Global Courant 2023-04-26 20:15:54
Rebellions are built on hope and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is an ambitious action-adventure saga that traces that belief to drive an exhilarating new entry in the galactic pantheon. The sequel to 2019’s Jedi: Fallen Order addresses that game’s flaws by building out a universe that isn’t confined by lifeless planets or uniform combat encounters, instead delivering the kind of Jedi power fantasy fans want to see. And despite a litany of technical issues*, it manages to tell an impactful story dismantling the theme of trust, regret, delusion and betrayal creating a new Star Wars epic that feels like poetry in motion (when it works).
*Editor’s Note: On PlayStation 5, our pre-release version of the game experienced technical issues with texture pop-in, dropped frame rates, and most crucially game breaking crashes in the final act that could only be fixed by forced reinstallation. These may be addressed in launch and post-launch patches.
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Whereas Jedi: Fallen Order follows an inexperienced Padawan, Cal Kestis (Shameless’ Cameron Monaghan) — struggling to escape the Empire’s grasp after Revenge of The Sith’s Order 66 — Jedi: Survivor maps out his journey across the galaxy. Five years later, Cal is more afflicted Jedi Knight than generic Disney+ heartthrob, coming to terms with the realization that the “Empire is everywhere.” An intel heist for Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker) leads to an unexpected discovery on the forgotten galactic footnote known as Koboh.
Not just a heartthrob.
Electronic Arts
With the adorable droid BD-1 in tow, Cal must recruit familiar faces that were lost post-Fallen Order, including Greez, Cere, and the Nightsister Merrin, as well as a new ally in Bode Akuna, a merc dad who’s running out of options. Together they find themselves on yet another perilous interplanetary mission with a multitude of enemies nipping at their heels. There’s the Galactic Empire, Gen’Dai-led marauders known as the Bedlam Raiders, and a very moody fallen Knight all vying to take down our plucky heroes. Altogether, it makes for a dynamic that mirrors the heights of the original Star Wars trilogy while tying up some loose ends of its own.
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Although it rarely drags, the story of Jedi: Survivor was designed with lore-nerds in mind. The game’s “databank” is lined with annotations on individual characters, local meteorology, entities and conflicts like The Galactic Senate and The Clone Wars, and even smaller anecdotes about clothing styles, garden plants, rare aquarium species, and members of The Haxion Brood. It’s a lot of text to digest, but it adds flavor to the galaxy itself and improves on Fallen Order’s biggest flaw, which was a general sense of lifelessness across its setting and environments.
Each main planet — Coruscant, Koboh, Jedha, and the Shattered Moon — feels lived in, with flora and fauna, constantly evolving topography, and picturesque skyboxes adding a sense of mystery and awe with every orchestral swell. Home to prospectors and bandits alike, the world of Koboh is a dense and continuously expanding locale that unfolds its inner Metroidvania over time. The Shattered Moon is haunting, housing a vast research and development facility peppered with laser particles and MagnaGuards around every bend.
Picturesque!
Captured on PlayStation 5
Exploration is key and movement excels in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor thanks to Respawn Entertainment’s infatuation with fluid, yet weighty traversal mechanics. Cal and BD-1 still utilize Jedi flips, Titanfall-esque wall running, and breakneck vertical climbing that hold their own next to Uncharted 4 and Rise of The Tomb Raider, and with new additions like air dashes and ascension cables — it goes places. Navigating open spaces feels less like a chore, especially with Survivor’s focus on discovery over simply using the Force to solve puzzles, all of which are punctuated by adrenaline pumping cinematic set pieces.
The combat in Jedi: Survivor is still a Dark Souls-lite mix of lightsaber battles and force abilities, but with more diversity inspired by more recent action-RPGs like Nioh 2 and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. Cal’s ability to deflect blaster bolts and manhandle Stormtroopers is further amplified by a new set of Jedi Knight tricks — including Force lifts and slams, mind tricks, precision evades, bullet time, as well as five different lightsaber stances: single, double-bladed, cross guard, dual wield, and blaster.
Each stance is equipped with its own skill tree and varying uses that can also be combined with perks to buff stamina or ability damage. In the case of Cal’s handy new blaster, it adds an element of fun to the series’ combat encounters that were solely missing in some of its predecessor’s drier encounters. As a one-man army (think 25-on-1), battles are often testing — especially in the game’s final chapters and in pre-set Fractured Dualities with their own restrictions — but Survivor offsets the pure difficulty with a refreshing enemy variety that includes large fauna (Mogus, Sutabans), troopers (Jetpack Troopers, Flametroopers) and new droid types (BX Droids, Droidekas). There’s also an endless stockpile of B1 Battle Droids from The Phantom Menace whose mindless babbling will motivate players to kill.
“Don’t make me kill you!”
Captured on PlayStation 5
These additions to the Jedi series are also accompanied by new side quests (called “Rumors”), bounty missions, BD-1 and lightsaber/blaster customization options, and NPCs that expand the Koboh Outpost with shops, rooftop gardens, and a virtual card deck version of Yu-Gi-Oh! called Holotactics — making Jedi: Survivor more of a complete experience than Fallen Order ever was.
The only blinding issue is performance. As an open-world adventure, it does everything needed to draw you in, but immersion is regularly broken by the random texture pop-in, frame skips, and enemies that are constantly trying to wall clip their way through the Outer Rim. In an otherwise thrilling and well-developed AAA title, there’s a lot that can be overlooked, assuming the issues are swiftly fixed within launch window patches.
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Waiting for the game to reinstall yet again.
Captured on PlayStation 5
Performance issues aside, Star Wars: Jedi Survivor proudly wears its influences on its sleeve — taking the best parts of Lucas’ silly space opera and marrying it with a vastly improved Jedi power fantasy where players live out their own personal epic with the scope of Rogue One or The Empire Strikes Back. Although not quite a masterpiece, it succeeds by allowing players to explore the story and world of Star Wars at their own pace. It’s a reminder that Respawn are still a “AAA” force to be reckoned with, and with Jedi: Survivor, the future of Star Wars games is in good hands.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor launches on April 28 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
