It’s fair to say the initial public reaction to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order’s gameplay was… subdued. In response to the 15 minute gameplay clip shown at EA Play before E3, fans said they felt underwhelmed by the combat, and expressed disappointment at what they considered to be bland and linear gameplay.
To add to the confusion, journalists were then shown an extended version of this demo later on at EA Play, which displayed a cinematic AT-AT scene, a brief look at the skill tree save points, alternative paths and additional combat combinations produced through the mastering of special abilities.
And during E3 itself, several journalists (including me) were able to go hands-on with an extended extended version of the gameplay demo, which displayed more of the Metroidvania influences and gave critics an understanding of what the mechanics actually felt like.
Having watched the gameplay demo and played the game, I was surprised at the depth of the combat mechanics under the surface (they’re solid even if they’re not yet perfect) – but also that the Metroidvania elements were not initially shown to the public. Now, Fallen Order’s game director Stig Asmussen has addressed the fan reaction to that public gameplay demo, and Respawn has released the extended gameplay footage shown to press.