Much like its predecessor, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is a game that isn't afraid to wear its inspirations on its sleeve. While Star Wars Jedi: Survivor has plenty of unique ideas of its own, the bulk of its gameplay has arguably been borrowed from some other well-known video games, ranging from Uncharted to even Animal Crossing. But by far, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor's greatest influence is its Dark Souls-inspired combat.
Carried over from the first game and expanded upon greatly in the sequel, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor's Soulslike influences course through the game's entire runtime. From levels that loop back on each other through shortcuts to an emphasis on well-timed parries and dodges, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is undoubtedly a Soulslike, but it isn't a perfect one yet.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor's Soulslike Combat Still Isn't Quite There Yet
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order's adoption of a Dark Souls-inspired combat system received a bit of a mixed reception upon its initial release. While the more methodical and brutal combat style of a Soulslike fits the Star Wars Jedi: Survivor universe well, its execution left a lot to be desired. In terms of actual mechanics, Jedi: Fallen Order's combat felt a little awkward and cumbersome, and a lot of that was down to the game's attack timing and inconsistent window for parries.
On top of that, Jedi: Fallen Order's attack and block animations also affected the flow of combat quite a bit, with attack windups often being unclear, leading to some frustrating deaths. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor goes out of its way to fix a lot of its predecessor's combat problems, and for the most part it succeeds.
Attack animations are now a lot more telegraphed and deliberate, allowing the player to better understand when they should block or parry. The window for parrying has also been refined, making it easier to pull off but still retaining a sense of satisfaction for nailing the timing. This core combat system is only made better with the introduction of all of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor's new combat stances, with each one tweaking how attacking and parrying work ever so slightly.
There's still one big problem that Star Wars Jedi: Survivor has with its combat, and it's one that all Soulslikes need to nail in order to be considered one of the best in the genre: dodging. While it may have been slightly worse in Jedi: Fallen Order, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor's dodge mechanic is still in serious need of refinement, and it's painfully obvious when it comes to the game's unblockable attacks.
Every so often, an enemy in Jedi: Survivor will begin winding up for an unblockable attack, indicated when they glow red. At this moment, the player needs to dodge away, but that's easier said than done. It's often the case that an enemy will start charging an unblockable attack when the player is in the middle of a lightsaber swing. One of the best examples of this in practice is during Star Wars Jedi: Survivor's Spawn of Oggdo boss fight. This foe has an unforgivable moveset with a handful of unblockable attacks, but one of them is much worse than the others.
There's a move where Oggdo's spawn will extend its tongue towards the player, catching them, and bringing them back into its mouth for one final chomp. This move is a one-hit kill even on regular difficulties, and its window of timing is pitiful, leading to countless deaths. Before the Star Wars Jedi franchise can be considered one of the best Soulslikes, it needs to iron out its dodge mechanic issues, either by increasing the window of timing on attacks, or by making its unblockable hits a little weaker.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is available now for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
