Star Wars Jedi Survivor review - The Empire Strikes Back to Fallen Order's A New Hope

As a lifelong Star Wars fan, I was excited for Star Wars Jedi Survivor. I got into Fallen Order later than I would have otherwise liked, but I quickly found myself hooked on Cal Kestis' struggle. The only thing that really held me back from the franchise was that the games are Soulslikes. Even with that, I found that I couldn’t stop playing this sequel to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. There’s so much to love about the game, from how it is set up to the improvements in gameplay.

While it had a rough launch on PC, I experienced a crash or two and some extremely rare slowdown on the PlayStation 5 version. Even with these things taken into account, Star Wars Jedi Survivor is a beautiful, satisfying Star Wars experience. It lets players live through a portion of the story they seldom get to see. It’s immersive and breathtaking, even in its most tragic moments.

Star Wars Jedi Survivor delivers drama and action in equal measures

Cal Kestis is more than just a man who suffered enormous amounts of trauma in Star Wars Jedi Survivor. In order for a sequel to feel significant to me, I want to see character growth. Sure, better visuals and gameplay are important, but I want the protagonist to feel like something has changed. He doesn’t just feel like a lost child making his way through the galaxy anymore.

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Star Wars Jedi Survivor’s protagonist is still lost, but he has a different quandary in this sequel. He starts the game focusing on the only thing in his life that he still has - the fight against the Galactic Empire. He believes in Saw Gererra’s vision and that someone has to fight the Empire.

The Rebellion doesn’t form for another few years yet, so the Emperor’s tyranny reaches virtually all corners of existence. Cal Kestis has more depth now. He is slowly trying to figure out if he is capable of being more than just a lightsaber. One of the main themes that comes up is the notion of Cal finding a home in Star Wars Jedi Survivor.

Can he find a place for himself in the galaxy that is safe while still fighting for what’s right? The story is compelling, and there were twists, turns, and tragedies that kept me hooked. Star Wars Jedi Survivor is what a sequel should be in the Star Wars universe. Everything looks bleak and hopeless, but the protagonists still fight on.

The gang gets back together, but things have changed. Everyone is a little different, more mature. Merrin feels more relaxed than in the previous game and even has some clever one-liners. The characters feel more fleshed out, and I appreciate the depth in the game.

It’s more than just great storytelling - combat is vastly improved

One of the things that felt kind of bland in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order was the combat. It was fun to fight with a lightsaber, sure, but there just wasn’t a lot to it. It didn’t feel like there was quite enough depth. However, now that Cal Kestis has grown, he’s got way more options now.

Cal Kestis already had one of the most awesome lightsabers - the staff lightsaber. By the end of the first mission, you get permanent access to the Dual Wielding stance. This was just a special power in the previous game, and now he has the mastery to do it any time he wants.

Players can equip two stances at the same time and switch between them freely. Besides these, you also have a greatsword (Crossguard), and my personal favorite, Blaster. Some might think it’s weird for a Jedi to also wield a blaster alongside his saber, but it makes sense in the context of the story.

You can also command the minds of beasts and men to fight each other, which is one of the most satisfying things in the entire game. Don’t want to be overwhelmed? Use the force, and see your way through.

Star Wars Jedi Survivor delivers when it comes to post-combat cutscenes (Image via EA Games)

Things have never been more dire in the Star Wars universe. The Galactic Empire has all the power, and the protagonists of Star Wars Jedi Survivor have to do whatever it takes to not only survive but to know peace. You have more awesome Force powers, and the general movement in combat is fantastic.

While it felt good to dodge, parry, and deflect shots, it was admittedly difficult. When I stumbled into the Rancor battle, I lost a staggering number of times before I got the hang of it.

Alongside this, the movement was also impeccable. From double jumps to air dashes, Cal Kestis feels like a movie Jedi in the latest game.

Quality of Life/Difficulty adjustments are welcome

There is plenty of challenge in the game, and thankfully, you have a series of quality-of-life adjustments you can make to lower the difficulty. The game can give you hints, and you can adjust the difficulty to reduce the aggression of your foes.

If you have arachnophobia, you can change a setting to make that easier to handle, as well as the dismemberment of humanoid characters. If those are things that bother you, don’t worry, you can toggle them.

You can turn on Slow Mode or even make it automatically trigger in combat, so you have more time to dodge and parry as necessary. You can also adjust the difficulty on the fly, so if things are too easy, you can turn up the heat.

Another feature I really loved about Star Wars Jedi Survivor was being able to tame and travel on a variety of beasts. This made travel much easier in some ways. It felt very much like a Metroidvania, going back and forth to planets and zones to unlock new powers, upgrades, and travel powers.

That said, the backtracking did get pretty annoying. The fact that there’s no mini-map means I have to constantly pause gameplay to make sure I’m going the right way. If I could ask for anything in the game, it would have to be a mini-map. Sure, you can set markers on the map, but you still have to open the map to see them.

Star Wars Jedi Survivor is gorgeous but still suffers from the occasional slowdowns

I do want to say that Star Wars Jedi Survivor might be one of the most gorgeous games I’ve ever played. The cosmetics were fantastic, even giving Cal Kestis ridiculous stuff like a mullet. You have plenty of lightsaber color/design choices, and you can even change the adorable BD-1.

The music feels like Star Wars music, and the visuals were absolutely stunning. That said, I did suffer occasional slowdowns and a few crashes while playing the game. The weirdest thing that happened to me was it looked like Cal Kestis would drop down into place after cutscenes. It was one of the few things that broke otherwise perfect immersion.

In Conclusion

Star Wars Jedi Survivor is a brilliant game and perhaps one of the best follow-ups to a dramatic story I’ve ever experienced. The character growth is sound, and there’s just enough fan service with familiar characters. Even without those characters, this game holds up fine on its own.

The problems were minor and mostly the occasional slowdown. I love that the game gives you so many options for lightsaber stances, and there’s no right or wrong choice. I primarily stuck to Blaster and Dual Wield, with the occasional time dipped into Crossguard. It’s important to decide early so you don’t waste too many skill points.

Even with that, you have optional content like farming seeds or taking part in challenging Force Tears. These require you to defeat specific groups of enemies with a specific lightsaber. There’s plenty of content, New Game+, and many challenging enemies to overcome. I can’t think of the last time I played such an emotionally satisfying Star Wars game before Star Wars Jedi Survivor.