'Vader Immortal' Concept Art Teases Episode II, Where Darth Vader Teaches You To Use The Force

The first episode of ILMxLAB's new VR series Vader Immortal is available now, allowing fans to step into the world of Star Wars and be in the intimidating presence of Darth Vader. The Dark Lord of the Sith has been looking for a recruit to help him retrieve an ancient artifact, and wouldn't you know it, you're the one who finally has the skillset he needs to help retrieve it. After igniting a lightsaber, deflecting laser blasts, and impressing Darth Vader, it's finally time to start learning the ways of the Force in Episode II, and some new concept art from the next installment teases what's in store.

At the end of Vader Immortal Episode I, Darth Vader promises to teach you how to use the Force. However, he does so in a very Darth Vader way by drawing your lightsaber and destroying it. This leaves you no option but to use the Force for the next part of your journey in Vader Immortal Episode II, and a new piece of concept art features the villain showing off his mastery of it:

Ben Snow, director of Vader Immortal, chatted with StarWars.com to discuss what's in store for players:

"The first image is really part of the training. The way we thought about this was, we wanted to give you the Vader equivalent of Yoda teaching Luke about the Force in Empire Strikes Back. So we wanted it to be slightly darker and more twisted. He talks about the power of the dark side as well as the things you can do with the Force. So in this moment that the concept art reveals, you see him starting to manipulate objects and he's starting to show you how you can use the Force to create something. But then, of course, Vader takes it in his own direction."

When trying out Vader Immortal for the first time at Star Wars Celebration earlier this year, I was impressed with the mechanics of lightsaber wielding in a VR environment. It really made you feel like you were holding and swinging the ancient weapon. But how do you replicate that same feeling with something intangible like the Force? Snow says:

"That is something that we're still working really hard on, to make it feel as good as we can. Our goal is to make the Force in Episode II as satisfying as the lightsaber felt in Episode I."

That will probably mostly come down to vibrations in the controls and feeling the weight of whatever it is you're moving, but that sounds significantly trickier than duplicating the experience of holding a lightsaber.

In Episode I, you witness Vader speaking with a character called the Black Bishop. While secretly observing a conversation between the two, you learn that the artifact that Darth Vader is looking for has something to do with mastery over death. It's undoubtedly being driven by his loss of Padme in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, something that has also been written about in Marvel's Darth Vader comics. But the Black Bishop will become even more important in Episode II as you learn more about his background.

In the above piece of concept art, the Black Bishop is standing next to a tomb inside the ancient fortress that was revealed at the end of Episode I. Snow says of the setting:

"We're trying to make it feel very atmostpheric. This is a hidden area of the fortress that hasn't really been explored. The Mustafarians know of it through legend. It's a good chance to poke around in an unexplored part of Star Wars."

If you haven't been able to try Vader Immortal, the experience is a fun one. Not only is there an interesting story that further expands the mtyhos of Darth Vader and his castle on Mustafar, but you get to play in the universe through VR by doing the kind of stuff you've wanted to do since you first saw a Star Wars movie. Even if you don't have a VR headset of your own to play Vader Immortal, it's worth bugging a friend who has one to give it a shot. You won't be disappointed.

Vader Immortal Episode I is available now, but Episode II doesn't yet have a release date, so stay tuned.