Gaming: The Last of Us Part II director addresses leaks as game goes gold; Star Wars goodies

May the 4th can’t fly past at light speed without the requisite bundle of Star Wars gaming goodies to start the week off on the right side of the Force. Fortunately for fans, you don’t have to live in a galaxy far, far away to take your pick from a crammed cargo hold full of surprise reveals and upcoming content teases.

Starting with what’s already here, we’ve got a new DLC bundle for Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. If you’ve beaten the game and still yearn to sharpen your dual-wielding lightsaber skills, EA Games has you covered with today’s surprise update, which serves up new arena-style combat challenges on Kashyyyk and other planets, as well as a new battle grid and new cosmetic options.

Check out how many new looks BD-1, Cal Kestis’ pint-sized droid helper, moves through in the teaser video:

The new DLC update is available now, and best of all — it’s free. But what if you don’t have Fallen Order in the first place? Well, May the 4th is definitely your day: Humble is commemorating the occasion with a mega-sale on Fallen Order and a slew of other Star Wars games. Classics like Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, Battlefront II Classic, and Star Wars Episode I: Racer are each discounted to $3.49, while Fallen Order is 50 percent off at $29.99. The Celebration Edition of Star Wars Battlefront II, which features six Legendary appearances, plus a ton of extras added since the game’s 2017 debut, is also going for $19.99.

Humble’s also slashing prices on a variety of Star Wars gaming bundles, which throw tons and tons of classic games into one tidy package for one price. The big splurge is the discounted $54.99 Star Wars Collection Bundle, headlined by Knights of the Old Republic I and II, as well as a treasure stash of other classics. Other bundles ring in at well under $20 (like the $10.49 Star Wars X-Wing Series that’ll let you get your shoot on as either a TIE Fighter or an X-Wing pilot). How’s that for some cost-effective bounty hunting? Head on over to Humble’s Star Wars landing page to see the complete slate of galactic gaming deals.

Finally, PlayStation owners who’ve been sitting on the sidelines watching PC gamers have all the fun with last year’s Vader Immortal won’t have to sit much longer. Via IGN, developer ILMxLAB plans to bundle all three episodes in the VR adventure that puts the Sith lord’s red lightsaber in your hands, releasing the full game all in one tidy package for PlayStation VR.

That’s a huge score for PS4 players, since the PC version of the game previously had to be purchased one episode at a time (the third and final episode only landed last November.) ILMxLAB didn’t offer a firm release date, but said to expect Vader’s VR story to stalk onto PSVR sometime this summer.

Pivoting from The Last Jedi to The Last of Us: Fans eager to finally get The Last of Us Part II in their hands had to endure an unwelcome game of cat-and-mouse with internet headlines last week, after someone (later revealed to be hackers) leaked allegedly huge spoilers for the sequel’s story online.

But after enduring a string of delays, most recently from the coronavirus pandemic, Naughty Dog’s highly anticipated followup to 2013’s groundbreaking post-apocalyptic PlayStation exclusive was finally revealed as ready to ship Monday — and director Neil Druckmann used the news as a chance to send a special video message to fans that TLOU2 is too much game to truly be spoiled until you’ve played it for yourself.

Teasing that development on Part II has been lavished with “care that has gone into every detail: from the level design, to the mechanics, graphically how the game looks, environments, art direction, characters, story, the audio design, the soundtrack,” Druckmann said that “even for us who have played this game we can't even count how many times, we're still emotionally moved. I just finished a playthrough, and I was crying by the end of it.”

In a nod to anyone who’s worried that the good stuff might’ve already been spoiled ahead of the game’s release this summer, Druckmann got specific: “No matter what you've seen or heard or read, nothing compares to playing this thing from beginning to end,” he said. “It’s a video game. You've gotta play it.”

With the pedigree the original game laid down on the PS3, we’ll take his word for it — being sure, of course, to steer clear of spoilers in the meantime. Ellie and Joel head back out on the road when The Last of Us Part II arrives for PlayStation 4 on June 19.