Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
Junior Jedi Cal Kestis returns with his trusty droid sidekick BD-1… but is the Force strong with this sequel, or does it fall to the dark side?
The 2019 game Jedi: Fallen Order was made to satisfy every Star Wars geek’s fantasy of fighting epic lightsaber battles, combining elements of blockbusters like Uncharted with more hardcore combat in the Dark Souls style.
Survivor is set five years later, and its protagonist – a newly bearded Cal Kestis – is no longer an inexperienced Padawan. He still has a way to go before becoming a true Jedi Knight, but the abilities he learned in the last game, such as Force push and pull, remain. Plus there are a load of new skills and saber stances (including one that lets you also use an uncivilised blaster) to unlock as you play.
As cool as it is to swing a buzzing lightsaber around, though, combat never feels more than serviceable. The story also takes a while to properly come into focus, with a first half that lacks any truly memorable boss fights. The game’s six planets vary in scope, with the bulk of the action taking place on the rocky Koboh. And while there are some fun new ways to get around, such as riding some of the galaxy’s weird and wonderful creatures or air-dashing, they’re often quite limited in use.
Aside from talking to other characters who hint at secondary tasks nearby, you can also take on bounties or use your Jedi skills to tackle puzzles in challenge rooms; but for every skill upgrade or perk you discover, there’s also a lot of random junk to get through – most bizarrely, chests that unlock new facial hair for
Cal. This smacks of a developer coming up with excuses to justify making a game bigger than it really needed to be.
Still, despite its propensity for meandering, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor does a commendable job of building on its predecessor and shows a different side of the galaxy beyond the yoke of the Empire. And even if its memorable moments can feel thinly spread across a long middle, for many Star Wars fans it’s close enough to the Jedi fantasy you’re looking for.