Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is far from the first game based on the juggernaut sci-fi franchise, and it certainly won't be the last. But building upon the solid foundation of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, EA and Game Developer Respawn Entertainment have produced one of the best. A quick-to-pick-up game with a strong mix of flexible action, expansive exploration, and solid storytelling, Jedi: Survivor is an impressive new entry to the franchise, and well worth the time investment.
Taking place five years after the events of the first game (and knee-deep in a particularly dark period for the Star Wars universe), Star Wars Jedi: Survivor finds Cal Kestis -- one of the few Jedi to have survived the purge of their order -- adrift in the galaxy. His commitment to fighting the Empire has left him (and his droid companion BD-1) separated from the allies they made in the previous game. More skilled than he'd been in the past but with a greater sense of spiritual exhaustion, Cal finds himself traveling to worlds like Koboh to reunite with old friends -- and uncovers a mystery surrounding an older age of the Jedi Order.
The Force Is Strong With Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
One of the tricks to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is that Cal had only been a Padawan when the Jedi Order fell, leaving him with much left to master with the Force. It was a natural means of gameplay and story integration, allowing players to discover those abilities along with Cal as they made their way through the galaxy. But befitting the older and more confident Cal of Survivor, the game gives players a greater sense of fluidity and power, with movement and exploration improved across the board. Combat still flows well, and the actual exploration of the game world feels more natural than in Fallen Order.
Upgradable Force powers can still be used to push and pull the environment for better access -- and there are a lot more weaponize-able pieces of the environment -- but added powers like Force Persuasion give the player plenty of new options to explore the worlds they encounter. Wildlife can be tamed for travel purposes, and a little well-placed persuasion can turn animals against the Stormtroopers, mercenaries, and Battle Droids players find themselves facing over the course of the game.
The Joys of Being a Jedi
Combat was a strength of the previous game, and it's something Respawn has expanded upon with a slew of new lightsaber stances available to the player. Quick to shift between and easy to pick up, different combat styles lend themselves well to different situations -- with the double-sided lightsaber being particularly effective for crowd control, while a single blade proves more effective against single targets. There's no requirement for the blades to be changed, however, letting the players fully control their version of Cal. This is also reflected in the expanded customization of the game, giving players a wealth of options to choose between as the game progresses. Hints of other elements (like more lightsaber stances and even a usable blaster) tease the potential directions players can take toward fighting and exploring the world.
Other additions to the game come across as pure quality-of-life upgrades, like a fast-travel system and updated maps that encourage further exploration across the beautifully rendered maps while helping players keep from getting turned around. While it may not be a fully open world, the expanded setting is fleshed out enough to really lend the players a sense of natural adventure. There's nothing quite like exploring the caves of a planet and uncovering a Rancor cave -- and then getting the chance to actually face it down and defeat it. Coupled with a solid story surrounding the mystery of a fabled planet, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is the best kind of sequel. It builds upon the foundation of the first, improving on the previous entry while making strides forward for itself. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is everything you wanted it to be