'The Mandalorian': With collecting bounties, leveling up armor and side quests in the mix, is the show setting up its own video game?
The 'Star Wars' franchise is rife with many successful video games. 'Knights of the Old Republic', 'Star Wars: The Force Unleashed' and most recently, 'Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order' are just a few of the big names in the franchise's long history of acclaimed video games.
With everything that's been happening on 'The Mandalorian', it looks like the show might just be setting up one more.
There is something very game-like about the way that The Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) operates. He is given his missions, and he goes from planet to planet to hunt his prey, collecting them in convenient frozen carbonite frames to deliver for his reward.
There may even be a side-quest or two, as Episode 2 showed the Jawas sending The Mandalorian on the hunt for a monster's egg before he can fix his ship.
The Mandalorian's arsenal, in particular, would be every gamer's delight. A flamethrower, multi-purpose grappling hook, blasters, and, of course, the Amban Phase-Pulse Blaster which can vaporize or execute enemies.
Of course, weapons and missions aren't the only things a video game requires. It requires a good storyline, and the slow burn with which The Mandalorian's backstory is being revealed is in the tradition of some of the best video games in history.
The scenes with the Armourer (Emily Swallow) are particularly game-like. The Mandalorian collects units of Beskar Steel in return for completing his missions, and as a reward, he gets an armor upgrade, piece by piece, while the forging of the new piece reveals new backstories and moves the series along.
The fact that The Mandalorian never removes his helmet is another great gaming tradition — most famously used in the 'Halo' franchise, with character Master Chief. A character whose face isn't shown could be anyone and lends itself to the player imagining themselves in the role of the game's protagonist.
If 'The Mandalorian' is to be made into a video game, it hopefully incorporates a choice system. One of the strengths of the show is that it exists in a morally grey place — The Mandalorian is constantly forced to make difficult choices, and decide between his sense of honor, his practicality, and the code of the bounty hunters.
That kind of moral complexity can be examined in greater depth when it's a player who gets to make those choices. No word yet on whether or not a 'The Mandalorian' game is in the works, but as the show's popularity continues to rise, one imagines that it's only a matter of time.
The next episode of 'The Mandalorian' airs on November 29 on Disney+.
