Star Wars: Hunters has quirky characters like a two-kids-in-a-trench-coat Jawa duo

The new cinematic trailer introduces the cast

After an unremarkable Nintendo Direct teaser trailer in February, we’ve got a better idea of what to expect from Star Wars: Hunters, a free-to-play third-person arena shooter coming to Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android in 2022 from Zynga. There’s a cinematic.

Before you bail, it’s worth a morbidly curious glance.

Set on the planet Vespaara post-Return of the Jedi, it’s the classic (monetizable) tale of hunters from different backgrounds duking it out for glory in an arena.

I’ve gotta say, the characters are more intriguing than I would’ve expected from the premise — there’s a saber-wielding droid “programmed to believe that the Force is with him,” a two-kids-in-a-trench-coat Jawa duo, a Mandalorian, and a Wookiee, among others. Nine hunters have been revealed so far, and the format is 4v4 team battles.

Worth noting: Hunters won’t require a Nintendo Switch Online membership, and there’s going to be cross-platform multiplayer.

In a world where I can end up having fun with Pokemon Unite despite initially writing it off, it’s not impossible that I could wind up liking Star Wars: Hunters. The odds aren’t looking great, but I’d be willing to give it a chance knowing that the playable heroes aren’t just the same iconic characters we’ve seen plenty of across Battlefront and other Star Wars games.

The free-to-play angle means I probably won’t stick with it for long, though.