Review - Jedi: Survivor... Not Thriving.

Image courtesy of Respawn & EA

Recently I reviewed Andor, one of the greatest television series of all time in my humble opinion, and dove into a Star Wars mode for the thousandth time in my life. I played Outlaws and reviewed it, enjoying it for what it is. My brother had recommended Jedi: Survivor a couple years back when it came out and I had put it off. Fallen Order was frustrating to me, and a lot of it stemmed from playing as Cal Kestis.

    Cal is the main character of the Jedi games. Motion-captured and voiced by Cameron Monaghan of Shameless fame, Cal starts Fallen Order as a former padawan trying to steer clear of the imperial hunters known as inquisitors. He is a whiner, and weak in a lot of moments where he needs to be strong. Nevertheless, Cal comes into his own through the game, ultimately defeating a couple of these inquisitors before moving on with a renewed sense of purpose towards his Jedi training.

    Fastforward a few years and Cal starts Survivor as a Jedi Knight in full. His old crew has all gone their separate ways to find themselves, while he has stayed working for Saw Guerrera (Rogue One’s rebellious Forest Whitaker who steps a little too close to terrorism for the rest of the Alliance’s liking). In quick need of repairs to his ship, Cal finds himself seeking out a reunion with his old pals Greez, Cere, and Merrin. He stumbles across a 200 year old bacta tank with a High Republic Jedi still stuck inside. And once again, these “canon” games have found a way to have yet another Jedi survive the purge of Order 66. Respawn does take a turn with how they handle this one’s “awakening,” however, as he bleeds his kyber crystal in a matter of moments and starts to attack Cal immediately after. And there you have your overarching villain for the entire game.

The Good

The graphics are good for the most part. Some scenes can take you out of the moment. There were a couple of glitches in there where Cal was supposed to be holding something and his fingers were sinking right into the metal. That’s no Jedi mind trick.

    While the soundtrack was nothing memorable, sound effects are great for the game. Lightsabers humming, spinning, and clashing always make for great nostalgia in this universe. On top of that, there are jetpacks, ships big and small, blasters, creatures from every corner of the galaxy, and all sorts of sounds in nature that draw the player in for an immersive experience. Respawn did their homework with anything involving noise.

    The voice acting in the game is also pretty solid. I may not like Cal, but that’s really just because of his character. Monaghan does a good job in the role, and so do those who play Cal’s main crew. They stuck true to their characters from Fallen Order so as to make the transition from original to sequel pretty seamless. Some characters could have done better (lookin’ at you, Bode), but for the most part everyone fulfilled their roles to tell the story Survivor set out to tell.

    Pacing is also done pretty well in this game. It’s a different style of game from Outlaws, so of course there is a different feel for it altogether, but going from playing one to the other was vastly different in feel. Cal sprints fast, kills faster, and moves effortlessly across the environment to keep the pace of the game swift. That translates over to the greatest part of Survivor: the combat.

    Combat gameplay is where Survivor shines. Utilizing the force while also swinging a lightsaber is something that every kid who loved Star Wars would wish to do. Although we’ve gotten to do that already in multiple Star Wars games, including Fallen Order, this one brings the idea to a more up-to-date notion of what it would be like to be a Jedi Knight in this world. Cutting stormtrooper limbs off and slicing droids in half never felt so good.

The Bad

My main qualm is with the story. There are meant to be three games in total in the series. A lot of times with a trilogy, the second installment will feel lackluster in comparison with the first and third. Now this isn’t the rule. The Empire Strikes Back, Godfather Part II, and The Two Towers have all dispelled the notion that the middle is lesser than its bookends. But are those the outliers? Are they just the exception because of the perfection that went into their construction? While we don’t yet have the third to be able to judge… Survivor felt like the epitome of that middle installment that we aren’t necessarily sure we needed.

    There’s not a whole lot of going up against the empire. Don’t get me wrong, you’ll kill some troopers. Are they going to be any meaningful kills that will affect the imperial war machine? Absolutely not. Instead, Cal focuses on a gang of raiders that are led by that High Republic toolbag of a former Jedi. Cal being roped into going after that former Jedi has little to nothing to do with his true mission in “bringing the fight to the empire,” but I suppose that matches his character in all the aspects I’m not too keen on.

    His goody-two-shoes bit is agitating. Especially when this person has experienced a world of pain and loss. I don’t need Cal to go full Anakin on every sand person he meets, but I would have liked a chip on his shoulder from time to time. And maybe a bit more focus, too. C’mon dude, you’re a Jedi.

My Ruling

There aren’t many things that are overtly bad in Survivor. It’s just that the aspects that are good aren’t necessarily great, either.

    If I had to choose a game to play between this and Outlaws, I would choose Outlaws every time. That doesn’t necessarily mean that one game is much better than the other in technicality. In enjoyability, though? Outlaws is the standalone tribute that Star Wars deserves, while Survivor functions as the middle ground between two stories of Cal Kestis and his connection to the galaxy.

7/10

Good Enough