While Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is far from the first Star Wars game, the next entry in the series, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, definitely embraces the sheer power afforded to the galaxy far, far away's characters. Stepping back into the shoes of Cal Kestis, the game offers up plenty of opportunities for players to take on all sorts of threats, with plenty of classic Jedi combat options. But there's an iconic Star Wars weapon that's highlighted at the heart of the game: the lightsaber. This can be adapted for multiple different kinds of play-style to reflect different combat forms.
Something the various lightsabers share, however, is the effect they can have on enemies -- which is not pretty. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor reminds players how brutal Jedi can be while in combat, as the enhanced graphics of the new game highlight the harsher edges of the surrounding franchise. It works within the context of the game and the story it's telling but can be somewhat unexpectedly brutal.
Cal Kestis' Lightsaber Kills Can Be Brutal
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order wasn't a peaceful game by any stretch of the imagination. While there were moments of awe and solid emotional beats throughout the experience, the inherent danger of being a Jedi in an era when they are being hunted down is represented by numerous battles across the galaxy. As a result, players got plenty of opportunities to dispatch enemies like Stromtroopers, cutting them down with relative ease. When Stormtroopers were dispatched in the game, the deaths are sudden, but not all that frightening, as they would mostly just collapse to the ground once killed.
However, the enhanced graphics of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor make things more brutal from a visual standpoint. Now, when Cal slays an enemy, the lightsaber strikes do clear damage to the bodies, slicing them to pieces. While the heat of the blade instantly cauterizes the wounds( keeping there from ever being sudden sprays of blood or gore that could risk giving the game a higher age rating), they do slice through limbs and separate them from the rest of the body. The player can even quietly behead enemies. It's a particularly brutal detail of the combat, and one that's especially pronounced when Cal delivers a counter-blow to enemies, as those kills are accompanied by a sudden close-up of the fight, showcasing Cal dismembering his enemies up close and personal.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Proves How Terrifying Jedi Can Be
It's a surprisingly violent element of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, but one consistent with the surrounding series. This is a franchise, after all, that casually beheaded Jango Fett on-screen in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. That kind of damage being delivered by players can be jarring at times, especially when considering the largely peaceful beliefs of the Jedi. However, it's also a quietly effective way to highlight the change that's occurred in-game to the player character, Cal Kestis. The five years since Fallen Order forced the initially in-hiding former Padawan to become both his own man and a Jedi.
Cal's kills coming with a more illustrative and violent edge makes sense. He's no longer holding back like he once did, and the game reflects that by highlighting the true damage of his lightsaber, instead of just letting fallen enemies drop to the ground. It's also a solid reminder that the Jedi, when unleashed against their enemies, can be horrifying. Cal has plenty of his Force Powers at his disposal in the game, allowing him to Force Persuade Stormtroopers into turning on each other or Force Push them off the sides of cliffs to their dooms. He pulls enemies close and delivers a single strike to the chest that turns a trained soldier into a lifeless corpse. Cal's use of the lightsaber can reduce entire squadrons of soldiers to piles of corpses.
Even something as dangerous as a Rancor can be defeated by a single determined Jedi -- and yet, waves of Stromtroopers, mauraders, and prequel-era Battle Droids are being tasked with fighting them. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor serves as a solid reminder of how dangerous Jedi can really be and grants the players plenty of the power inherent to the Jedi. While it's a fun and exciting way to explore the galaxy, it's also one that can be pretty vicious when you get down to it.