Star Wars games have come quite a long way in their extended history in the industry. While many tend to look at the Old Republic games as some of the very best in the franchise, I unfortunately never got to play those.
Instead, some of my most cherished Star Wars experiences included the original Battlefront series, with the sequel having a longstanding hold on me, and the Force Unleashed games, both of which are standout hits, in my opinion.
But, Jedi Fallen Order, which debuted back in 2019, reshaped the way fans have long dreamt of the IP's potential in the gaming industry.
Respawn Entertainment, makers of the much-beloved Apex Legends and Titanfall series of games, have shown an unblemished love and appreciation for the Star Wars world, captivating audiences with a high-octane, planet-trotting adventure that pits players into the shoes of an Order 66 survivor, Cal Kestis.
The first game proved to be a remarkable success, yet had a multitude of pain points. For one, the climbing and navigational mechanics were a bit messy.
Cal would oftentimes miss a pole that was in arms length when jumping, or fall to his death instead of easily grappling onto the side of a ledge.
Visual and audio bugs also plagued the game, but for the most part it was an instant hit and put Respawn on the map when it comes to high-class, story-driven single-player experiences set in the Star Wars universe.
The studio's most recent release, however, is a far more welcoming bright spot, and is an utter masterclass in interactive Star Wars storytelling.
Star Wars Jedi Survivor is an extremely dark and gritty tale, one that veers heavily away from its predecessor. Five years following the first game, players meet a more grizzled and rugged Cal, who clearly has some galactic miles on him and has dropped his youthful attitude from the original outing.
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In the first several minutes of Jedi Survivor, you're instantly thrust into the action with little time to adjust. The game's main menu starts on the sun-bleached Jedi temple now occupied by the Emperor and rolls right into the experience as one hits play.
Panning away from the temple, you're welcomed with a much older Cal who is being delivered via jump ship down into the bowels of Coruscant.
This whole scene gave me immediate 1313 vibes, a Star Wars game that was originally planned to release in 2013 but would inevitably be cancelled. The game would have seen players taking on the likeness of Boba Fett as he traversed deep into the underworld of Coruscant.
It was an absolute mesmerizing experience, and the way Respawn has captured in utter detail the vibrancy and gargantuan nature of Coruscant's underbelly cannot go unstated.
This first outing is both a blend of tutorial, while also being an introduction into the plot now revolving around Cal on his mission to rid the galaxy of tyranny. It's here where we come face to face with an obvious Utopian, who is a governor of sorts with valuable information on an Emperial weapons depot.
But the meeting is cut short when Cal and co are interrupted by the sudden arrival of the Ninth Sister, a tall, mean and one-armed Dowutin, whom Cal had fought in the original outing.
With a fierce grudge against our protagonist, who had cut off her arm in the first game, the former Jedi Knight Masana Tide stands toe to toe with Cal in a heated face off that ends in her demise.
It's an absolutely spell-binding and teeth-clenching first act that gets players right into the action without skipping a beat and while still carrying over elements pervading the series from the first game and well beyond.
I will try my best not to get into too many spoilers, but I think this is a great time as any to detail just how remarkable this game looks. I understand that a lot of people, especially those on PC, had a myriad of issues with the game mechanically, but I didn't experience any of these problems at all.
At most, what I have seen that might be somewhat detrimental to the experience has been subtle graphical and visual hiccups. Fauna and certain trees will bug out and multiply, as well as when entering cutscenes it's clear the game struggles a bit.
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But, overall, I had little to no major game breaking mishaps, and I was playing on PS5. Some of my friends have, however, run into issues, two of which said it was so bad they couldn't play the game (both of which were similarly playing on PS5).
From what I understand, this could be a memory issue, as I do have a HDD attached to my PS5 with most of my library of PS4 games installed.
Barring major technical constraints, the feeling this game provides has been unmatched. While it might be a bit jarring having played the original, only for Cal to be back to zero essentially when it comes to upgrades, this approach certainly aided the game's long-term playability.
Cal is now allowed five varied lightsaber stances in tandem with a variety of upgradable skills set across the three main fields of Lightsaber, Force, and Survival.
Although many others have stated otherwise, I did find that the varied saber stances have their use cases in a multitude of different scenarios, but I did love most of all the blaster stance and the crossguard hilt. Clearly, Respawn put a ton of time and consideration into how each stance plays and it's really amazing how it all comes together so nicely.
Unlike the previous game, Jedi Survivor has far less planets to visit, but they offer loads more content and feel far more thought out, thorough, and expansive. It's really remarkable how much they packed into each world, with Jedha and the shattered Moon being major highlights for me.
The attention to detail across these maps, too, prove to make Survivor standout as a real testament to the brilliance of interactive Star Wars experiences.
One thing I will note is the many Clone Wars references scattered throughout the game. From the dismantled XJ-6 airspeeder behind the saloon on Koboh, to the repurposed Vulture Droids being used as decoration on the houses scattered about the Viscid Bog.
Additionally, the narrative's interweaving with the High Republic era was expertly well-crafted and really makes me want to dive headlong into that time period, as I know little to nothing about it.
Overall, Jedi Survivor has amended many of the major issues I had with the original game. Traversal still has some problems and the visual/graphical hiccups aren't too much of an issue for me as, if I'm still having an absolute blast and living out my childhood Star Wars dreams to their utmost, then how can I complain?
But, the flagrant problems experienced by the masses shouldn't just be swept under the rug. A major update to the game was released on May 3rd, perfect timing if I might add, but maybe a little too late for those itching to get ahold of their newfound force powers and lightsabers at the time of release.
For that, I have to knock some points from the board, but I truly cannot stress enough just how powerful this game was on an emotional level when it came to its storytelling and rich, character-driven focus.
Star Wars Jedi Survivor wields an unrelenting closeness with the force, gifting it a clean eight midi-chlorians out of ten. It sparks a clean balance between action-packed thrill ride adventure in line with jaw-dropping settings and set pieces.
Newly introduced characters, like Rayvis and Bode, prove to have immense depth and aren't carelessly tossed into the Star Wars universe or into the Jedi Survivor story haphazardly.
I'll be waiting patiently, minding my balance with the force, as Respawn gears itself for the third and final outing in the Star Wars Jedi trilogy.
If Survivor proved to us anything, it would be a twofold realization: that more dark and gritty Star Wars games need to make the rounds, and Cameron Monaghan's Cal Kestis needs a live action debut pronto.
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