Like many other people, I grew up with Star Wars. My grandfather was a huge fan of the original trilogy, and he was a toy collector, so he often bought a lot of the Star Wars toys (buying extras for me). I really enjoyed 2019’s Jedi: Fallen Order, so when Jedi Survivor was announced I knew I was in for a good time.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor continues the story of Cal Kestis, a Jedi trying to survive whilst also taking the fight to the Empire. As with Jedi: Fallen Order before it, a large emphasis is placed on the effects of Palpatine’s Order 66 on the Jedi as a whole, as well as the survivors trying to pick up the pieces. It isn’t just the Jedi being oppressed by the Empire though. The effects of the emperor’s tyranny are far-reaching.

As such, across Cal’s adventures, you’ll meet a cast of characters including some new faces and some old friends. You’ll also explore vast environments across various planets. You won’t be able to explore every inch of each planet right away though, since you’ll gain new abilities as you progress through the main story.

Despite that, there is a lot to do on each planet you explore. While a few of them are more linear due to story-focused content, you’ll want to return to them later for secrets, health/force upgrades, and other things you’ll only be able to access with abilities you gain later on in the story.

Most of your items and unlockables are cosmetic things such as hairstyles, colors and styles for BD-1 as well as your lightsaber, and different outfits you can dress Cal in. However, there are a few other collectibles throughout, such as various currencies and upgrades for Cal’s health, force meter, and Stim injections.

Like in Jedi: Fallen Order, Jedi: Survivor takes the Soulslike approach to combat and healing. Cal is able to use a force push, force pull, his lightsaber, and a variety of other abilities in combat. This time around, you’re also able to equip two lightsaber stances at a time. There are five total, including one that uses a blaster which reminds me of Like a Dragon: Ishin’s fighting mechanic using a sword and gun.

Parrying is important in Jedi: Survivor, but for those who aren’t good at it (or simply dislike it) there are a variety of difficulty options that adjust things like parry timing. There is also a host of accessibility options including things like changing hold actions to toggles, auto-completing QTEs or button-mash sections, and a variety of text-based and visual accessibility features. I love this approach to accessibility, though there is a bit of work to be done still.

The map is a bit frustrating since it is sometimes hard to tell where you are in terms of elevation. However, thanks to things like beacons and other quality-of-life adjustments, it is a bit of an improvement over Jedi: Fallen Order’s map. There is also a host of side quests and content like bounties, which makes Jedi: Survivor feel like it is an evolving experience as you progress.

Every time I went back to the hub world (I won’t name specifics for spoilers) there was something new to do, and fun characters to talk to. My main complaint with the gameplay experience is that there were some bugs such as platforming sections that would glitch out and act like I missed a jump when I clearly landed safely on the ground, only to be sent back a few paces like I missed the jump entirely.

I also ran into some things like a few minor crashes (though the autosave is forgiving) as well as minor framerate problems when transitioning into a new area. I know the PC port has had some issues, but the developers seem committed to polishing and fixing various bugs and problems. Aside from that, my only other issue stems from the game’s skill tree and progression system.

As Cal levels up from exploration, combat, and quests, he gains skill points that can go into one of the multiple skill trees. I love skill tree systems, especially ones that allow me to set up a build or tailor my experience to my personal play style. However, Jedi: Survivor’s skill trees just feel somewhat bland.

I’m not sure how else to describe it, beyond explaining that the skill trees feel relatively basic. I never really got excited to spend my skill points in the way I have with other games. It never really felt like I was getting upgrades that were going to lead me to some cool skill, or some option that would unlock a new, awesome ability.

Instead, the skill trees just felt kind of like I was going through the motions, getting whatever was more useful, even though half of the lightsaber skills never really got used. Granted, maybe on higher difficulties this would feel more rewarding, but I’m not the type that chases achievements or tries to beat things on the highest difficulty, so I couldn’t say for sure.

Overall, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is a fantastic game. I would definitely say that it is better than Jedi: Fallen Order, and even more than that I’d say it is a solid, well-rounded experience. While it has its issues, I hope we see more games like this come out of the Star Wars IP. This is the first game to reference or even share details about the “High Republic” era that Star Wars media will be moving into going forward, so seeing the golden age of Jedi even through flashbacks was interesting.

If you liked the first game, definitely give Jedi: Survivor a shot. If you’re a little skeptical, or you missed out on the first one, then maybe try and pick Jedi: Fallen Order up first before getting this one. The stories directly impact each other so it wouldn’t make sense to play out of order anyway.

A PlayStation 5 review copy of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor was provided by Electronic Arts for this review.

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Star Wars Jedi: Survivor

$59.99 USD

9

Score

9.0/10

Pros

• Great Story
• Lots of Accessibility Options
• Engaging Combat
• Gorgeous, Rich Environments
• Lots of Quests and Side-Content

Cons

• Skill Tree is Bland
• Map can be Confusing
• Minor Crashes and Bugs