Five years has passed since Cal Kestis resumed the Jedi path and began fighting against the Empire. He’s become a valued part of the resistance, but no matter what, the Empire is always one step ahead. Everything changes when he hears of the fabled planet of Tanalorr- a force sensitive planet thought untouchable, unreachable, the perfect haven for the Jedi. Unfortunately, Cal awakens a long dormant High Republic jedi obsessed with the world, who’s willing to do anything to find it. Can Cal reunite his friends and beat the odds while avoiding the dark side?
Survivor is a sequel in every sense, good and bad. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order was one of my favorite games of the last console gen, almost a masterpiece. Survivor goes bigger, deeper, but not always for the best. Essentially the game feels like 2 different stories pressed together. Dagan Gera’s story in the first half didn’t really do much for me; I felt Dagan lacked the emotional depth of Trilla in the previous game. The later half, delivers a darker, more compelling story with a villain who not only challenges Cal on a combative level but a personal level, leading to pretty impactful finale (no spoilers on this villain’s identity). I seriously wished the rest of the game was just as powerful as the mid to endgame.
Gameplay is mixed. There’s more force powers which great expand combat in some fun was that are really epic. There are 5 lightsaber stances instead of 2, which vary gameplay style but I feel like dual wield and double bladed are the most OP options; if you max out dual wield, you can virtually become untouchable. I had to use the Kylo Ren crossgard saber for the biggest challenge on my first run. You can do partner attacks at certain points but I rarely used this feature, forgetting they were even there a lot of the time.
Rather than multiple worlds like the first game, we get less that are bigger and more open, including a hub world that unfolds like a typical souls map. I wasn’t a fan of this approach. The worlds of survivor mostly aren’t very interesting or memorable, except for a a few set pieces here and there. I hope you like desert biomes. The platforming feels less Prince of Persia and more cheap Zelda with a bunch of puzzle heavy temples that offer piss to no loot. Oh loot plays a big part of this game, but none of it really adds to much except skins. This big hub world is full of side quests that are predominately stale, generic fetch quests. I felt myself giving up on side missions pretty quickly every playthrough.
Sadly, I do have to say my experience wasn’t as flawless as Fallen Order’s. The previous game was a silky smooth ride. Survivor had some pretty hilarious bugs on my first playthrough, including a rock yeeting me into the sky. There’s also a fair amount of hard crashes I had that set me back a few times. Later play throughs were cleaner but still noticeable like playing with a invisible lightsaber for a while and falling through solid objects.
In the end, Survivor, despite my various complaints, is a solid game that could’ve been great. I feel like if it cooked another year, and dialed some things back it would’ve been much better. If you loved the first game and find it on sale, it’s worth checking out but keep your excitement in check. May the force be with you all.
