What is Star Wars Jedi: Survivor?
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (Survivor for the remainder of the review) is a 3D action-adventure sequel to 2019’s Jedi: Fallen Order. Survivor features Jedi and survivor of Order 66 Cal Kestis as the protagonist and playable character. This game was developed by Respawn Entertainment and published by EA. Released on April 28, 2023 Survivor is available on Playstation 4&5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S&X, and Microsoft Windows. It is rated T by the ESRB due to violence and mild language. The game takes around 20 hours to complete the main story campaign.
Game Review:
Star Wars is one of those franchises that carries so much weight in the cultural discussion and almost everyone, at least in the West, would at least recognize the name Star Wars. And while there have been hundreds of Star Wars games, many of them being bad, there’s pressure to deliver a quality game that does justice to its source material. I think Survivor does that; it is a fun action game with satisfying combat and a well-written story. It’s not a perfect game but it builds upon a lot of the foundation from Fallen Order and evolves it in a more polished way.
Action games have an expectation to have fast and frenetic combat that feels fun and engaging throughout the course of the game. I think Survivor has great combat. Like its predecessor, it is influenced by FromSoftware’s Souls franchise but it tones down the difficulty to make it much more approachable for a wider audience. The combat utilizes a block meter and parry system that makes it viable to play either defensively or offensively. The developers also instituted several new lightsaber stances that vary up Cal's attack speed and pattern. If you want to exert pressure on enemies and break their block meter through repeated offensive barrages, there are stances that emphasize speed but may lack defensiveness. Or if you wanted to be more ranged and defensive while timing your parries to knock off big chunks of an enemy’s block meter, there are stances for that too. Timing a parry correctly and then using that to take big damage off an opponent is super satisfying and makes you feel like a true Jedi, using the enemy’s aggression against them. In my playthrough I basically stuck to 2 stances once I unlocked all of them and I tended to gravitate towards more defensive and ranged stances.
In addition to lightsaber skills, Cal obviously also has access to the Force and can use that in combat. One of my most common ways of defeating enemies, especially in groups where I felt crowded was to simply force push enemies off a ledge. It was satisfying and while “cheap” I feel it was exactly the kind of move a jedi would do in a crowded environment. Cal has access to other Force powers too, including Jedi mind tricks and the ability to interact with some things in the environment.
This combination of skills that you have access to pairs up so well with the FromSoftware-inspired combat scenarios. Enemies are placed very intentionally, either in areas that can surprise you, or areas that would be a reasonable place for them to be stationed in the world context. And all enemies are also formidable just like a good Souls game. Some are less threatening, with some even being able to be defeated in one hit, but even those enemies can kill you if you aren’t careful. My favorite combat encounters however, were one-on-one fights, particularly with a boss. They are expertly choreographed and challenging boss fights without ever getting ridiculously challenging the way that FromSoftware can get. They also showcase all of the great things of the combat without any of the annoying jank that can come from a large group of enemies such as being shot by a blaster by someone off screen.
While the combat is great in Survivor, I don’t think it’s the best portion of gameplay. Traversal is fantastic, it feels almost like a 3D platformer with how smooth and well designed the levels are to necessitate the platforming. The best moments in the game in my opinion are when you are combining all your platforming skills in a high speed environment while a big action-movie set piece is happening all around you. It tests your skill but also is balanced enough that players should complete most platforming sequences on the first try (because it would probably break your immersion as a super powerful Jedi who randomly just died because they didn’t jump quite far enough). The platforming really reinforces the idea we have of Jedi from the movies.
Survivor is laid out like a Metroidvania, meaning that there are inaccessible parts of the map that you can access later in the game after you acquire a new piece of equipment or skill. This is one of my favorite styles of game because it gives you a motivation to go out and explore if you get stuck because you know that you will find the necessary item to access that later. The level design for these kinds of games has to be precise and thoughtful, and Survivor nails it. Most of the game is only spent on 3 planets so the developers have to make those planets dense, layered, and intricate.
Star Wars is famous for its narratives and while those may have taken a turn for the worse in recent movies, I think Survivor creates a great story. A good Star Wars story is always about characters and their very immediate issues. As big as the lore and worldbuilding of Star Wars is, its most compelling stories are always about specific people and their struggles. This game excels in that, partly by making the Empire an outside force causing events but not the primary antagonist. Rather, the narrative direction is driven by the interactions between Cal and his crew, facing a more localized group of enemies. This story feels much less grand but we get a much more intimate look at the character arcs of those involved. Cal isn’t trying to directly take down the Empire and blow up the Death Star but rather looking for a way to save those he loves and holds dear.
The narrative deals with some very serious and challenging issues like loss, grief, losing yourself, betrayal, and whether or not to abandon tradition. Cal in particular struggles mightily with an internal struggle of whether or not he’s staying true to the Jedi path. At times, we can even see a little of the dark side in him. But this makes him relatable, we all have some darkness in us that can cause harm to ourselves or those around us. It’s about how we deal with that darkness that shapes who we are.
Family Friendliness:
Survivor is not appropriate for littles in my opinion. There is minor language and serious themes discussed in the dialogue. And there is also violence, that while not gory, that can be a little alarming such as dismemberment, stabbing, and shooting with a blaster. There is also a scene where a child witnesses their father die in battle that could be disturbing. Overall I think this game would be appropriate for teenagers, it isn’t any more violent than the movies.
Features for Parents:
Survivor does not have the best save system because of its inspirations from Souls games. You have to save at specific meditation points, but thankfully those are given rather generously and shortcuts can make travel around the world much quicker. There are a myriad of accessibility options in the menus that you can use to make the game accessible to your needs. There is an option on the main menu to get a recap of the story of the first game if you want a refresher on what happened there as well.
Final Verdict:
Survivor is my favorite piece of Star Wars media in a long time, maybe ever. It communicates the vastness of Star Wars while keeping the story very intimate and emotionally moving. It has expert level design that utilizes the great platforming mechanics. The combat is the best feeling Jedi combat in a video game, fast-paced but strategic. It’s absolutely a must play from 2023.