Star Wars Jedi: Survivor

Whether you're a hardcore fan, or loved Fallen Order before it, Star Wars Jedi Survivor is The Empire Strikes Back to Fallen Order’s A New Hope.

Jedi: Survivor is a strong entry in the modern Star Wars canon, part of a new subsect of adventures in this universe finding ways to be sci-fi fantasy without ignoring the innate horror and banal evils inherent in the premise. The story paints an impressively dire picture of the new status quo in the galaxy, and it weaves in elegantly with the interactivity of the game, tying it directly into the fact that Cal is still powerful but only one Jedi in a galaxy that fell even when there was an entire army of them.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor shows that Star Wars games are far from dead. Somehow, Electronic Arts has released one of the deepest AAA single-player action games in years. Judging by the quality of the second part, the next game in the series has every chance of becoming the best game in the history of a galaxy far, far away.

It's hard to gauge how much of these technical hurdles are down to a rushed launch, poor optimization or simply the results of a game that hasn't been designed to run on last generation's hardware - but it takes what is undeniably a game of the year contender for me, and makes it difficult to fully recommend to anyone without either the hardware to back it up. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is an excellent game, and an especially fantastic sequel; it's just a shame that most players will ultimately have to compromise when they decide where and how to play the game.

Jedi: Survivor is an excellent sequel for Fallen Order. Not only has it gotten rid of the weaknesses of its predecessor, but it has also turned them into strengths. If only I could say the same thing for its technical problems.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is an amazing game. I had a lot of fun with the new stances and the story is enthralling. If not for the performance issues, this game could have been easily among the best released this year.

With Jedi Survivor, Respawn-Electronic Arts takes us on a real Star Wars adventure. The atmosphere and the grandiosity of the sets go into light speed, thanks to the use of ray tracing and the power of the PS5 / Xbox Series generation. The open areas are really fun to ride and never veer into easy filling. The staging is top notch from start to finish, delivering both epic and touching scenes. The writing and the scenario even gain in thickness. Finally, we would have just liked the gameplay, certainly more complete, to be the subject of the same trajectory correction... Beyond a fairly classic start to the adventure, Jedi Survivor sticks to the skin - even after 30 hours of gameplay. An excellent action-adventure game and an excellent Star Wars title.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is an enjoyable adventure game, but it has some flaws in the combat system. The gameplay and system design are based on mature industry standards, with platforming, exploration, combat, and puzzle-solving all present and tightly interconnected. However, the game's performance issues result in a significant gap between what players expect and what they experience during the game.

The best Star Wars game of recent years is unfortunately plagued by serious technical problems that dampen the enjoyment.

Deep and tantalizing combat, enticing exploration, smooth platforming, and strong narrative moments lead the way in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. This sequel improves nearly everything and only the suboptimal framerate leaves a sour taste.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is an excellent sequel and a fun Star Wars story, but maybe wait for better performance.

A massive sequel with a more fun combat system, a great protagonist and a beautiful galaxy to explore. The story could be better, and the technical issues freeze as well, but it looks beautiful, plays well, and you can build the lightsaber of your dreams.

No surprises here. Survivor doubles down on Fallen Order, deepening the Jedi power fantasy and expanding on its predecessor in every way, though all its choice and freedom does limit both the story and, to a degree, the combat.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is a marked improvement upon the first game, despite suffering from some of the woes I had with the 2019 title. Cal Kestis’ journey across the galaxy is fraught with danger and the supporting cast are a treat to chat with whether in the midst of a mission or as you explore Koboh. While the combat and movement is still quintessentially Star Wars, it feels like the game has yet to reach its full potential. The good news is that, if you’re a Star Wars fan, you’re going to have a great time in this galaxy.

Respawn Entertainment still looks up to Dark Souls, but at the same time they try to make a hardcore game with the most softcore experience. For example, there’s always plenty of shortcuts, so Cal never loses much progress after his inevitable demise. [Issue#262, p.58]

A wonderful sequel with a gripping Star Wars story, excellent combat and fatal performance.

It’s hard to assess an excellent and very engaging game that's also fundamentally flawed with technical and performance issues. Then again, these are easier to eliminate, and probably they will be soon. Or not. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is a 9/10 game for SW fans, but for everyone else, as an experience that's not very comfortable, the score would be considerably lower.

This is a solid Star Wars game with excellent combat, great immersion for fans, and an engaging story. It looks great at most times, but runs poorly overall and needs patches for PC before it gets a solid buy recommendation.

Ultimately, whether Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is for you will depend on how much you liked the first game. As much as it builds on the first game in terms of size and scope, it doesn’t feel like it’s going in any new direction. It’s more of what was good about the last game, a second helping of a meal you already know you like. That’s not to damn it with faint praise, it’s an enjoyable game with a lot of content, but there’s no new angle that the previous game didn’t cover already. Add to that the technical instability and it’s hard to recommend this over Fallen Order unless you’ve already beaten that and want more.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is almost the perfect sequel. Sadly, improvements in gameplay, story, visuals and more is mired in an undercooked package, with horrible performance and fatal crashes plaguing, at the very least, the game's launch week.

The best way to describe Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is “safe.” Much like with Jedi: Fallen Order, it is clear that Respawn has a lot of good ideas for this franchise and wants to draw from a variety of influences to make something special, but it ultimately ends up making a pastiche of AAA game mechanics and fixings that are serviceable but not very refined. Jedi: Survivor doesn't have the same novelty and luster that Fallen Order had behind it, so when it rests on its laurels like this, the whole package feels underwhelming. When coupled with a clunky story and a laundry list of technical issues, it's clear that Star Wars Jedi: Survivor still has a long way to go before it reaches its full potential.

The story works but it has some notable flaws, and if you’re familiar with the property lots of it feels like familiar ground. The gameplay is solid enough but it’s very much about following a very strict path rather than going off in new directions. The visuals are afforded far too much weight and don’t actually work all that well beyond seeing quick snippets in trailers.

The PC version of Jedi Survivor is a disaster for optimization. You have to wait for the updates to solve the problems because the PC game offers very nice things. The game is sublime.