Given the elements of surprise and impressive gameplay mechanics featured in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, developers have put in greater efforts for its sequel Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. With the jump in time set five years after the events of the first game, Cal Kestis has been uplifted to an entirely new level as well as the game itself.
From its story, characters, dialogue, and gameplay, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor manages to excel in various departments, even with its performance issues still being a massive hindrance for players. While there is much to be mentioned in the aspect of praise, there are a few key factors this time around that push the title above and beyond many other Star Wars games, allowing players to fulfill their Jedi fantasies.
5 Combat
With Jedi: Fallen Order establishing combat and its difficulty in a similar light to Souls titles, more notably Sekiro Shadows Die Twice, developers at Respawn Entertainment have doubled down on it in Jedi: Survivor and managed great success in doing so. Considering the change in capabilities of the main character Cal, going from a Padawan in the first game to a Jedi Knight on this occasion, it only meant that the combat would need to match this and showcase that shift accurately.
Not only has Star Wars Jedi: Survivor outdone its predecessor in this area astoundingly, but it has put itself within its own hierarchy of combat among all the Star Wars titles, giving players access to a variety of stances, new weapons, and new Force abilities to use against foes. It would be hard to imagine how a third entry in the series would outdo the combat in this game, but Respawn Entertainment has proven itself capable with this sequel.
4 Traversal
One of the biggest complaints in Jedi: Fallen Order was the lack of fast travel or any means of faster traversal, besides running on foot with Cal backtracking to areas already explored. With Cal's gradual progression to refocusing himself with his Force abilities, jumping to new areas and reaching for ledges could often feel a little frustrating, until unlocked later on down the line. In Jedi: Survivor, developers have improved traversal, taking it to a new level, providing players with mounts that help reach faraway areas much quicker, and parkour feels incredibly smooth.
While many would have hoped to be able to fly the Mantis in this title, Respawn Entertainment has made up for these wishes with the addition of mounts, and maneuvers that feel fun and rewarding to pull off when exploring the new planets the game has to offer.
3 Abilities
As aforementioned, the jump in Jedi ranking for Cal Kestis also meant that the abilities available to players would need to match this convincingly. Just as the combat has been nailed down correctly, the numerous abilities that are available to unlock in both the aspect of stances and the Force, are more than worthwhile. Whilst the game can most certainly be difficult in many regions, Jedi: Survivor manages to outperform its predecessor in this aspect greatly, giving Cal a calm and composed demeanor, while taking down enemies with powerful attacks.
This is displayed both in gameplay and in-game cutscenes, especially with the first mission that includes Cal using his mind trick ability and later on once it can be used on enemies known as 'Greater Confusion'. It is capabilities as such that allow this sequel to stand out when compared to Jedi: Fallen Order.
2 Graphical Fidelity
Despite the game's incredibly frustrating performance problems on both consoles and PC unfortunately taking the spotlight, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor compared to its predecessor is an astronomical leap in graphics. Considering its placement only on next-gen hardware, the visuals in this game are a great spectacle, especially when exploring planets such as Koboh.
In light of the game's performance hopefully being tweaked as soon as possible, Jedi: Survivor is undoubtedly already one of the best-looking games of this generation and seems to have set a standard for future releases from both Respawn Entertainment and fellow studios.
1 Cosmetics
Above all, the biggest and most notable improvement in comparison to Jedi: Fallen Order is the long-awaited cosmetics that many fans felt were missing the first time around. While they were present, it was very limited, with no opportunity to adjust Cal's hair along with a lack of variety in outfits which were mostly ponchos. Fortunately, Respawn Entertainment adhered to many fan requests and added a great number of options to choose from.
With new hairstyles, facial hair, outfits, and colors to choose from, it introduces a unique layer to players' gameplay and cinematic experience, adjusting Cal to whichever style they prefer. With modders already implementing well-known Star Wars outfits into the game, it only adds to the game's replay value and increasingly encourages players to adjust the stances and abilities they use if they wish to go for a certain character's style in combat.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is now available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.