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Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order gets new modes in free May the Fourth update

Mark Delaney
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Respawn Entertainment is celebrating today’s unofficial Star Wars holiday with a big free update to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. For May the Fourth, the fan-favorite, Metroidvania-style game receives two new game modes, including one that allows players to create their own combat encounters.

The first comes in the form of Combat Challenges, a wave-based mode set on the various planets that Cal and his space-faring cohorts explore across the story. Players can chase three-star ratings in each of the 12 challenges available. They’re designed for veteran players, so it’s recommended players tackle them as post-game content when Cal Kestis can hold his own. Unlocking 12 stars in total will reward players with three new skins for Cal’s droid ally, BD-1.

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The second mode, Battle Grid, is driven by user-generated content. With Battle Grid, players can create their own encounters, including the size of the encounter, the enemy types, the difficulty, and the location. Players can save their custom encounters to play again later, but there’s currently no way to share the encounters with other players. Instead, Respawn suggested players “share screenshots and video clips of your punishing creations for the community to replicate.”

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The free update brings more than two new modes. It also introduces the game’s first New Journey+ mode. Normally, a Metroidvania game breaks down in a New Game+ mode where players are meant to unlock items as they progress. Respawn sought a middle ground in which New Journey+ players retain all their collectibles like chest items and cosmetics, but must still unlock Cal’s force and lightsaber abilities through the story. There are also new cosmetics for Cal as players embark on the New Journey+ mode.

The last marquee feature of the May the Fourth free update is a bundle of new accessibility features. Quick-time events can now be skipped, while other areas in which players are meant to hold a button now allow players to simply press a button if they need or prefer that method. Text scaling has been put into the game too, which makes it the latest in a long line of games to address the issue of tiny subtitles.

The free update is available now across all platforms where Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is found. You can find the full patch notes on the game’s official website.

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Mark Delaney
Mark Delaney
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