I've got a good feeling about this! —

New Star Wars: Uprising game with Diablo-like gameplay actually looks good

Developer promises game with RPG elements, and no unfair free-to-play shenanigans.


If someone said to you "Hey, look! There's a new Star Wars game coming out, and it's totally like Diablo!" you'd be pretty excited right? And if this Star Wars game bridged the gap between Return of the Jedi and its upcoming sequel The Force Awakens, you'd probably be bouncing off the walls, ready to hand over as much hard-earned cash that you can scrounge up. But what if that information was followed by "it's a free-to-play iOS and Android mobile game coming out in September"? Still interested?

OK, so it's a tough sell, but it looks like Disney and developer Kabam might actually be trying with Star Wars: Uprising. For starters, the newly posted gameplay video (posted below) looks great. There are pretty visuals with a cartoon-like style (think Clone Wars cartoon rather than Force Unleashed), along with a glimpse at the game's Diablo-like isometric gameplay. Secondly, while Disney has largely remained quiet on the details, Uprising sounds like it'll have some depth to it, with an RPG-like levelling system, as well as plenty of dungeons to crawl for loot, and enemies to slay via gesture-based combat.

The story should prove interesting, too. Uprising is set within the Star Wars universe's new canon, which supersedes the previous expanded universe. The action takes place in the Anoat Sector, home to familiar locations such as Hoth and Bespin's Cloud City, and tells the story of what happened after the Battle of Endor and the death of Emperor Palpatine. The idea is you play as your own customised character, and then team up with other players in larger skirmishes in an effort to unlock more story content for the entire team.

A first look at Star Wars: Uprising gameplay.

Despite being a mobile game, Star Wars: Uprising doesn't use any kind of stamina system, so in theory you shouldn't need to pay to play for long periods of time. That said, it's likely there will be some microtransactions for loot, and depending on the difficulty structure and how miserly Disney is feeling, you might end up being forced to drop a few cents on a new blaster out of sheer frustration. Kabam's Daniel Erickson has tried to quash some of those fears, though, explaining to Venturebeat that it's doing "white hat free-to-play," where the game will "still have a system where you can go to the supply guy and get random rolls for loot and gear. But all that loot and gear also drops out in the world."

Those that pre-register to play on the official website will be able to land some of that loot for free upon the game's release, including in-game rewards like Stormtrooper helmets. Those still not convinced by Uprising's gaming chops do at least have another Star Wars game to look forward to this year: EA's team-based shooter Star Wars Battlefront is out on November 17, on the PS4, Xbox One, and PC, and it looks very good indeed.

Of course, no new Star Wars games can eclipse the golden age of Lucas Arts and the likes of X-Wing, Tie Fighter, and Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II, all of which have recently landed over at GOG.com.

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Channel Ars Technica