I will never get tired of repeating that Star Wars It is much more than the Jedi Vs Sith conflict and the Force. Nor can it be denied that they are a very important pillar in the franchise, but series, movies, comics, books and video games have shown that they are not essential as protagonists to tell exciting stories.
You don’t have to go far to see it: The Clone Wars It has many stories related to soldiers and other characters, The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, The Bad Consignment, Andor, RogueOne…to mention some of the best known.
There is another one that I like to recommend when someone mentions that they want to see or read a different story: Star Wars: Death Troops, a novel written by Joe Schreiber, published on October 13, 2009 and set around the time of Episode IV: A New Hope. And it’s something different from hell because it delves into the horror genre… and it’s not the only one. It’s Star Wars with zombies! Everything gets better with zombies.
And before you jump on my neck: zombie viruses/plagues (yes, plural) and the undead are considered canon in Star Wars, as detailed in the Wiki of the aforementioned novel and reported by content creator La Sombra del Empire six years ago. He says that one of the main people responsible for these beings could have been the Sith of Korriban through alchemical processes and biological studies. But let’s remember that Palpatine experimented to achieve eternal life, that Vader also dabbled with him during the Imperial era and that we saw some very shady chapters about it in The Clone Wars.
Deathtroopers: from books and comics to video games
And why the hell have we never seen a zombie story or gameplay in any Star Wars video game? For the same reason that we only have the Battlefront franchise to enjoy a couple of campaigns focused on war, clones and Stormtroopers: many people tend to limit Star Wars to Jedi, Sith and the Force.
There are many fans who have created short films, mods and even small video games that delve into these dark chapters of Star Wars. The most interesting proposals are Deathtroopers and Deathtroopers II: The Outpost. They are two indie experiences, developed by Stefano Cagnani (Steven Games Studios) in Unreal Engine 5, that demonstrate the incredible potential of horror in Star Wars. They can be played for free, although (if you have them) I encourage you to reward them for their work.
The first horror adventure is called Star Wars: Deathtroopers. It puts us in the shoes of a Stormtrooper who is sent to explore an Imperial Destroyer that stopped communicating. He finds that the ship is abandoned, damaged and drifting. When we enter, we discover the horror: the ship is full of bodies, blood and… zombies. Our objective is to survive in the corridors of the destroyer for a certain time.
While there isn’t much room to move or explore and the aiming system can be improved, the idea is incredibly good. The setting and everything it conveys reminded me a lot of Dead Space and the Resident Evil remakes. And yes, I admit that the third-person perspective had something to do with it too. This little video game, which almost looks like a demo, achieved great popularity among Star Wars fans and has created a very, very great need for me.
As a true fan of the zombie horror genre, I decided to follow this idea that I had in mind for months. Given the success of the previous game, I hope you also enjoy this second installment. – Stefano Cagnani
Luckily, the Deathtrooper comics didn’t end there. The person responsible for it returned some time later with a second delivery called Deathtroopers II: The Outpost. It remains in the zombie horror genre, although this proposal is slightly different: it includes survival elements (such as getting ammunition), the camera is much further away from the character, the aiming system improves and different mechanics are included: crouching, kicking, store and draw the weapon at will, interact with doors and simple puzzles.
The story is very simple, but connects directly with the original: a fleeing soldier ends up crashing into Endor. Here he will encounter death and a deadly virus, already spread across much of the Outer Rim of the known galaxy.
The scenario also changes. This time we control a Stormtrooper who crashes on the moon of Endor after the destruction of the Death Star in Star Wars: Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. The virus has already spread and our goal is to survive, send a signal for help and escape by any means. Although it lasts longer than its predecessor, you can complete it in 30-40 minutes while going very calmly.
There is room for darkness in Star Wars
These two indie projects are proof that there is a space for horror in Star Wars, although it is almost certain that Disney is not willing to travel these paths beyond books and comics. You should see the faces of the directors after discovering these two horror adventures: zombies, blood, viscera and nightmares are not usually very present in their productions.
Beyond everything that could be improved from both experiences, let’s remember that they are two indie projects, the potential of these ideas is priceless… especially because of their similarity to Dead Space and the remakes of resident Evil. I have no doubt that a video game of a similar nature would be a blast. Even The Callisto Protocol, released completely broken, has gained a large fan base for being a similar experience.
Now all I can think about is putting myself in the shoes of a Stormtrooper trapped on a stranded Imperial Destroyer (or a small abandoned city), surrounded by an army of zombies and a mutated Darth Vader (like Creature G or Mr. life impossible at specific moments. Plus, the Star Wars universe has bugs nasty enough to turn into zombies and make them a nightmare. Dreaming is free, I guess.
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