Video Game Review: Star Wars Jedi Survivor

After much deliberation, last Black Friday I finally upgraded my Xbox One to a Play Station 5. This was a costly purchase but a necessary one as they are no longer producing new games for the Xbox One. This is the first Play Station console I own after nearly 15 years with the Xbox 360 and Xbox One. The first games I purchased were FIFA 25 and Elden Ring (which I intended to play all throughout the winter). However unexpectedly my brother Gabriel bought me the game Jedi Survivor for my birthday. So the past few weeks I put in about 40 hours into playing this game. All-in-all I'd say it was quite enjoyable and much more challenging than I had anticipated. Here is my brief review on the game. 

Game Premise

This game is a sequel to Jedi: Fallen Order (released in 2019) which I have not played yet. It pertains to the young Jedi Cal Kestis, a survivor of execute order 66, who now navigates the galaxy under control by the Empire. He is joined by a team of companions including his handy droid BD1; his pilot and mechanic Greez; his love interest Merin (a former member of the witch clan known as the Nightsisters); and the mercenary Bode. He travels the galaxy on board the spaceship known as the Mantis. 

In this storyline Cal is working for Saw Gerrara as a resistance fighter stealing some plans from a senator on Coruscant. During the mission much of his crew is ambushed and killed. Cal and his partner Bode escape Coruscant and fly to the planet Koboh, to reunite with their companion Greeze who can repair the Mantis. On Koboh, Cal bumps into an ancient droid, Zee, who helps him uncover a hidden planet known as Tanalorr. This also leads him to an entrapped jedi named Dagan. Cal is able to free Dagan, but later discovers that Dagan has turned to the dark side. 

Cal travels to the planet of Jedha to reunite with other exiled Jedi and learn more of the mystery of Dagan and the planet Tanalorr. The elder Jedi advise Cal to seek out the 3 hidden compasses throughout the galaxy to help find the planet of Tanalorr. Cal, Greeze, Bode, and Merin all seek to escape to the planet Tanalorr as a means to be free from Empire. On an Imperial moon, Cal confronts and kills Dagan and his henchmen. Cal then returns the compasses to the Jedi archives at Jedha, however they are then suddenly betrayed by Bode. Bode kills the elder Jedi and steals the compasses while the Imperial army arrives to assault the hidden Jedi base. The Jedi master Cere is killed while confronting Darth Vader. 

Cal, Greeze, and Merin are able to escape Jedha and then begin a quest to track Bode down. During this time Cal is fueled by anger and begins to struggle with the dark side of the force. He learns that Bode passed over all this information to the Empire, so that he could find a better life for his daughter. Cal and his crew are able to find an alternate route to Tanalorr. There they find Bode and both Cal and Merin defeat him together. The crew then decide to adopt Bode's young daughter and settle on the planet Tanalorr, free from the Empire. I was kind of disappointed to see Bode turn into the ultimate enemy as he was actually a rather likable guy until his betrayal. 

Gameplay

Although this game was not entirely open-world, it certainly had some detailed maps. I was shocked at the labyrinths and layers within each planet, and found myself getting lost quite frequently. I would often have to refer to the map to get an idea of where I had and hadn't been yet. I also found there were many puzzles in this game, with an array of navigational options. With each level Cal discovered new gadgets and force powers that helped his navigation. Such as running alongside walls, ziplining, using a grapple hook, a triple jump, a force pull-and-push, and a force crush. BD1 also offers tools necessary for unlocking puzzles (such as binoculars, electric blasts, and array force). Cal can also can ride on various animals by land or air to enhance exploration. With each upgraded ability, new regions of the map could be explored.

Aside from his movement abilities were his weapon and combat abilities. The character had the usual customizable features for his wardrobe and his weapon. I always like this feature within games to personalize your character. Cal can customize BD1, his blaster, and lightsaber with various components and colors. Throughout the game he can also acquire skill points to upgrade new combat and force attacks. Another unique feature was his different combat stances; this included the single blade, the dual blades, the double-blade (Darth Maul style), and the blaster and blade. My favorite stance was the double blade where I was able to maximize attacks utilizing dodge movements and slow-motion force attacks.

I won't lie I rather zipped thru this game, intending to put more time and effort into Elden Ring. But I did find it quite challenging and rewarding. I found some of the bosses to be quite difficult especially the frog beast, Darth Vader, and Bode. I also enjoyed the collectables and shopping to be done in the Saloon on Koboh, such as buying musical tracks to be played at the Cantina. One aspect I liked but really didn't explore much was the bounty hunting. I must say I was disappointed by the gardening feature, where there was nothing to gain from the plants that Cal collected and grew. I did enjoy talking to the local characters, and took on some of their side quests. The game definitely had a Star Wars feel to it, and put me into a mini Star Wars phase throughout the holiday season which is always quite nostalgic.