‘Star Wars Jedi: Survivor’ Full Review and Spoiler Discussion: The Best ‘Star Wars’ in Years
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is the boldest Star Wars story in audiovisual media since The Last Jedi and the best video game the franchise has received in ages. Technical issues aside, this is Respawn Entertainment firing on all cylinders.
My in-progress review already dealt with game’s basics and delivered some overall impressions on what worked and what wasn’t quite clicking together roughly eight hours in. After rolling the credits on Star Wars Jedi: Survivor last night, I’d like to focus on the deeper systems, the engrossing character work, and the game’s many twists and turns (look out for a spoiler warning). That said, I’d like this piece to work as a “definitive review” too, for those just trying to figure out whether this game is worth their time (and credits) or not.
Long story short: Yes, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is 100% worth your time and money… as long as you’re not a PC player. Patches are already coming through, but it remains one of the worst triple-A launches on PC in recent memory, and it’s a shame such an otherwise fantastic game is being brought down in the online conversation because of technical issues that could’ve been easily avoided. Give this one some time and wait for a discount if you’re not in a rush.
The overall experience on consoles is much more positive even if the Performance mode for Xbox Series X and PS5 isn’t quite where it should be, plus some visual/audio glitches and crashes often uglify the stunning cutscenes and gorgeous environments. I personally had a blast on the less strong Xbox Series S (again, the screenshots used here are mine), and the performance often surpassed my expectations for Microsoft’s little machine.
Scroll down below if you’d like to learn more about the actual game without spoilers.
You may think I’m making a bold claim with my headline, and I don’t blame you. After all, we’ve been getting plenty of quality Star Wars in recent years — mainly through The Mandalorian and Andor — and the fandom is certainly in a better place now than right after the release of The Rise of Skywalker in 2019. That said, it’s become increasingly hard for audiovisual Star Wars works to actually widen the franchise’s canvas and take big swings, especially after the backlash that The Last Jedi got only because it dared to add some degree of nuance to the idea of Jedi legends, and explored failure as an essential part of everyone’s life journey.
Jedi: Fallen Order already shared plenty of narrative beats and themes with Rian Johnson’s film, and its sequel doubles down on that approach to the question of what it means to be a Jedi and to stand against an insurmountable machine of evil. In traditional Star Wars fashion, Survivor is a more complex and darker second chapter, but it pushes even further down that path thanks to the (greatly) extended runtime the video game medium encourages. As I said the other day, this ain’t a game which is bigger for the sake of being bigger, but one which actually puts all that extra time and space to good use beyond all the bonus challenges and adventures you’ll come across.
The main story alone is huge and runs for way longer than anyone had anticipated (more on that later), but perhaps the biggest addition to the narrative meat are “rumors”, which basically serve as Survivor‘s secondary quests. Mind you, not every planet Cal Kestis visits is nearly as expansive as Koboh (marketed as the main hub of the game with good reason), but at least one more world also feels wider than anticipated, and even the more streamlined locations hold many secrets. Rumors are limited to the bigger planets and often yield some of the best rewards in the game, but all the secondary content has been beefed up, and rewards (cosmetic and gameplay-altering) are much more interesting this time around.
I’d recommend against getting sidetracked for too long though; post-game exploration is a thing, and you won’t be locked out of any location because of story progress. In my experience, spending too much time away from the main plot hurt the pacing, so keep that in mind. Then again, I wouldn’t blame anyone for getting lost in locations far denser and livelier than anything in Fallen Order. The main settlement in Koboh alone is a fascinating little piece of the Star Wars cosmos, and all the tertiary characters that inhabit its charming cantina are exquisitely designed and voiced.
Combat and progression have also been expanded far beyond what had been teased in the promotional material. Going from three (more like two and half) lightsaber stances to five fully-developed ones is a bigger change than you’d expect, especially when only two can be carried at a time, making the build variety and each enemy encounter potentially different for every player. Some Jedi out there are claiming certain stances are weaker than others, but I found myself doing fine with each of them across a wide range of situations. Of course, you usually want to mix some crowd-control (double-bladed saber and dual sabers) with something more fit for one-on-one duels, but everything seems to adapt just fine to different playstyles instead of limiting what you can and cannot do.
Perks add even further variation to your version of Cal, and when it comes to platforming, I’m happy to say Respawn also went for the fences; some of the late-game jumping and swinging around often feels like Prince of Persia at its best. BD-1 also gets some new toys that help figure out puzzles in the second half, and Cal learns enough new Force tricks to make him a formidable Jedi. As for the tag-team sections with Bode Akuna and Merrin, they’re perhaps the most undercooked new system; it’s all reduced to a simple attack order and (admittedly helpful) automatic combat by the AI.
Character interactions during the adventure, however, help create some of the most stunning set pieces I’ve played through in recent memory. The God of War: Ragnarok comparison in my in-progress review was all about the world and its scale, but it also applies to some of later boss fights and more explosive moments. For example, there’s an all-timer sequence starring Cal and Merrin where everything comes together — including Stephen Barton and Gordy Haab’s spectacular original soundtrack — that is wildly exhilarating and ended with me putting down the controller and clapping in front of the TV.
As I teased before, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is at its best when it zeroes in on its layered characters and how they’re trying to navigate a galaxy in turmoil. If analyzed on their own, most of the newcomers might feel half-baked at first (I personally wasn’t happy with the earlier beats with the main villain), but it all gradually comes together to push Cal’s personal growth forward. The story may seem overcrowded at times, but it ultimately ties everything together and back to the main survivor of the story. If Fallen Order was about picking up the pieces after a terrible disaster and summoning back the strength needed to keep fighting for good, Survivor tells a cautionary tale about being consumed by that same fight and choosing to protect a few people over the many.
An obsession is a dangerous thing, and like many other negative thoughts, it can lead to the dark side. There are two important characters, each with their personal struggles, that reflect who Cal could become if he embraced the darkness that once almost consumed Cere Junda, and the fine line between justice and revenge is definitely walked before the credits roll, but it all takes some unexpected turns and delivers like three or four different climaxes. At some point, Survivor started to feel like the start of the third game of the series. It’s big and bold and refreshing in a way that not many modern Star Wars stories have been; it also figures out several ways to enrich the admittedly overdone Age of the Empire. A lot happens in this one, and I couldn’t be more excited to learn where they’re taking the story next.
Spoilers ahead… The review ends here, and what comes next is a brief discussion of some key moments that will have fans talking for a while.
So, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is kind of a really sad game. Like every Star Wars story worth its salt, it ends on a hopeful note and with our main character having learned something new that will add to their positive growth, but damn, Cal Kestis sure goes through a lot in this one. We find him in a difficult place, away from his longtime friends and lost in a fight against the Empire that feels pointless. But cool, he’s got a new “always there for you” bro in Bode Akuna. And the news of a secret planet beyond the Empire’s reach sounds perfect. Well…
Survivor would’ve been a perfectly notable game if the credits rolled shortly after Dagan Gera’s ultimate defeat; in many ways, he represented the Jedi Order’s past failures, and his obsession with Tanalorr — which leads to killing fellow Jedi — feels similar to Anakin Skywalker’s pre-Vader days. As a foil for Cal’s qualities, he’s kind of a perfect villain and exits the story right when he needs to. I can’t say the same about Rayvis, who is largely a one-note baddie despite some brief promise related to honor and his long history with Dagan. Still, the duo worked for this specific story and moved Cal in the right direction.
But… surprise! Bode Akuna is a Jedi gone bad too! Also, he’s an Imperial spy. Double what?! from me, not gonna lie. I saw something bad coming from a mile away with this guy, since he seemed ridiculously perfect during most of the game, but there’s a wide gap between selling out his allies and keeping two rancor-sized secrets under wraps. Really good stuff; it was a genuine gut-punch, especially with the sudden death of the always-nice Eno Cordova. I don’t agree with the Jedi Master’s ham-fisted inclusion in the story though, as him not being long dead ultimately added nothing that couldn’t have been done by Cere on her own. In fact, it takes some importance away from her.
And yes, let’s address the bantha in the room: Darth Vader is back! And we get to properly fight him… as Cere! I was utterly loving everything that happened on Jedha up to that point, and that was the icing on the cake. I figured she wasn’t gonna survive the middle chapter of this trilogy, but I never expected she’d go out on such a high note. Again, the Vader boss fight could’ve been another perfect final confrontation, yet Respawn had more in store for us…
Closing with Cal, Merrin, and Greez mourning Eno and Cere and swearing to catch Bode would’ve been a nice cliffhanger to end on and lead into the third installment, yet Star Wars Jedi: Survivor keeps going for another two hours or so. And I’m glad it did, as cutting through an entire ISB base felt like the perfect throwback to the Dark Forces days, culminating with Cal toying with the dark side and his power level going through the roof. There’s a lot of Cere in him, so let’s hope he manages to avoid the dark side as well as she did. Still, another big story element in Survivor is moving past the Jedi Order’s rigid views, and that includes finally embracing love with Merrin. Maybe there’s a more complicated — but ultimately positive — path ahead for Cal as a Force user.
Bode’s main failings were selfishness and fear, both related to his daughter. It’s easy to see where he came from, after the Order’s destruction and his wife’s death at the hands of the Inquisitors. Again, this is a Jedi who failed so Cal could succeed. But maybe some of that darkness will stay with him for a while (that final two-shot kill was cold…). With Cal now entrusted not only with the preservation of Tanalorr and the creation of a safe haven for refugees (maybe the perfect way to preserve some of these characters past key Star Wars events), but also the raising and training of the daughter of the man he just killed, the emotional stakes are extremely high moving forward, but I’m convinced Respawn will stick the landing and somehow impress us again in a few years’ time.
Francisco J. Ruiz is that guy who has watched Jurassic Park a thousand times and loves Star Wars. His hunger for movies is only matched by his love for video games. He graduated in English Studies from the University of Malaga, in Spain. As he keeps writing about what he enjoys (and doesn’t) for websites all over, he’s continuing his studies.
