After years of anticipation, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor will soon be in the hands of gamers. The sequel to the successful Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order has been the topic of frequent conversation since it was announced, and in a few short days, fans will be reunited with Cal Kestis and the Mantis crew. Fallen Order served as a return to form for Star Wars gaming, providing a single-player, story-based adventure that merged genres to create one of the best Star Wars games yet. After such a strong impression, to say hopes are high for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor would be an understatement.
It seems Respawn Entertainment plans to meet those high expectations by innovating on Fallen Order's foundation. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor's gameplay trailers showcased numerous new features coming to the sequel, many of which demonstrate Cal Kestis' growth as a Jedi. Many of these features deepen the gameplay experience past that of Fallen Order, giving players more control over how they approach combat, traversal, and customization. Instead of delivering more of the same content, Respawn looks to give players greater opportunities to embed themselves within the galaxy far, far away.
New Combat Mechanics in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
One of the standout features of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order was its lightsaber combat, which took heavy inspiration from the Soulslike genre. With properly timed parries and strikes, players could make short work of Imperial forces, and Jedi: Survivor will give players more ways to cut down foes. Fallen Order's lightsaber combat centered around two dedicated lightsaber stances, but Survivor will expand this to five lightsaber stances. These include single blade, dual wield, double-bladed staff, cross guard blade, and blaster and blade, of which two can be equipped at a time.
New Traversal Mechanics in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
Respawn created beautiful environments in Fallen Order, but they could become a little cumbersome to travel back and forth through. The developer has met this slight criticism with gusto, providing multiple new traversal options in Survivor. The first addition is animal mounts that Cal can tame and ride, speeding up the process of getting from point A to point B while keeping things interactive. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor will also have fast travel, which was absent from Fallen Order. It remains to be seen how this mechanic will be employed, but it will surely streamline this newest adventure through the galaxy.
New Customization Options in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order had its fair share of customization options, mostly for Cal's lightsaber, but it mostly amounted to different colors for Cal's ponchos, BD-1, and the Mantis. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor will give players many more options for tailoring how they look, specifically in Cal's appearance. In addition to many more clothing options, players will be able to customize Cal's hairstyle and facial hair, and BD-1 will also get customizable components. Some of these customizations can be purchased in shops, and others will be available in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor's pre-order and deluxe edition bundles.
Respawn Entertainment struck gold with Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, and it looks to improve its fortunes even more with Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. The developer is using its success as a foundation, taking what worked from Fallen Order and expanding on it in a meaningful way. Fans can only hope that those efforts will land when the game releases in the very near future, especially considering the prospect of the Star Wars Jedi series becoming a trilogy. Star Wars fans have gone a long time without a successful single-player adventure series, but Respawn's work on Jedi: Survivor looks to remedy that.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor releases April 28 on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
