Editorial: Five Things ‘Star Wars Jedi: Survivor’ Needs After Replaying ‘Fallen Order’
Something special was in the air when Star Wars Jedi: Survivor debuted its gameplay trailer at the Game Awards. I knew it after randomly finding a retail location with a PlayStation 5 just casually available (I know it’s slowly getting easier to obtain the console, roll with me) just a few hours’ drive away. A few days later, I was finally on my way home with a way to play Star Wars Jedi: Survivor on April 28th. I had done it. Throw your best party with “Yub Nub” on loop and rejoice!
To break it in, I decided to replay Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order to get myself ready for the big sequel. Then the honeymoon phase was over. I sadly found myself discovering those little nitpicks and the issues buried underneath a few years of telling myself it was a perfect first adventure with Cal Kestis and BD-1.
Those things turned into ideas I hope Respawn implemented when developing Survivor. Some are the obvious Fallen Order flaws that have been talked to death, and others are more personal hopes and dreams. The following are the five needs for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor to up the ante and become a Star Wars game for the ages.
1. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Needs Better Quality of Life
Ah, if it isn’t my old nemesis. The ol’ “barely adjust the joystick ever so slightly to the right and go careening off the edge when you jump” maneuver.
The chief complaint levied at Fallen Order that has been the loudest since launch is the pesky bugs. Missing these jumps repeatedly, among other gameplay-based issues, has always been a charming feature for me since combat was at the game’s core. Life is too short not to laugh some standard video game nonsense off, but that excuse goes by the wayside now.
My replay of the game saw me doing a “challenge run” in which I purposefully deprived myself of actively seeking out those precious health upgrades, making every attack I took sting all the more. So when I was denied those precious stims after hitting the button to administer them, you can picture my frustration. Because Survivor will be next-gen, Respawn needs to raise the standard and make everything on the control side tighter.
The other talked to death issue across the Internet is found in navigation. If you ask Reddit, there should be a fast-travel system in Survivor versus getting lost trying to decipher the map on the way back to the Mantis. Respawn has answered this issue in kind as it has recently been revealed that the game will have fast travel. We’ll have to wait and see how it functions, but it will certainly help make completionists’ lives easier. In my opinion, there is something to be said about seeing how the world changes upon learning a new Force power or obtaining a new gadget. You won’t get any complaints from me either way, as player freedom is paramount.
In general, the quality of life in Fallen Order was fine for a first outing, but more than a few nitpicks have taken over online circles. Hence why I’m getting it out of the way first even if some things are being addressed.
2. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Needs More Variety in Boss Fights
Fallen Order is hardly the first action-adventure game in a series to offer a baseline crop of solid bosses that don’t necessarily scream perfection. The developers are still getting their feet wet as they aim just to put out the best they can. From Software titles like Dark Souls and Sekiro were a heavy influence for Fallen Order, so I contend Survivor needs to follow the Dark Souls formula for future outings. Encounters like Slave Knight Gael (Dark Souls 3) and Starscourge Radahn (Elden Ring) don’t come immediately. This time around needs to see Survivor have bosses with more spectacle and mechanical prowess.
There are only two bosses in Fallen Order in which you have to play by their rules. Gorgara and Taron Malicos serve as the benchmark for this section, not because they are necessarily the best fights in the game, but because they force you to implement new techniques you might not have used up to that point.
I replayed the game denying myself health upgrades, which had the side effect of sacrificing some Force meter upgrades as well. Even with that limitation, my formula for most boss encounters remained the same as it always had been: dodge occasionally, use Force slow, get a few hits in, rinse, and repeat. At no point did I have to learn how to deal with all of their move sets. That even applies to most regular enemies in the game as well. Certain enemies become cakewalks if you hit them with a specific move. While the game’s harder difficulties naturally make everything more complex, the standard strategy still gets you pretty far.
Throw everything out the window the moment you run into the big, giant Dathomirian bat monster. Every Force skill has to be used with tactical lightsaber strikes to get the job done efficiently. Between your chances to strike is a flurry of attacks you must dodge a certain way, or else it’s over. Gorgara isn’t the hardest fight in the game, but its design elevates it several notches.
After you grind your way past that, the granddaddy of boss challenges in Fallen Order isn’t too far off. The first time I encountered Taron Malicos in 2019, I was at a loss for words. Parrying to break his stun meter because you’re going to have a bad time getting anything else to work? That was not part of the deal.
Mechanically, it doesn’t get much better in Fallen Order. The Malicos fight is always a treat because the game forces you to become a Jedi Master come hell or high water.
Game director Stig Asmussen has said that Survivor will see Cal use five fully-developed lightsaber stances, up from Fallen Order‘s three (if you count the late-game dual lightsaber special attack as a stance). He also teased that depending on the enemy, a certain stance would suit you better. Hopefully, this applies to bosses as well. As a Jedi, you should be able to abuse enemy AI at your whim with a simple Force trick, but not at the cost of the game’s most important encounters playing the same way.
There’s a reason God of War III, also directed by Asmussen, is still considered one of gaming’s gold standards in terms of combat, spectacle, and boss design. Time to let him flex his muscles.
3. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Needs To Commit to Its Story
If there’s one area fans shouldn’t worry about, it appears to be found inside the story Respawn has crafted. Every trailer and interview indicates what Survivor‘s story is: a darker, more character-driven journey that pushes Cal to his breaking point. This seems like the natural evolution from the second half of Fallen Order, which saw Cal wrestle past demons and guilt over his failure to save his master during Order 66. That arc paired admirably with Cere, who was dealing with her own missteps to save her Padawan, Trilla.
The trap Survivor can’t fall into is being a game of two halves. To this day, I could not tell you who the Zeffo are and how they are important to Cal’s journey. All that was worth focusing on story-wise during my replay was getting to the point where Trilla revealed herself, because that’s when I knew I could start investing. After that point, the Zeffo storyline is thrown down the gutter and hardly referenced again. Eno Cordova? He becomes another generic Jedi Master with a unique worldview.
Playing devil’s advocate, the first few levels had to focus on introducing its characters, world, stakes, controls, etc. all while building towards what the game was really about in the background. Unfortunately, the wild goose chase the first few levels are hasn’t aged well narratively. Still fun though, and you can’t ever take that away.
Whatever direction Survivor chooses, it has the advantage of not having to do the setup; the game can throw players right into the meaty stuff. The mysteries of the trailers have kept everyone on the hook, and I don’t expect to wait long before getting answers.
We don’t know much about the story of Survivor, but based on every question and theory out there, this story appears to have the focus Fallen Order lacked throughout the entirety of its campaign. That focus will hurt because it’s our boy Cal, but everything points to it being a consistent gut ache of a ride.
4. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Needs More To Do
I will never encourage a game studio to craft more hellspawns like Oggdo Bogdo, but there needs to be more of something in Survivor. A later update brought combat challenges and an arena mode to Fallen Order, but the original solo adventure felt lacking in side content.
Fallen Order prided itself on being a “metroidvania” experience that encouraged you to go back and explore after unlocking a new Force power. However, you would often explore just to find another cosmetic, a plant, or an upgrade. Hidden bosses are present, but they are only hidden behind story progression, and by the time you can reach them, nothing was stopping you. Not only that, but they are incredibly easy to find. My replay challenge encouraged me to essentially speedrun through the game, but I wouldn’t have done it this way if I had the incentive to go back and uncover everything the game had to offer.
Coruscant feels like a foregone conclusion as one of the planets Cal will be visiting with his new buddy Bode. Even if it’s just another core world, imagine the treasure trove of exciting things you could find. I can’t imagine it would be organic to fight a giant monster in the depths of Coruscant, but a bounty hunter because you talked to the wrong person? Absolutely. Fallen Order never felt like it rewarded you for exploration with something really interesting. New lightsaber parts only go so far. I’ll keep rocking that pink poncho either way.
5. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Needs To Continue To Be Fun Over Everything Else
Warts and all, Fallen Order is fun because there isn’t a Star Wars game like it. It has a cast of characters fans love and a story that reflects many core themes inside Star Wars. Going back into the world of Cal Kestis (and whoever is left of the Mantis crew) will be such a treat. April 28th can’t get here soon enough.
Out of all the things I noticed while replaying Fallen Order, the biggest was that I had the time of my life once again. If Survivor is fun, everything else doesn’t matter. Respawn has kept the lid closed on so much about this game, including bosses, story, and extras. Everything available points to another masterful sequel from the game studio, and replaying the first foray only cemented that there is still plenty more fun to be had.
But seriously, I need someone to tell me if our girl Merrin is alright. I can’t take much more of this.
Nate uses his love for Star Wars and movies in general as a way to cope with the pain of being a Minnesota sports fan. When he's not at the theater, you can usually find Nate reading a comic, listening to an audiobook, or playing a Mario video game for the 1,000th time.
