Estimated reading time: 10 minutes
Title: Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
Type of Game: Action-Adventure, Souls-like
Developer: Respawn Entertainment
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Released: April 28, 2023
Platforms Available: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Platform Reviewed: PlayStation 5
Level of Maturity: Teen (T)
Star Wars is a building block of the sci-fi genre for many of its fans, myself included. I watched the original trilogy repeatedly, and I’ve grown to love the following one even more. In the games, the first time I waved a lightsaber was with Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy, and I still remember it as an excellent substitute for the movie sequels. Back then, however, the movies didn’t need representation, whereas the current production didn’t really appeal to me personally. However, it is the one that the amazing Jedi overshadowed: Fallen Order from 2019.
A Jedi Adventure in the EA Universe
The first installment felt out of place in publisher Electronic Arts’ offering. It wasn’t the cash cow of a well-known microtransaction brand but a top-notch single-player experience. The game sticks to the soul-like genre. The ability to choose the difficulty makes it accessible to virtually anyone. There’s plenty of variety for all types of players. This includes fans of Star Wars, story-driven games, or high-difficulty souls games. It caters to casual players like me who prefer immersion and story. It also appeals to hardcore players seeking an unadulterated gameplay treasure. Fallen Order was hugely popular. A sequel seemed certain soon after release. However, we had to wait until mid-2022 for official confirmation. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor arrived at the perfect distance from the first installment. It wasn’t so long that we forgot about the game, but it wasn’t so short that we suspected the developers were trying to rush anything.
Cal Kestis: More Than a Survivor
So the new adventure with the young Jedi Knight continues, expanding on everything from the first game and adding many new elements while keeping its identity that fans of the first game loved. Five years have passed since the events of the first game. In the sequel, Cal Kestis is no longer an inexperienced young man but a seasoned adventurer who has managed to build a reputation as a wanted man leading a group of rebels. His original crew, however, is scattered to all different corners of the galaxy, and by Cal’s side, they are initially very different characters. But don’t worry about not seeing the four-armed daddy Greeze, the Jedi Knight with a dark past, Cere, or the lovely night nurse Merrin in the sequel, quite the opposite. They’ll all rejoin you as the game progresses, and you’ll enjoy them more than ever!
Companions in Combat: A New Dynamic
A new face is the mercenary Bode, who introduces a new feature right at the beginning of the game: a partner during the actual battles. While in the first game, you were on your own for everything (unless you count the very cute BD-1 robot), the second game allows you to be two people for some missions. It works a bit like it did in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy in that the companion fights alone most of the time, but you can command them to show you who to target with their special attack. Bode won’t be the only companion, though—you can guess who else I mean. The story of Jedi: Survivor is quite broad now, and it takes a while to get a clear direction. At first, it’s just sort of a “Cal’s adventure across the universe” kind of thing, and it’s only after a few hours you meet a few villains and realize what’s at stake this time.
Evolving Combat and Jedi Abilities
As the game progresses, the hero learns three additional fighting styles to the two existing ones. The first is the two-sword fight, which existed in the first game but only as a special attack. Here, it’s an entire fighting stance based primarily on quick strikes. You’ll also find a laser pistol (blaster), making Cal a bit of a mix between Jedi and Han Solo. The blaster has limited ammo, which is replenished by wounding enemies, which is an odd mechanic at first glance, but I understand that for the sake of one fighting style, the writers didn’t want to spread ammo packs all over the levels. Targeting is automatic.
Last is the “Kylo Ren” stance based on the two-handed variant of the cross-guard sword. On the other hand, this is a slow style with crushing blows that I probably enjoyed the least, but there is something for everyone. You also use various dodges, covering blows, and, of course, the Force to deflect or draw enemies. A new feature is then tricked living creatures that can briefly join your side in battle.
Expansive Worlds and Fluid Traversal
In addition to combat, you’ll also spend a lot of time exploring the game’s maps, climbing, jumping, and solving puzzles—probably even more than in the first game. In addition, Cal gets additional acrobatic abilities that let you glide through the air, bounce off flying balloons, and extend jumps. And you can’t do without the ejection rope. You can further upgrade Cal by distributing experience points into skill trees, of which there are now many—one for each combat stance, three for Force abilities, and one for survival abilities.
The number of worlds you visit has mostly stayed the same from the first game, but the size of some has remained the same. Two of the six, however, offer an essentially smaller open world that encourages further exploration, completing side missions, and collecting extras and experience.
A Polished Visual Spectacle
The game’s graphics definitely look much more detailed than in the first installment; the maps are more expansive and offer more impressive panoramas. I also enjoyed some lovely details when exploring the maps, such as listening in on conversations between enemies (you’ll either love or hate the chatty droids) or the chance to pet an alien pet here and there. Regarding performance, I must first point out that I had the game available on PlayStation 5. The problems I encountered were nothing serious as they were upon release, and aside from the occasional frame drops for a few seconds, I didn’t experience anything worth mentioning.
A Journey Worth Reliving
I am extremely happy with Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. Maybe it’s that bit of unquenchable passion for the Star Wars world that even the failed recent movies couldn’t quench for me. More likely, though, I have tremendous respect for the writers at Respawn, who weren’t afraid to take on an engaging single-player game in such a well-known brand and produce something that fans can be absolutely proud of. What’s more, Survivor really does take a lot of pride in the previous installment and honors you with all sorts of references, from Mongolian folk metal band The Hu blasting from the canteen speakers to Cal’s poncho. If you took the characters from the first episode to heart, you’d welcome them like old friends in Survivor and enjoy their company very much.
Hours of Gameplay That Beg to Be Savored
The game will take about 20 hours to play, but it’s also easily over 40 or maybe even 50 if you’re an avid collector of everything in the game. I can usually tell I’m playing a great game because I don’t want to rush to the end credits and rather delay the end, which is precisely what happened here. I was a bit unpleasantly surprised by the occasional fluctuating FPS in the performance mode. Still, otherwise, I don’t really have much else to complain about in the game besides the lack of English.
Conclusion
After the amazingly crafted Fallen Order, Jedi: Survivor is a real gem for brand fans. It combines epic Jedi story characters that we will love, including one I don’t want to specify, even though you can guess which one it is. Beautiful graphics, a detailed enlarged world, and perfectly polished gameplay with many additional options compared to its predecessor. Jedi: Survivor is simply a must-play and an incredible experience I haven’t experienced in a long time with another game.
Where to Buy Star Wars Jedi: Survivor?
Steam (PC): Available for $69.99. You can purchase it directly from Steam.
Xbox Store (Xbox Series X/S): Available for $69.99. Check it out on the Xbox Store.
PlayStation Store (PS5): Available for $69.99. You can find it on the PlayStation Store.
Epic Games Store (PC): Available for $69.99. Purchase it from the Epic Games Store.
Official Page: Visit the official Star Wars Jedi: Survivor page for more information.
Subreddit: Join the discussion on the Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Subreddit.
