Star Wars Jedi: Survivor builds on the already-winning system of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order by making Cal Kestis a extra {powerful} and resourceful Jedi Knight, whereas additionally upping the stakes and the challenges he is going through. Exhilarating lightsaber fight and physics-defying platforming puzzle challenges stay the very best a part of Respawn’s newest Star Wars sport, however Survivor additionally makes large swings with its story this time round. Cal’s quest takes him to new corners of the galaxy, however essentially the most compelling journey he makes is an introspective one. Survivor is a really well-written story about overcoming concern, and it is the Jedi story I’ve wished for a very long time.
Survivor takes place about 5 years after the occasions of Fallen Order, with the Mantis crew having gone their separate methods to pursue totally different objectives in a galaxy more and more dominated by the Galactic Empire. After a daring escape from Imperial authorities, protagonist Cal finds himself on the planet Koboh, the place he discovers a Excessive Republic Jedi protocol droid who carries a clue to reaching Tanalorr, a supposedly unreachable legendary planet. Seeing a possible dwelling that is freed from the Empire’s affect, Cal units about reassembling the Mantis crew for an additional galactic scavenger hunt, however his efforts are waylaid by a former Excessive Republic Jedi who–having initially found Tanalorr many years prior and bid his time till the fitting moment–wants Tanalorr for his personal functions.
The Excessive Republic is an enchanting time interval for Survivor to attach its story to given what we all know has transpired between that period and the occasions of post-Revenge of the Sith. The comics describe The Excessive Republic because the golden age of the Jedi. And which may be the case, however we additionally know this time interval will culminate within the Jedi Order led by Grasp Yoda, who preached to a younger Anakin Skywalker that “concern is the trail to the Darkish Facet.” Not anger. Not grief. Not any of the opposite feelings a Jedi is meant to unhealthily suppress. The occasions of the Excessive Republic educate the Jedi that concern is the trail to evil–the different feelings are simply stepping stones alongside it.
Survivor runs with that concept, exploring the idea of concern and what it means for somebody like Cal, a survivor of each a conflict and a genocidal assault on his individuals, to dwell with the ever-present shadow of concern. As a survivor of the Jedi Order, Cal fears failing to dwell as much as its beliefs, compelling him to go to unhealthy extremes in his battle in opposition to the Empire. All of the whereas, he pushes down the rising sentiment he feels for these he loves with a view to keep away from painful rejection.
Whereas the theme of concern and the way it can change you is central to Cal’s journey, Survivor’s predominant antagonists additionally profit from this focus, reworking into foils for Cal to replicate on his actions. On their very own, the 2 large bads lack the extent of nuanced characterization I would like from a villain–in the tip, each boil right down to being evil as a result of they’re egocentric, albeit in numerous methods. It is not precisely compelling when in comparison with Fallen Order’s terrifying and but understandably tragic Second Sister. However as foils for Cal, Survivor’s villains catalyze his progress. First, forcing him to return to phrases with how his reckless pursuit of destroying the Empire and reaching Tanalorr may culminate in his personal fall to the Darkish Facet if he is not cautious. And second, recognizing the significance of being a brand new kind of Jedi for a modified galaxy.
We have seen variations of those transformations in Jedi before–Luke Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano being the 2 main examples within the present canon. However in Cal’s journey, Respawn delves even deeper into what it means for a Jedi grappling with the doubts and insecurities that on a regular basis individuals within the Star Wars universe navigate on a regular basis. Cal didn’t develop up as a standard child like Luke nor did he have a non-traditional mentor as a padawan like Ahsoka. In consequence, his makes an attempt to wrestle along with his fears of obsession and dedication are extra tenuous and inclined to exterior affect than the Jedi we have seen safely steadiness their inside gentle and darkness earlier than.
In consequence, Cal’s battle with Survivor’s villains sees him commonly teetering towards the Darkish Facet greater than the standard Star Wars protagonist (save for Anakin Skywalker, clearly), leaving you guessing up till the ultimate battle of the sport as to the place Cal’s ethical compass is finally going to align. That seesaw trip is so poignant as a result of Survivor’s story offers Cal so much to care about and is not afraid to see him lose it throughout essential narrative beats. The narrative incentive of Survivor is not a want to see the great guys win, it is to discover simply how a lot the great guys are keen to throw away on their path to victory.
Whereas these new private challenges require quite a lot of progress from Cal to grapple with, the extra quick bodily challenges depend on a well-known set of expertise and talents. Survivor well avoids the pitfall of depowering its protagonist, that means Cal begins off with the lightsaber and traversal talents he earned throughout Fallen Order. Towards the weaker foes of the early sport, Cal already feels suitably dominant, as a seasoned Jedi that has been combating for survival ought to be. You might be empowered to slice by way of easy Storm Troopers and carry out Power-propelled parkour throughout bottomless pits with ease. These expertise do not imply Cal is omnipotent, although, and after an thrilling opening chapter, Survivor places you in your home with an assortment of difficult new enemy sorts. This encourages you to spend your factors correctly in Survivor’s branching ability tree to unlock new powers.
Very similar to Fallen Order, Survivor’s fight primarily depends on Cal’s lightsaber, slicing by way of an enemy’s guard and parrying their strikes till their stamina offers out so you possibly can land some strong hits. It is a lot simpler to discern incoming assaults from fakeouts or preemptive wind-ups in Survivor in comparison with Fallen Order, and Cal’s strikes really feel sharper and faster this time round, too. This affords you extra management within the warmth of battle and helps the sport’s largely fast-paced fights really feel extra surmountable. When an enemy will get successful in, it now feels extra like your mistake and never a stroke of unhealthy luck the place the glow of Cal’s lightsaber and particle results of an enemy’s weapon muddied the visible language of the parry mechanic.
Cal has his personal stamina meter to fret about, so fight is as a lot about management and cautious timing as it’s about being strategically aggressive. Every battle performs out as a cerebral train; the expertise evolves with an thrilling circulation as you get the hold of it, all of which is captured with unbelievable audio element. Every rigorously deflected blaster bolt resounds with that particular Star Wars ping; the hum of Cal’s lightsaber and the compressed flux of Power vitality assist promote the exhilarating thrill of taking part in as a Jedi Knight.
Although BD-1 continues to be your common companion who retains you healed up and unlocks doorways, Cal is joined by different characters throughout sure components of the story too. Both the blaster-toting Bode or magick-wielding Merrin joins Cal in sure story missions to assist him cope with harder fights. Neither one provides something particularly noteworthy to the expertise of fight however they’re a welcome useful resource for crowd management within the tough-as-nails fights within the latter half of the sport, and their tag-team takedowns with Cal are all visible delights.
To go together with the concept that he is now older and extra expert, Cal additionally will get two new lightsaber stances in Survivor: Blaster and Crossguard. The previous affords Cal a ranged combating type whereas the latter offers in gradual however heavy strikes. Each have their benefits, however Blaster feels so much higher in movement, matching the opposite three types in sense of velocity. Cal feels strongest when he is weaving by way of a crowd of enemies, deflecting blaster bolts and shortly hanging his opponent within the moments their guard falters, and that is simply trickier to do with the slower Crossguard type.
Survivor limits you to solely having two lightsaber stances geared up at a time, forcing you to go to a meditation circle checkpoint with a view to change them. At occasions, this restriction can really feel irritating because it funnels the way you spend your ability factors into the 2 types you finally find yourself utilizing most frequently, thereby discouraging experimentation. And because you solely get one free ability respec per playthrough there’s little alternative to discover what may very well be attention-grabbing new talents and approaches. You may respec after utilizing the freebie, however you need to hand over one in all your ability factors every time.
Whereas I initially discovered this stifling, I got here to understand how the limitation compelled me to adapt to the place I did allocate my ability factors, particularly when it got here to lightsaber stances. Every type has its personal distinctive strengths and weaknesses, so you possibly can curate your personal tackle how Cal fights. You determine the place Cal falls short–crowd management, for instance, or possibly all-out assault power–and then get artistic in the way you overcome that weak point. I opted to deal with the jack-of-all-trades Single stance and range-focused Blaster stance, for example, which made Cal a beast at dueling one-on-one. Nonetheless, I suffered throughout fight encounters the place the sport threw a dozen enemies at a time at me. In these cases, I leaned on Power talents to assist Cal stall sure foes lengthy sufficient in order that I would not be overwhelmed. It felt like I used to be in a position to make my very own distinctive model of Cal who specialised on this enjoyable hit-and-run combating type that finally carried me by way of to the credit.
Platforming challenges and Power puzzles return in Survivor as nicely. Like fight, each really feel higher in Survivor compared to Fallen Order–Cal mechanically latches onto climbable surfaces now, and a wholesome assortment of unlockable shortcuts implies that unintentionally lacking a bounce halfway by way of an motion set piece doubtless will not set you again too far. Survivor has a useful trace system, too. Extra importantly, it respects your intelligence, solely popping up should you go away the sport idling whilst you’re within the midst of a puzzle otherwise you appear caught. And even then, like Fallen Order, the sport will ask if you would like a touch first as a substitute of simply providing you with a clue outright–that’s a welcome stage of restraint. It solely supplied to provide me hints twice, each occasions throughout puzzles I simply actually could not work out the place to go or what to do. I do not know the way Survivor knew which puzzles I wished to take the time to determine and which I desperately wanted a clue for, but it surely did.
Survivor is at its finest when each element–story, fight, and puzzle platforming–collides along with frenetic momentum in a manner that’s quintessentially Star Wars. That is most obvious in one of many sport’s most memorable highlights, a boss battle about halfway by way of the sport. The second options segments of fight, platforming, and a serious narrative payoff, through which Cal and Merrin work collectively to destroy an Imperial mining device, combining Jedi talents and Nightsister magick in a tense, cinematic encounter the place your reactions are put to the take a look at and Survivor’s absolute banger of a soundtrack is swelling in your ears. All of it culminates within the two allies taking down the machine with one of many coolest ending strikes I’ve seen in any Star Wars mission. I truly stood up from my sofa and cheered when it happened–you can inform that the crew behind this sport understands simply how cool Star Wars will be.
The sport makes time for quiet moments too, finest seen in one other of Survivor’s main new options: a hub-like space that Cal can return to ceaselessly. On Koboh, Cal can go to a cantina that fills with NPCs you’ve got saved in your travels throughout the galaxy. A few of these characters act as distributors, promoting Cal cosmetics or non-obligatory gameplay perks. Others assist Cal brighten up the cantina with music or a rooftop backyard. The perfect of them act as quest-givers, pointing Cal in the direction of the puzzle packing containers which might be Excessive Republic vaults, bounty hunter mini-bosses, or extra recruitable NPCs. Even when the characters themselves are, for essentially the most half, narratively flat and boring to speak to, the perks they promote are rewarding and the missions they provide you might be typically enjoyable to finish. Caij Vanda is my favorite–she helps you discover the Haxion Brood bounty hunters who’re coming for Cal after he escaped their clutches in Fallen Order. These bounty hunters are oftentimes nimble fighters with jetpacks, blasters, deployable shields, and a big selection of devices ideally suited to overwhelming a Power consumer. Monitoring them down makes for some fantastically tense duels, and the rewards Caij offers Cal for doing so are a few of the finest within the sport.
On a closing word, Survivor’s technical efficiency is a stumbling block that have to be famous. Taking part in on Xbox Sequence X, I skilled random crashes on plenty of events, all annoyingly throughout cutscenes earlier than the sport had an opportunity to autosave. On one unfortunate (and deeply irritating) event, the sport crashed throughout the cutscene following an particularly difficult multiple-phase boss battle that had taken me many makes an attempt to lastly beat. Due to the crash, my progress was misplaced and I needed to battle the boss half a dozen occasions once more, incomes a victory that felt a lot extra hole than the primary time I beat him. On PlayStation 5, a colleague reported some occasional stuttering, screen-tearing, and crashing too, and the PC model additionally has quite a lot of technical points regarding in-game presentation, efficiency, and {hardware} optimization.
Survivor builds on Fallen Order in a number of significant methods, tightening up the fight mechanics, increasing the number of lightsaber types, assuaging the frustration of platforming and puzzles, and digging into less-mainstream Star Wars lore to inform a incredible story a few Jedi attempting to defeat a tyrannical evil in any respect prices and coming to the belief that you would be able to’t simply battle for good–you should battle for good in the fitting manner. It is a very good Star Wars sport that will get into the nitty-gritty of the battle of what it takes for a Jedi Knight to start the journey towards the rank of Grasp.