A hard way in a galaxy far, far away: Everything you need to know before buying STAR WARS Jedi: Survivor

STAR WARS Jedi: Survivor is a long-awaited sequel to Fallen Order that became one of the high-profile releases of 2023. The sequel has improved a number of important aspects. For example, it improved the combat system by adding more combinations and opportunities to use the Force, interact with partners, and choose different approaches to battles. The game world has become more alive, now you can meet different creatures on the way that you can help, which will contribute to this journey. And the constant addition of new weapons, tools, and characters to the game adds to its dynamics and makes the 15+ hour journey rich and emotional.

However, the game had some drawbacks. Most of them are related to poor optimization on release on all platforms (especially on PC). Although the situation is not so critical on PlayStation 5, where I played the game, the constant frame loss and texture reloading spoiled the experience a bit. Also, the story and some plot twists could have been better realized. Nevertheless, to understand whether it is worth buying the game, gg editorial team will tell you about all the main points of Jedi: Survivor that you should know.

5 reasons to buy STAR WARS Jedi: Survivor:

• An opportunity to immerse yourself in the Star Wars universe for tens of hours
• A dynamic combat system that does not have time to get bored
• Customization of everything that is available: from a lightsaber to a droid
• A variety of locations where there is always something to explore
• Many side activities: finding chests, completing additional tasks, exploring planets

1 reason not to buy STAR WARS Jedi: Survivor:

• Optimization problems on all platforms and in-frame loading of objects and textures (I hope they will be fixed with updates).

Quick transition:

1. Once Upon a Time in a Galaxy Far, Far Away
2. How to Play?
3. The Endless (Almost) World of the Game
4. Customization
5. What about Optimization, Visuals, and Audio?
6. Characters
7. What I did Not Like
8. 4 Things You Need to Know About STAR WARS Jedi: Survivor
   

Once Upon a Time in a Galaxy Far, Far Away

In STAR WARS Jedi: Fallen Order, we were introduced to a young Padawan, Cal Kestis, who survived Order 66 and began to hide the Force in order to survive as a mechanic for the Empire. However, one day Cal is exposed and has to join a small team to revive the Jedi Order and confront the Empire's forces. During the first part, we were introduced to new characters in the galaxy, taken on a tour of different planets, and most importantly, the character of Padawan was revealed, who had to master the Force in a new way, grow up and become a Jedi. I won't disclose any more details for those who haven't seen the first part, but the main motif was the same as in the original Star Wars trilogy - the chosen one who must defeat evil with his team. But given that the events of the first game took place between episodes 3 and 4 of the movies, the Empire still exists, and everyone was happy with the Fallen Order's ratings and sales, the continuation of the story about an adult Cal Kestis was obvious. But how does Jedi: Survivor begins?

It all starts with an epic video that quickly recounts the events of the first part and sets the tone for the game. Our protagonist, who has been through a lot, needs to continue the fight, become stronger, and try to defeat the Empire once again. And now we're moving to the present day, where Cal has been arrested and is being taken somewhere. The game doesn't immediately tell us why, when, or how it all happened. A little later it becomes clear that we are on the planet Coruscant and we are being taken to Senator Sejan, who is eager to see the Jedi and take possession of his lightsaber. But Cal's plans are a bit different: he takes his sword, gets free of the handcuffs, and the main part of the game starts.

At the same time, it becomes known that Cal is no longer traveling with his team, which was in the first part, which included Cere Junda, the mentor of Kestis, Greez, the pilot of the Mantis ship, and Merrin, the night sister from the planet Dathomir. Now the Jedi has a new company, with whom he has a friend, Bode Akuna, who was actively shown to us in the trailers (we will return to him later).

After the Empire's nerves have been shaken on Coruscant, Cal realizes that it's time to lay low and heads to a remote part of the galaxy - the planet Koboh, where the main events of the game will take place and where Greez has settled.

I'll end the story here, and tell you in general detail what the situation is with the story. At the outset, it is worth noting that there are plenty of interesting and unexpected moments. From time to time, when certain characters appeared or a new plot twist was revealed, I felt a pleasant emotion of surprise. The writers managed to keep my attention, and I continued to move along the plot rails. But at the same time, I should mention a few disadvantages.

First, you don't immediately realize your goal. In Fallen Order, you clearly realize the purpose of Cal and his new company in the first hour of the game. Here, the first hour is just an introduction, and then you wander around Koboh for a while and explore the planet. Of course, there are many epic moments during the introduction. The developers should be praised here, but after all the "wow effects" you have to wander around for a while and complete several tasks to understand exactly where it's all going.

Second, there is lack of a clear antagonist. It's all very cool that Cal is standing up to the Empire, but I would like to get a character who will be an ambassador of the same Empire. Because it turns out that the game has several "bad guys" trying to stop Cal, but there is no confrontation between them. It would be better if it was just one villain, but one who would have a significant impact on the hero.

Otherwise, it's a good story that continues the events of the first part with interesting characters, good humor, epic moments, galaxy travel, a cool ending, and a new look at Cal. He is no longer a young Padawan who has never seen the world. He is a hero who is still searching for himself, who is no longer so open to people, who is trying to fight his weaknesses and fear of losing loved ones, and his eyes show despair and confusion, but he realizes that he must go on to the end. And Cal is the best thing about this story. The plot is centered around him as much as possible. It's interesting to watch him and you want to sympathize with him. Cameron Monaghan managed to play the most vivid character, and now I'm waiting for the third part to see how the authors will dot the i's and cross the t's. Because I really want to know who this red-haired Jedi will become.

How to Play?

Still, we are playing a game, not watching a movie, so we should pay special attention to the game design. And while it is still possible to debate which part has the best story, the question "what is better to play?" is undoubtedly answered by Jedi: Survivor wins. Respawn Entertainment decided not to reinvent the wheel, but to take everything that worked well in the first part and multiply it by 2, and sometimes even 5. And in order to understand all this in more detail, I will divide this block into 3 separate components: the combat system, movement, and puzzles, because this is what you will be doing here most of all.

Combat System

All of the skill sets that Cal mastered in Fallen Order have been transferred to the sequel, and new techniques have been added. This applies to both the lightsaber and the Force. Speaking of the lightsaber, we now have 5 combat stances available to us, but the principle of operation is not the same as in the conventional Ghost of Tsushima, where you need to use them all at once. We can use only 2 stances, but there are no enemies in the game that require specific ones. If you want to change them, you'll have to look for a meditation circles or a workbench. Fortunately, there are plenty of them scattered around the map, so you can change your strategy quite quickly. So, what stances are available to us?

• Single-Bladed stance is nothing out of the ordinary. We've seen this stance in movies, animated series, and games. However, there is a system for improving your own skill, so by slightly improving Cal and his sword skills, we get a universal weapon - both to destroy enemies and to block shots with blows.

• Double-Bladed stance is the best option for fighting a crowd of enemies or for situations where you need to fight off machine gunners. As with the classic and other stances, if you improve it a bit, you can open up more spectacular and effective combinations.

• Dual Wield stance - Star Wars fans will immediately remember Ahsoka Tano, who uses this stance. However, you will have to spend some time and learn several combinations to master it. It is best suited for those who do not want to use the "Press X to win" tactic but want to try something more interesting.

• Blaster stance - Cal can still be not just a Jedi, but also a galactic cowboy. Here, the blaster is a secondary weapon that can be used to try to break through the enemy's block or immediately eliminate the weakest enemy at a short distance - an ordinary stormtrooper. The blaster also has several varieties of "super shot," which can be either a regular powerful shot or a shot that freezes enemies for a few seconds. I played with this stance the most, because the blaster, although not dramatically, still made a difference in battles.

• Crossguard stance - here the developers were probably inspired by Kylo Ren, because this stance copies his lightsaber form factor. This option is definitely not suitable for players who prefer mobility, because with this stance, you won't be able to dance with a sword. But for those who like to be in the role of a "tank", it is ideal. The main thing is to practice a little on ordinary enemies, and you can safely go into battle.

And How does It All Feel in Combat?

Fights have become more acrobatic. The arsenal includes 5 stances, combinations, and the Force, which adds conditional variability. For example, if you look at how people play the game on YouTube, all battles will differ at least minimally. Someone will try to attack by surprise, someone will go ahead, someone will try to counterattack, and someone will also use Cal's Jedi abilities. Therefore, when discussing with your friends how they defeated a boss, everyone will have a different answer. You don't have to expect super deep variability, but even what is there is enough to keep the battles interesting. There are also finishing touches - if you use them against big monsters, it starts to resemble God of War and adds more epicness.

And I'll answer the question that everyone is so excited about - you can cut off enemies' limbs. It's not going to be like God of War, of course, and I didn't manage to cut off anything but the stormtroopers' arms, but it's progress. As for robots and creatures, you can cut off everything you can.

It works even better with creatures:

May the Force Be with You

I've already mentioned the Jedi Force that Kestis has, so it's time to talk about it in more detail. Now you can not only pull and push enemies (although this is very useful), but also expand the range of Force capabilities. Remember how in Episode 4, Obi-Wan used the Force to take control of a stormtrooper's mind? Now Cal can do the same. During battles, you can take control of one (or two) enemies and they will fight on your side. A very useful thing when there are a lot of enemies. It's often used more as a distraction, but it's enough to get behind enemies and quickly eliminate them. And now there is an ultra ability where Cal can stop time around him. Again, when there are a lot of enemies, or one big one, this ability often saves the day. So, in order not to reveal all the cards related to the Force, I will summarize that it has become more, and it is interesting to use it all.

Help Me, Friend

Another innovation of this game is the ability to fight with partners. There are not as many moments with them as we would like, but they also help to improve the gameplay. And they are needed not only to fight. For example, you can ask them to help you move to another part of the location, although you feel the greatest effect of their presence during battles. And there are two ways things can go.

First, everyone has their own special ability that can be used from time to time. It's a useful feature that won't be superfluous. The second (more cinematic) is paired finishes. At such moments, you notice that the developers constantly want to surprise you with something new so that you don't get bored playing it, and they succeeded.

Moving Around Locations

There were also dramatic changes here. In the first part, we learned how to do a double jump, run along the walls, and pull a rope to ourselves. But Cal decided to improve his parkour skills, and our arsenal was expanded. There is a lot of new stuff here, but I'll mention one thing - let you explore the rest on your own. Cal now has a cable that makes moving around locations look like a Spider-Man game. Every time you needed to get somewhere, it seemed that the protagonist became more acrobatic. And to reinforce this feeling, the game constantly offers new ways to avoid obstacles. And when it seemed to me that Cal had already learned everything he could in this game, new tools for movement were revealed.

But besides all this, you can now move around with the help of animals. And this innovation in transportation caused the most emotions at first. If you need to "fly" from one end to the other, there is a creature that resembles a large bat - The Relter. You can't really fly on it. It acts more like a glider, and you can't radically change its movement, only turn slightly to the left or right. But it's much more convenient than running for several minutes to get somewhere, and in some situations, the Relter is the only option for getting around.

If you need to move quickly on the ground, then there is The Nekko, a creature with two legs that can run fast and make a jump that will help you climb higher. And while Relters are located only in special places, Nekko can be found almost anywhere on Koboh. And to ride him, you just need to press R1.

Puzzles

In between all this, puzzles appear in the game to give the player a break. There are two types of them: mandatory and optional. Let's look at the mandatory ones. They are not too difficult. It is enough to think for a few minutes and everything becomes obvious (although sometimes a few seconds are enough). Several story tasks are 80% puzzles, but they are not stressful, and they have one function - to keep the player from getting tired of constant battles. Although there was only one puzzle, towards the end of the game, which I could not solve for a long time, only because the button to activate the Force did not always work. And this is probably the only bug in all the 22 hours I spent in the game.

The Endless (Almost) World of the Game

You will spend most of your time on the planet Koboh. If in the first game we were constantly traveling from one planet to another, returning to them, this time we decided to focus on one, but a very large one. And thanks to the scale, each location resembles a separate planet. The first city we enter resembles Tatooine. There are also forests, mountains, caves, imperial bases, secret locations, canyons, bandit settlements, swamps, and the list goes on. Sometimes you forget that it's all on the same planet, but thanks to fast movements, it takes no more than 15 seconds to get from one end of the map in the swamps to the forest on the other.

Locations on Koboh

Although there are 6 planets in total, 4 of them exist only to move the story forward, and you're unlikely to return to them again (unless you want to complete the game 100%). But as for variety and showing new beautiful locations, these planets are perfect. There is another desert planet that you will return to more often. There are more activities and things to do there. And it's interesting to explore all this. Personally, I'm not a fan of clearing the map completely, but the game world is so well done that I explored Koboh to 85%, although at the beginning I thought I would open 60% at most. And other planets were discovered by 80-100%.

Locations from other planets

Location Exploring

It is important to answer the question: "why is it interesting to explore all this even for those who are not fans of open worlds?" The world of Jedi: Survivor feels alive. It is quite normal to meet stormtroopers trying to destroy a giant scorpion, or when droids do not share something among themselves. And although most of these events are scripted, the feeling that this world lives separately from you does not leave until the end of the game. So there are no problems with immersion in a galaxy far, far away.

As for the locations themselves, I had almost no moments when I didn't understand how to get somewhere. If the path is closed to you, it will be marked with a red mark. If you can go somewhere, it will be marked with a green one. And if you haven't explored a part of the map yet, the place will be marked with a yellow mark. So most of the time, you can immediately understand where you can go.

While exploring the world, you can find different characters with whom you can communicate and whom you will 100% meet later. For example, while exploring a location, I noticed a large creature and went to fight it. As it turned out, I saved two characters by doing so, talked to them, and later found them again, and a mini-game became available to me, in which I spent some time. Or you can find a girl in the forest who you can help get out, and later she will give you an additional task.

Side Quests

Now, when you meet a character, you can get additional tasks from them. They are called "rumors" here. They can be different: from "fetch and deliver" to "go kill someone". You can track such tasks through the game map or in the menu. I can't say that they are mega interesting, but at least you don't run around the map for nothing. Instead, you can complete a task, get a reward, and at the same time discover a new area.

There are also Jedi Chambers in the game. These are exactly the optional puzzles I mentioned. You find yourself in a small room where you need to figure out how to get to a specific place where you can increase your health, Force, or get a new skill to improve your character, and at the same time collect various items.

Pylon's Saloon - the Liveliest Place in the Galaxy

The place you will return to most often is Pylon's Saloon (a kind of bar). Here you can feel that the world of the game is alive. The characters communicate with each other, there is music, there is a shop, a bar, and a gambling analog. So now I'm going to give you a quick tour of this unique place.

• In the saloon, you can always talk to the characters you found and helped. They all come here, and along with conversations, they can give you a new additional task.

• I've already mentioned the mini-game, so it becomes available in the bar if you rescue two characters. It's like a real-time chess game called Holotactics. You have to put your characters (droids, stormtroopers, creatures) on the board, compete with other characters, and get rewards.

1) The room where Holotactics is played; 2) What Holotactics looks like

• A store where you can exchange found disks for new skills or skins.

• There is even a garden. While exploring the planets, you can find plants and grow them on the roof of the Pylon. If someone had told me that I would have my own garden in this game, I would not have believed it. But now I can show off what I've managed to grow.

• Cal also has his own room on the lower floor where he can relax. Of course, this is not all there is to it, but I won't reveal all the cards.

Collectibles

Another innovation: there are many optional items scattered throughout the game. By collecting them, you can buy a new skin or upgrade your weapon. Items are scattered around the world, but they are easy to collect. Just look around from time to time, and when you finish the storyline, you will find crystals, Jedi scrolls, data disks, and much more.

Customization

Compared to Fallen Order, customization has been expanded. By opening the boxes that are scattered everywhere, you can open new costumes for Cal, hairstyles, parts for the lightsaber and the BD-1 assistant droid. It also encourages you to explore the world, because if you've already unlocked the hunter's cape, you want to find the pants from the corresponding set. By the way, you can change Cal's look at any time by pausing the game.

For everything else, you will have to look for a workbench or a place to meditate. Collectibles can also be spent in the shop near the bar to buy new costumes, hairstyles, or spare parts.

1) Doma store; 2) Selection of cosmetic items

But not only cosmetic items are scattered in the game. You can also find special crystals. If you activate them, you can increase your health and Power levels or get perks to improve Cal's skills.

Force Crystal

What are these perks? These are passive skills that improve performance, for example, allowing you to block attacks longer or deal more damage with a lightsaber throw. Each perk takes up a certain number of slots. At the beginning of the game, not many slots will be available, but by collecting collectibles, you can get more slots and new perks. To change perks, you need to use the meditation circles.

Meditation Circles and Workbenches

You will use meditation circles from the first to the last minute of the game. These places should help you accomplish several important tasks:

1. Make a quick transition from one meditation circles to another (there are many of them scattered around the map, so it's easy enough to find them)
2. Change perks
3. Choose other fighting stances
4. Rest to restore your health
5. Train your skills
6. Level up your skills

1) Meditation circle; 2) Opportunities offered by meditation

I want to talk more about the latter. By killing enemies, completing missions, and collecting items, you will gain experience that is transformed into skill points. These points can be spent to improve your Force, lightsaber skills, and overall Cal stats. Before you buy skill points, you can see what they do. I recommend that you first improve Cal's health and Strength a bit, and then improve your stances that you use the most. Then Kestis will feel more confident in battles.

Skill tree

As for workbenches, they are also abundant on the planets and can be used to change lightsaber parts, blade color, blaster parts, and repaint all of them. As a bonus, workbenches allow you to change combat stances.

Workbench features

What about Optimization, Visuals, and Audio?

The game has the most problems with optimization. It's not as noticeable on PS5 or Xbox Series X as it is on PC, but it's still not a pleasant moment. Let's take PS5 as an example. Even in the first location, which is a corridor, there was sometimes a frame drop. And when you get to the first open location, the fps seems to be stable, but as soon as you get to a crowded location, it's all over again. However, in dynamic scenes with lots of explosions and fast-paced visuals, there was never a drop-off. How it works is still a mystery. Although there were a few planets (also corridors) where everything works perfectly. Of course, after two hours of playing, you get used to it and the discomfort goes away, because the situation is not as critical as with Cyberpunk 2077 at release, but it's better to release a game with good optimization right away. At the time of writing, the first patch for the game has been released. I've already tested the game with it, and where there were 50-55 frames of drops, now there are 60 stable frames. And in locations where the situation is worse, there are not many changes. We need to wait for new updates. But, fortunately, the game has never crashed during the entire playthrough.

Visuals

Here, too, not everything is as good as we would like. Very often there is a noticeable loading of objects and textures in the frame (sometimes so noticeable that it starts to be funny). And there are plenty of non-critical visual bugs too. Sometimes a sword goes through Cal's suit, sometimes an object takes on a life of its own and he starts flashing like crazy.

The consoles have two modes of operation - 60 and 30 fps (Xbox Series S has only 30). I played the game in 60 fps mode and if I started looking at objects, it seemed as if someone had soaped my eyes. In 30 frames, the picture is very nice, but still, having such a console, I want to play with stable 60 frames and good graphics. So again, the game needs a few more updates to fix all this.

But speaking of good things, the overall visuals are very nice. It is clear that they paid due attention to details. The hero's costume, if you get underwater, will be wet for some time, the locations themselves are very rich in trees, bushes, stones, animals, buildings, and more. Again, it helps to immerse yourself and feel that the world is alive. I hope that in a month this section will be updated, where I will note that the game is finally fixed.

Audio

And I have zero complaints about the sounds and music. The sounds of a lightsaber or blasters are just like in any Star Wars movie or series. The environmental sounds are also well designed. If it's a forest, you hear birds and other animals all the time. In a bar, you hear conversations, noise, and music all around you. And in large-scale battles, you hear AT-ST, TIE/LN, Walkers, and other iconic equipment of this universe. The actors did their best to voice the main and secondary characters. Most of them, of course, are from the first part, but the new ones have coped with their task. And of course, the atmospheric music. Even when you start the game, the melody immediately immerses you in this world, and the soundtrack that sounds in Pylon from time to time made me just stop for a minute and listen to it all.

Characters

Let's get back to the story. Although it focuses on Kel as much as possible, the disclosure of characters that have an impact on the events and the protagonist is a very important component. Here we can go back to God of War, where the plot told a personal story of a father and son's journey, but at the same time, players remembered several other characters who helped to reveal those events for a long time. What is the situation with Survivor? Let's start with those who were in the first part. Greez was a charismatic character who was always a pleasure to see in the frame, and he remained so. But I would like to see more of Cere in the game. In the first game, she had a huge impact on Kestis, but here she got much less screen time than I would have liked. Although I'm sure she and Cal had a lot to discuss. But Merrin is the best situation here. She spent enough time with Cal, completing tasks, the cutscenes with her are well staged, and there are plenty of epic moments. You can feel the connection between her and our Jedi. Some of the moments that I remember the most are related to her. That's why I give the scriptwriters a plus. As for the new characters, some of them should have been given a little more time. First of all, it concerns the antagonists and Bode Akuna, to whom I will return in a moment.

And how is our assistant droid BD-1? Honestly, I can't imagine Cal without this little guy (no wonder he's on the cover of the game with him). All he'll say is "Boop-boop," but even so, he can sympathize and be happy for the hero. And his arsenal has been significantly expanded, so you can easily make a separate DLC about him :-)

What I Did Not Like

I have already discussed a number of problems with this game, but I decided to discuss some of them separately. The first is the storyline with Bode Akuno. Even before the release, we were told that this is Cal's new friend who will work side by side with him. And at the beginning of the game, you really get that impression. We go through a very large part of the introduction with Bode. But then it went somewhere else. Later on, there are very few story missions with Bode, with Merrin there are more and they are more interesting. Most of all, I missed flashbacks that would show the path of Cal and Bode's relationship. At least a few cutscenes could have been added, because they communicate as if they have been through a lot together. But when, where and how is unknown. Sometimes Bode feels out of place in this whole company. Although at the beginning, the potential for this arch was powerful.

The second is the protracted finale. The first hour of the finale of this story is 10/10. It's not often in games that I can be as excited as a little kid about an event, or even shed a few tears (because there were some). And I thought that I was about to see the credits, and that would be the best ending imaginable. But they decided to extend the game for another hour and a half. And at first it still looks organic, but then we wander back and forth, and the emotions are already fading. In the end, of course, the situation was saved. And I recommend playing this game just for the sake of completing it, but the final episode could have been shortened.

And the last thing is the map. Those who have played Fallen Order remember how difficult it was to navigate some planets. Here, level-design has been improved and sometimes you can navigate without a map at all, but several times I just looked at the mark on the map and asked myself: "How do I get there?". So, I think that developers need to make a map like the one implemented in Death Stranding, which is still the standard.

1) The relief map in Death Stranding, where you can immediately find your way around; 2,3) The map in Jedi: Survivor, which needs to be finalized a bit more

4 Things You Need to Know About STAR WARS Jedi: Survivor

• STAR WARS Jedi: Survivor is a good sequel that improved the combat system, the game world, and showed the story of the protagonist's growing up.
• This is a place where Star Wars fans can get immersed in their favorite universe.
• Before buying a game (especially on PC), it is better to wait a month or two to have fun and immerse yourself in the mysterious world of Star Wars. On consoles, the situation is more stable, but it still needs several updates that will improve optimization.
• The game is canonical in the Star Wars universe and will showcase both long-familiar characters and expand the galaxy far, far away.

STAR WARS Jedi: Survivor
Genre	Action-adventure
Platforms	PlayStation 5/ Xbox Series X|S/ PC
Players	Singleplayer
Developer	Respawn Entertainment
Publisher	Electronic Arts
Time to complete	15-40 hours
Release date	April 28, 2023

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