Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order Has Dismembering Only For "Select Cases"

Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order is the next big Star Wars game from Electronic Arts, and now we've learned a little more about it. Specifically, developer Respawn says you will only be able to dismember enemies with your lightsaber in "select cases."

Senior designer Justin Perez explained to IGN that probably only droids and spiders can have their limbs cut off from your lightsaber attacks. Humanoid characters, however, generally cannot be dismembered--and that's apparently because Disney is a family friendly company.

Separately, story artist for The Clone Wars, Tatyana Drewry Carvin, explained to IGN that one of Disney's rules is that they should never show blood and they should "hide the cut in case of decapitation." According to the rules, "the burn of a lightsaber is supposed to cauterize it instantly," Carvin explained. Apparently this also applies to Jedi Fallen Order.

Lightsabers are capable of dismembering enemies, but this is rarely depicted in Star Wars media. Everyone remembers the scene where Darth Vader lops off Luke Skywalker's hand and when Obi-Wan cuts Darth Maul in half. The fact that instances of dismemberment by lightsaber are so few and far between make them more impactful and emotionally resonant, it seems.

Jedi Fallen Order, which has Metroidvania level design, didn't start out as a Star Wars game. The first gameplay video was shown at the start of EA Play and revealed that lightsaber battles are going to be considered and tactical, instead of a flurry of swings. Because of that, it is being likened to From Software's Dark Souls and Bloodborne titles, and this is something explored in our full interview with Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order director Stig Asmussen. The gameplay demo also confirmed that a major character from Rogue One will be in Jedi Fallen Order.

Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order is coming to Xbox One, PS4, and PC on November 15.