when his sole reason for being in the narrative at all was achieved with full closure inFallen Order.
The story doesn’t need Cal and BD-1 to become greater pals than they already are, and there’s a high likelihood that players have seen as much development out of BD-1 as they’re going to by the time credits roll inStar Wars Jedi’s final chapter. Therefore, Respawn needs to ensure there are beats that the droid can contribute to meaningfully if there’s any hope for BD-1 being more present and participatory in the third game’s story.
