While the first episode of The Mandalorian–the live-action Star Wars show on Disney+–showed a lot of potential, it was far from perfect. “Chapter One” could have done a better job of introducing the titular Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) and so much ancillary information was packed into the 38-minute running time that it was difficult to tell what was important. Still, it was clear how much potential there was for the series.
Warning: The following contains spoilers for the second episode of The Mandalorian Season 1, titled “Chapter 2: The Child.” If you haven’t watched it yet, look away now or you will be spoiled.
With the second episode–“Chapter 2: The Child”–it’s clear The Mandalorian is something special. The episode begins quickly after the climax of “Chapter One,” which saw the introduction of an indescribably cute creature we’re going to call Baby Yoda that is very valuable to The Client (Werner Herzog). As “Chapter One” ended, though, we were left wondering what Mando would do with the creature–and what kind of danger it would be in should it wind up in the hands of The Client.
Whereas “Chapter One” attempted to cover a lot of ground, skipping over certain details, “The Child” was an extremely focused episode. It followed one story from beginning to end, giving viewers more time to get to know Mando and his bounty, Baby Yoda.
Granted, the episode was essentially a sidequest mission. Jawas stripped Mando’s ship of parts, leading him with the need to barter with the creatures–with the help of Kuiil (Nick Nolte)–to repair his vessel and head back to turn in his bounty. Along the way, he fought a giant monster, got his hands on a fuzzy egg, and learned Baby Yoda isn’t just the “kid” Mando thinks him to be.
Like Yoda and Yaddle, the only other two members of this species we’ve met in Star Wars history, Baby Yoda is Force-sensitive. He shows that when helping Mando defeat the giant beast guarding the fuzzy egg by levitating it in the air. Mando looks beyond confused as Baby Yoda finally passes out after using all of his energy with the Force power.
That development opens up several questions for The Mandalorian to answer. What will Mando do when it’s time to hand Baby Yoda over? Just how powerful is he and is he related to actual Yoda, somehow? And with his apparent connections to the Empire, what does The Client want with the tiny creature? Obviously, he and Dr. Pershing (Omid Abtahi) know exactly what they’re they’re getting when it comes to Baby Yoda. What is their plan?
The episode also allowed a new side of Mando to shine through. It was clear he cared about the safety of Baby Yoda. While, at first, it’s mostly about collecting his bounty, it slowly transformed into feeling protective for what he thought was a helpless child that refused to stay put in its space crib.
The episode’s humor is also worth noting. While the look of “Chapter One” was stunning, giving tonal nods to Samurai films and westerns, it was pretty dry. There were a couple of laughs thanks to IG-11 (Taika Waititi), but the rest of the episode felt flat. “The Child,” however, used the Jawas perfectly, making them incredibly funny troublemakers messing up Mando’s day. Whether it was Mando battling them on the Sandcrawler, the negotiation to get his ship parts back, or their pure joy over getting their hands on the egg, everything they did was hilarious.
The inclusion of the Jawas also allowed Mando to show a bit of his personality as he reacted to their antics. After how monotonous and borderline silent the character was in the first episode, this was a welcome change. Kuiil (Nick Nolte) was no slouch either, providing perfect deadpan humor throughout his scenes.
The only real downside of the episode is that it’s essentially a filler episode. While the story of this installment was an entertaining one, everything involving the Jawas and rebuilding his ship didn’t matter much to the show’s overall plot. It was a fun distraction, but one that ultimately didn’t move the plot forward until Baby Yoda revealed his Force powers. Revealing those abilities and showing Mando bonding with the little guy were essential to the character arcs playing out, but that’s something that could have been done in a way that advanced the larger plot as well.
Still, this episode is a significant improvement over the first episode. That’s not to say “Chapter One” was bad, because it wasn’t. The tone and pacing of “The Child,” however, was a big step forward.
Death Stranding’s story, confusing as it may seem, is ultimately about reconnecting the world after a great catastrophe pulls it apart. That’s Death Stranding’s plot in a nutshell, but if you want something a little deeper than that to truly find out what’s going on in Hideo Kojima’s latest, well pull up a chair, because here’s Death Stranding’s 40 hour story (including the big ending) summed up in a nice digestible plot summary in 3,000 or so words. If you need help understanding some of the terms used, we have a neat Death Stranding glossary you can use as a reference.
Fortnite now has Star Wars Imperial Stormtrooper skins, just in time for the release of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. You can deck yourself out in the classic suit, first seen in 1977’s Star Wars: A New Hope, by grabbing the skin from the in-game store for 1500 V-Bucks. As you can see in the trailer below, it’s a pretty faithful recreation of the cinematic suit.
You’ll want to hurry, as the suit is only available for a limited time–it’ll disappear on November 17 at 7 PM ET, so you really don’t have long to grab it. Alternatively, you can get the suit for free by buying Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order from the Epic Games Store. Jedi Order is also available on Steam, but the deal is not available there (and the deal is, unfortunately, unlikely to be altered further.)
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order released today, and received an 8/10 in our review. Our critic Phil Hornshaw called the game “perhaps the strongest conception of what playing as a Jedi Knight ought to really be like.” While the Stormtroopers in the original trilogy has infamously poor aim, this suit won’t impede your ability to take down your enemies at all. While you’re trying out your new skin you might want to give some of the new challenges a go, so be sure to check out our Fortnite challenge guide.
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IGN’s Pokemon Sword and Shield walkthrough and complete strategy guide includes tips and tricks for every gym and route, a list of Pokemon (Pokedex), how-to guides for your biggest questions, info on hidden items, and a cure for Sobble’s everlasting sadness. Maybe not that last part, but our walkthrough will guide you from the minute you pick your starter to the moment you are crowned the new champion.
Before You Buy
Picking your version of Pokemon is a sacred tradition. Make sure you know which one you truly want!
Ninth Sister — Darth Vader: Dark Lord Of The Sith 6 – The Chosen One, Part VI
Like Second Sister, Ninth Sister was first introduced into the Star Wars canon in the Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith comic. However, Ninth Sister showed up much earlier, in the sixth issue: The Chosen One, Part VI.
Like Second Sister, Ninth Sister was once a member of the Jedi Order. As a Jedi, she was known as Masana Tide, a powerful Force user who could read people’s emotions and deduce their thoughts. When she turned to the Dark Side, this ability was amplified to allow her to read minds. Though her massive size limited her combat ability in comparison to the other Inquisitors, Ninth Sister became one of Darth Vader’s most fearsome interrogators.
In the comics, Ninth Sister spends a lot more time with Darth Vader than Second Sister–accompanying him on many missions to hunt down Jedi fugitives. In Fallen Order, you may notice Ninth Sister has two peculiar injuries: she’s missing her left eye and right leg. All Inquisitors possess some form of physical disability as part of Darth Vader’s method of teaching them about loss; in Ninth Sister’s case, he carved out her eye.
The loss of her leg is a much longer story, though the gist of it boils down to betrayal. The Ninth Sister lost her leg when the Sixth Brother cut it off, hoping to slow her down long enough so he could escape a squad of leftover clone troopers who had been mind-tricked by an escaped Jedi to execute Order 66. Though the mind trick led the clones to kill the Jedi as well, it also turned the clones on Ninth Sister and Sixth Brother, both of whom were former Jedi. Ninth Sister managed to survive, however, vowing revenge on Sixth Brother. Given Sixth Brother’s death at the hands of Ahsoka Tano during the events of Star Wars: Ahsoka (a novel written by E. K. Johnston that predates the events of Fallen Order by a few years), Ninth Sister never got her vengeance–leaving her with a seething hatred that she would unleash upon an unsuspecting Cal Kestis.
Force Slow is the only Force power available to Cal at the start, though you quickly learn a few more in the campaign’s early hours. Of all Cal’s abilities, Force Slow might be his most useful one–especially for taking on miniboss-like enemies and bosses.
When taking on a miniboss-like enemy, such as a Purge Trooper, you’ll typically have to deal with a group of accompanying enemies as well. Use Force Slow on the Purge Trooper to keep them out of the fight, giving you an easier time to deal with the weaker fodder. Once you start taking on multiple Purge Troopers at once, Force Slow can help you manage that duel so you’re not overwhelmed.
All boss fights will be one-on-one, but Force Slow is still incredibly useful in these scenarios. Several bosses, like Second Sister, are significantly faster than you are. This can make it a bit tricky to keep track of what their combos actually are. Force Slow makes it easier to see a boss’ combo, which in turn makes it easier to parry and counter. Slowing down the enemy also just makes it easier for you to put some room between the two of you so that you can heal.
Star Wars games often feel estranged from the franchise that spawned them. Video games have gotten very good at capturing the aesthetic of Star Wars–the cold metallic angles of Imperial architecture, the powerful hum of a lightsaber, the electric snap of a blaster bolt hitting home–but can struggle to get beneath the surface. It’s the rare Star Wars game that reaches beyond how Star Wars looks to explore what Star Wars is really about.
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, the latest game in the canon, is one of the better offerings specifically because it tries to look beyond the trappings of Star Wars. It’s not just another Jedi power fantasy, although wielding the Force with skill and resolve will certainly make you feel powerful. Like the best Star Wars games, it’s one that adds to the ideas of the films and other material, exploring new corners of the galaxy while focusing on the core themes of the franchise: knowing yourself, fighting your own darkness, and braving adversity with the help of friends.
Friendship has always been one of the main drives of Star Wars, especially in the original film trilogy, and it’s the core of what makes Jedi: Fallen Order work in both story and gameplay. The primary relationship of the game is between Cal Kestis, a Jedi padawan in hiding in the aftermath of the Jedi Purge that took place in Revenge of the Sith, and BD-1, a droid entrusted with a secret mission by the Jedi Master that previously owned it. Once Cal and BD-1 meet, they become inseparable, working together as partners to solve puzzles in forgotten ruins, navigate alien environments, and beat back the Empire.
The pair work throughout the game to complete a scavenger hunt created by BD’s last companion, Master Cordova. Before he vanished, Cordova locked away a list of Force-sensitive children throughout the galaxy that could be used to resuscitate the destroyed Jedi Order and challenge the Empire. He left clues to how to retrieve that list hidden in BD, requiring Cal and the droid to travel to various worlds, following in Cordova’s footsteps to free up BD’s encrypted memories.
Functionally, BD is Cal’s constant companion as he rides around on the Jedi’s back, and Cal regularly talks with the droid as they explore Fallen Order’s planets. BD also serves several support functions in gameplay. Most importantly, BD provides Cal with “stims” that allow him to heal himself in the middle of Fallen Order’s often-oppressive combat. He can also function as a zipline, unlock doors, and hack certain droid enemies to turn the tides of battle. BD is just enough a part of any given fight or puzzle that you’re always aware of his presence and his help, but it’s Cal’s constant interactions with the little droid that really build out their relationship.
You definitely need BD’s help and the upgrades you find for him throughout your journey, because Fallen Order can be punishing. It lifts a number of gameplay ideas directly from the Soulsborne genre; enemies are often tough-as-nails and can deal big damage if you’re complacent, whether they’re Imperial stormtroopers taking potshots or two-foot rats leaping out of burrows to snap at Cal’s throat. Fighting isn’t just about wailing on everyone with your lightsaber, but rather relies heavily on blocking and carefully timed parries if you mean to stay alive against even the most run-of-the-mill foes. You and your enemies also have a stamina meter to manage, which dictates how many blows you can defend against before you stagger, and adds a strategic element to duels. To win a battle, you need to whittle down an enemy’s stamina while blocking, parrying, and dodging to manage your own. Since every blow you sustain can be devastating, combat becomes an exciting, cerebral exercise in pretty much every case. You’ll spend a lot of time not only honing your parrying skills, but also making quick battlefield decisions about how you can isolate dangerous enemies or use your Force powers to even up the odds.
You can only heal from a limited number of stims or by resting at periodic meditation points, similar to Dark Souls‘ bonfires, and using them respawns all the enemies in the area, which makes being a smart combatant even more critical. Killing enemies and finding collectibles nets you experience, which accumulates into Skill Points you can spend on new abilities for Cal. But dying costs all the experience you earned since your last Skill Point unless you can find and damage the enemy who bested you.
Though the elements of Fallen Order are Souls-like–it’s probably most closely comparable to Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, in fact–on most difficulty settings, it’s far less brutal than From Software’s games. Fallen Order might be considered Soulsborne-lite, making use of the same elements but to a different effect. It’s tough, even occasionally frustrating, but not nearly so much as the games from which it draws its inspirations. That balance achieves something that feels essential to Fallen Order’s identity: It makes you a powerful Jedi Knight, without turning you into an unstoppable Force-wielding superhero. Ratcheting back on the Jedi powers (and forcing you to unlock them as you work through the story and deal with Cal’s past) helps Fallen Order’s take on the Star Wars universe feel grounded and believable–a place where people could actually live.
Your lack of overwhelming power also helps make the ever-looming Empire a frightening threat, even as individual soldiers comedically call out their own ineptitude in pretty much every battle. Cal spends the entire game hunted by the Inquisition, a subset of the Empire’s forces specifically tasked with exterminating Jedi. Because every fight is potentially deadly, running into the game’s specially trained Purge Troopers is always an event, and you’re forced not only test your lightsaber skills and timing, but to consider all the abilities at your disposal to make it out alive.
The rest of the game often has to do with clambering around the environment and solving puzzles, not unlike Tomb Raider, God of War, or Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Navigating the world is as much about using observation and problem-solving skills as your Force tools. Respawn’s Souls-inspired map design allows you to explore off the beaten path without ever really getting lost, and each planet is richly realized and fascinating to explore. The intricate pathways encourage you to wander off and visit each planet’s varied environments to see what you might uncover, and Fallen Order always make sure you’re rewarded with a bit of story, a cosmetic item, or even an optional miniboss fight.
When you’re between missions on planets, you’re spending time with Fallen Order’s two other major characters, Cere and Greez. They’re the pair who manage to save Cal in the early hours of the game when his Jedi nature is discovered by the Empire, and they put him on the quest to find the list of Force-sensitives before the Inquisitors can get their hands on it. Though the story is a little rough in the early going as Cal is thrown directly into the quest with little lead-up or explanation, Fallen Order’s story starts to excel around the halfway point as his relationships with BD, Cere, and Greez really start to develop. Once Fallen Order starts to invest in the interpersonal dynamics and deepening friendships of its cast, it really hits a stride–and its quest feels less like an elaborate series of tasks to fetch a MacGuffin, and more like an essential addition to the ongoing Star Wars saga.
It does take Fallen Order a while to get there, though. The first few planets are a bit on the dull side, rushing to get Cal on his quest through the galaxy without really establishing why you should really care. Until it starts to click later in the game as you unlock more Force powers, combat can be a hassle, especially at certain boss battles or chokepoints, when your last meditation point is some distance away and you have to navigate through the same chunks of the map over and over. And while parrying is an essential part of the game, at higher difficulties, the timing can feel finicky and unreliable.
The game also loves to throw handfuls of enemies at you all at once, which can be overwhelming, and combat against lower-tier enemies is built to lock you into finisher animations in a lot of cases. Instead of making you feel like a cool, well-trained warrior, these usually just leave you open to some Imperial dork wandering up with an electrobaton and clocking you in the head. It’s only after you get enough Force powers to effectively control the crowds that these moments become more exciting than irritating. But throughout the game, there are always times when an enemy you couldn’t see because of the game’s tight targeting lock system gets in a cheap hit, forcing you to replay a fair stretch of its large, interweaving maps.
But especially as it wears on, Fallen Order becomes perhaps the strongest conception of what playing as a Jedi Knight ought to really be like. It’s true that Fallen Order borrows liberally from other action games, but those elements work together with Respawn’s combat and environment design, and a story that finds humanity in the Force and in its characters, to hone in on what makes the world of Star Wars worthy of revisiting again and again. Even with some rough edges, Fallen Order represents one of the most compelling game additions to the Star Wars franchise in years.
