Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Review

The first Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order game was an unexpected hit. It told the coming-of-age story of Cal Kestis as he became a Jedi and tried to restore the Jedi Order all while protecting the Force-sensitive children from the Sith. But now that all the introductions are done, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor aims to build upon its predecessor. I can confidently tell you that the game is not only a culmination of multiple character arcs in this new compelling story but is likely the greatest Star Wars game of all time.

To put things into perspective, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is the Starkiller Base to the Death Star. It is the superweapon of Star Wars games and is impressive in so many ways. From the explosive set pieces that seamlessly transition into gameplay to the breathtaking planets that are teeming with life, collectables, side quests and lore to discover. Respawn definitely wasn’t shy when it came to showing off just how big their budget was for Survivor.

Watch the Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Review Below

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor kicks off five years after the events of Fallen Order. From the get-go, it is quite clear that the Empire is still on the hunt for Cal and possibly the last remaining Jedi across the galaxy. Cal stumbles across a discovery of a forgotten planet which may change the fate of the Jedi.

With that being said, I am going to avoid speaking about the story in this review. I will tell you that it takes Cal to some new and familiar places while at the same time, introducing both new and old characters to the game. If you played Fallen Order, you would know how incredible the story was and Survivor expands on this in so many ways.

Not only do returning characters have their own lives going on which are wonderfully portrayed in lore, quests and dialogue but new faces make Survivor a real treat. The game is filled with the same quips, and dark and light story arcs, and makes for a grand time. I especially enjoyed how brilliant the Droid dialogue was in the game and would often stand around listening to their bickering and humour.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor wants you to invest in these characters and very early in the game I was introduced to the Pyloon Saloon. This acts as the game’s main hub for chatter, buying new things and so much more. Throughout Cal’s adventure, I stumbled upon multiple new characters and sent them to the Pyloon Saloon.

I simply could not wait to get back to the bar to meet these characters and dive into their lives. These characters became part of the furniture and what was an empty barren pub, became a bustling attraction that pulled me in every time I stopped on the planet of Koboh.

But the characters aren’t limited to Kohob. The galaxy is filled with creatures to meet and most of the time, they provide what Survivor calls a “Rumour”. These are side quests that tasked me to venture out somewhere to do something. It helps that every planet in Survivor is vast and includes so many optional pathways to explore.

Right from the moment I landed at Kohob, I got a warm feeling inside knowing that each and every location would provide hours of exploration. There was nothing better than seeing a giant monument way off in the distance knowing that I could go there.

Getting there is half the fun too. Cal is equipped with so many different parkour abilities and as the story grows, so does he. Given the sheer scale of each location, Respawn has done a great job piecing together the areas and littering them with fantastic parkour obstacle courses.

What starts out with a double jump here and there, became a jump, wall run, air dash through a green wall, jump again, air dash again and grapple to the ledge. Parkour feels fantastic and getting around each location makes exploring them so enjoyable. I often got lost going off the beaten path but there was always something rewarding waiting for me.

These rewards would come in a currency I could spend to buy stuff, new cosmetic items and materials. The items I could purchase were mostly cosmetic too but there is a vendor I met later in the game who provided perks. This character would let me trade bounty pucks for perks.

Just when I thought Survivor couldn’t get any more ambitious, the game introduced this character and it gave me something new to do. The bounty system is a tree-like grid where I had to hunt down or get hunted down, by bounty hunters out to kill Cal. These hunters offered tough fights to overcome and once killed, the bounty pucks.

I remember mindlessly wandering around Koboh only to walk into one of these bounty hunters by mistake and having to fight him with one stim refill, low health and a bar full of XP. It was intense and I absolutely loved it.

If you played Fallen Order, you’ll remember that the game followed the Soulslike genre. Survivor adopts the same approach here. In combat, if I died I would lose my current XP and it would be stored on the enemy that killed me. I would then respawn and have to hunt down that enemy. Dealing damage to it would give that XP back. For the most part, this system carries Survivor’s intensity as much as it does other Soulslike games.

I do have to say that Survivor’s difficulty curve did ease me into the game quite nicely. I actually increased the difficulty about 15 hours in to get more of a challenge. I really felt this bite later into the game when enemy numbers grew and fights were set up to test everything I learnt up to that point.

While most encounters are about jumping into combat and beating things up, the game does try to diversify them at times. Some encounters allowed me to sneak around the room and take down some droids perched around the higher platforms. I could then jump down and beat the Stormtroopers. If I jumped down first, I had to contend with the constant blaster fire from above.

These battles are far and few between but they provided some cool ways to approach combat. They also perfectly merge into whatever playstyle I was adopting at the time. In Survivor, Cal has multiple Stances I could choose from. I was surprised to see how creative the team got with a Lightsaber given that there are only so many ways to wield it.

Cal can dual wield, single wield, there’s a double-blade and then the most exciting new ones include a blaster and a single blade and a Crossfire stance. The Crossfire stance is a longsword that acts as a heavy, two-handed weapon and it is great to use.

I tried to stick to the blaster and Crossfire stance most of the time and loved it. The one provided a great way to shoot droids in the distance giving them a taste of their own medicine, and the other’s heavy attacks defeated enemies in a few blows.

Of course, Cal has his Force abilities too and the usual blocking of blaster shots and pushing a defenceless droid off a ledge felt just as rewarding. Yes, fall off that ledge you useless droid scum.

I could invest skill points into the various stances to unlock new attacks and focus on the survivor tree for health and the Jedi tree for focus and the time-stopping skill. It all works, feels great to spend time on and makes for an enjoyable time. Even the most annoying bosses had me cursing for hours on end but I was determined and I beat them.

Survivor also has a large focus on customization. Cal can equip new clothes, hairstyles and even a different beard. It seems Jedis can grow a goatee in an instant. Jealous much? But the coolest part of this all is the Lightsaber and BD customization feature.

When I first saw the workbench to tweak my gear I really thought “This is nonsense why would I do this”. Come to the end of the game, I was completely obsessed with creating new looks. I had a new look for every planet and it had to go with the theme of the planet and Cal’s outfit. This meant customizing BD, my Lightsaber and my Blaster to all look fabulous.

My favourite combination was what I call the Balenciaga of Jedi Lightsabres. It featured a pearled shaft with an oak handle and it was coated with a black ??? leather. It also had orisinium metal finishes. I then chose the “pristine” quality because I take care of my stuff. Yes, you can choose what state all the equipment is in too. It just keeps getting better.

The same goes for BD. It is completely customizable with new legs, body parts, antennas and more. I could also choose the amount of polish each material had and the quality it was in too. So what started out as a feature I snarked at, turned out to be one of the best parts of the game.

It also helps that Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is absolutely gorgeous. It is truly a “next-gen” game and I am thankful development was dropped on the last consoles to deliver such a beautiful game. It made every scene worth capturing and the large-scale set pieces, which often become gameplay in a blink of an eye, were unbelievable. There are some insane moments in this game. Like Uncharted meets God of War Ragnarok level insane. It is a real treat and no other Star Wars game has come close to this level of enjoyment before.

As a sequel, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor successfully builds upon so many great parts of the original game. However, it is in the new where the real magic is found. The worlds are captivating, the story is grander and the feeling of being a Jedi has never been more real. It is one of those games you’ll remember for years to come.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor does have a number of performance issues on PS5. Screen tearing, dropped frame and some texture pop-in. The unstable frame rate is likely the biggest issue. EA has promised to address this as soon as possible. It is not unplayable, just a bit all over the place at times. 

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is releasing on 28 April for PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC. You can grab it starting at R1,399 at retail here.