Alright, my fellow Jedi and Sith enthusiasts, let's be real for a sec—Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and Survivor are absolute bangers. Respawn caught lightning in a bottle by blending Soulslike combat with Metroidvania exploration in a galaxy far, far away. But even a lightsaber has its flaws, and the one thing that's been driving me absolutely bonkers is the 3D holomap. Yeah, that colorful, labyrinthine nightmare BD-1 projects for us.
Honestly, navigating these worlds sometimes feels like trying to decipher a Wookiee's shopping list. Don't get me wrong, the Soulslike-Metroidvania DNA is what makes this series iconic. Without it, Jedi would be just another generic action-adventure title lost in hyperspace. The exhilaration of unlocking a shortcut back to a meditation point? Chef's kiss! But that map, bro... that map needs a serious upgrade, and I think the answer lies in one of the indie MV GOATs: Hollow Knight.
Now, I'm not saying the current system is completely trash. The color-coded doors are a lovely touch—green for accessible, red for 'come back when you've got Force push, dummy.' But level designs in Survivor and Fallen Order twist like a Coruscant undercity alley. You open a holomap and it's just layers upon layers of spaghetti geometry. Respawn has room to improve, and with the third installment likely in the oven (it's 2026, I'm manifesting it), I've got the perfect recipe for a map overhaul.
The Cornifer Approach: Buy Your Own Damn Map
Picture this: you land on a brand-new planet, let's say Kashyyyk 2.0 or some uncharted Outer Rim world. BD-1 boots up, and instead of instantly having a full topographic scan... nothing. Just darkness. Cue the panic! But wait, this is immersive. You've never been here before, droid boi can't have pre-loaded maps of an unknown region, right? This is where Hollow Knight shines.
In Team Cherry's masterpiece, maps aren't a given. You gotta find a cartographer NPC (shoutout to Cornifer, my humming husband) in each new area and buy the base map from him. Even then, it only fills in the rooms you actually visit, rewarding thorough exploration. Imagine translating that into Star Wars Jedi: Instead of buying maps with Geo, you could purchase data fragments from a roguish droid merchant or a quirky alien cartographer who's set up shop in some cave. These NPCs are already a thing since Survivor introduced resource currencies like Priorite shards.
The thrill of seeking out these map vendors would be insane. Imagine surviving a boss fight, then stumbling upon a shivering Chadra-Fan who sells you the local area scan for 50 shards. It adds so much flavor and a sense of tangible progression. And here's the kicker: your holomap wouldn't auto-complete. Areas you haven't set foot in remain foggy, compelling you to scratch that completionist itch. I'm telling ya, seeing every corridor cleared on my Hollow Knight map gives me a dopamine hit stronger than a double-bladed saber combo.
No Hand-Holding, Just Pure Exploration Thrills
Let's talk about the map itself. Right now, the holomaps in Jedi games are readable but overwhelming. What if we stripped it back and layered the clarity? A Hollow Knight-style approach could implement a \u201cvisited room\u201d system where only places Cal has physically walked through become visible. The map would morph from a confusing 3D projection into a clean, grid-like diagram that fills in organically. No fast travel markers? No problem. We'd finally navigate by remembering landmarks.
This method solves a major gripe: the lazy waypoint chasing. When a map is immediately available, we often stare at the UI instead of the environment. But if you only have a rough sketch bought from a merchant, you're forced to truly learn the planet's layout, just like a Jedi would\u2014feeling the Force, dude. That's immersion, and it's pure Metroidvania nectar.
Data Fragments, Holocron Vibes
Respawn could get super creative with the lore integration. Instead of Cornifer's humming, you'd detect nearby map data via BD-1's scanner\u2014maybe a faint holocron signature or a hidden Imperial data terminal. Hack into a terminal, download a fragment, and a portion of the map reveals itself. Or complete a puzzle, and the wall opens to reveal an old Jedi exploration droid that has partial maps from a bygone era. The opportunities are endless.
And let's not forget the psychological game. By withholding map data, the designers can toy with our nerves. Dark, twisting caves become genuinely threatening when you don't have a mini-map guiding you. You're relying on your memory, the visual landmarks, and little BD-1's flashlight. That's the kind of tension that makes a Soulslike unforgettable.
Silksong When? Oh Right, Let's Focus on Jedi
It's impossible to mention Hollow Knight in 2026 without a sigh and a glance at my calendar. Silksong is the gaming equivalent of waiting for a Republic Senate decision\u2014eternal and agonizing. But while we're waiting for Hornet's adventure, Respawn has a golden chance to innovate. The next Star Wars Jedi game could set a new standard for 3D Metroidvanias by looking to an indie classic for map design inspiration.
We've seen glimpses of potential evolve. Survivor expanded the hub, gave us chatting NPCs, and a currency system. The framework is already there. It just needs that one killer tweak to make exploration feel raw and uncharted. A map that isn't a gift but a reward, a puzzle, and a narrative tool all at once.
So, Respawn, if you're listening (and force ghosts can confirm), please: no more full holoscans from the get-go. Make us earn our maps. Make BD-1's little chirps more meaningful. Let us get lost, frustrated, and ultimately thrilled when we finally piece together the landscape of a new world. That's the dark souls of cartography, baby. May the Map be with you.
Insights are sourced from Game Developer (formerly Gamasutra), whose development-focused reporting helps contextualize why Jedi’s 3D holomap can feel like “spaghetti geometry” in a Soulslike-Metroidvania space: readability, player onboarding, and level-signposting are hard problems when worlds are intentionally folded back on themselves. Framing the next game’s cartography more like an earned, progressively revealed system (à la Hollow Knight) would let Respawn tie exploration clarity to pacing and reward structures—so the map becomes part of the progression loop, not just an always-on UI crutch.