Cal Kestis returns for another thrilling adventure in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, the highly anticipated sequel to the critically acclaimed Jedi: Fallen Order. With a team of talented developers from Respawn, EA, and Lucasfilm Games working tirelessly behind the scenes, Jedi: Survivor promises to be an exceptional action narrative.

A hidden path and ancient order

Cal Kestis finds himself on the run from the Empire five years after the events of the previous game. With his back against the wall, Cal makes an ancient discovery that may just change the galaxy’s fate forever. The Bedlam Raiders with the help of the powerful Dagan Gera have their eyes set on controlling the planet Tanalorr, on the edge of the Koboh Abyss. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Jedi: Survivor starts extremely strong with a clever operation on Coruscant. As the most impressive depiction of the ecumenopolis in any visual Star Wars media, the sprawling city of neon, flying cars, buildings damaged from Order 66, and corruption seeping through its depths sets the tone and quality of the adventure to come.

Adventure. Excitement. A Jedi craves these things

Get ready to strap on your Nekko-riding boots and prepare for a compelling journey through the dusty planet of Koboh. You’ll be drawn to the vast, open landscapes of this frontier world, eager to bare its hidden secrets and side quests from the strange drifters and bounty hunters you’ll meet. With its multiple biomes, including a swamp, volcanic area, rainforest, and even a destroyed Lucrehulk-class battleship repurposed for the Beldam Raiders, Koboh is a joy to explore.

But the exploration and level design elements extend far beyond Koboh. Every planet boasts impressive and well-crafted environments. You’ll find yourself facing countless challenges, including puzzles and platforming sections that make use of Cal’s newfound abilities. Obtaining the dash on Jedha leads into one of the most exciting platforming sections of recent history, with Cal running across walls, grappling to ledges, dashing to make gaps, battling winds, and using climbable surfaces to escape an impending Imperial drilling machine.

Sadly, there are issues with the otherwise fluid movement as it can be hard to tell which elements of the environment are traversable. It just doesn’t always seem clear what is climbable and what is not, especially in dense areas like forests with various types of vines and roots that look usable but aren’t. There are accessibility options that resolve this issue but will identify them clearly and break immersion.

Cal will discover ancient Jedi chambers scattered throughout the worlds, which offer a trial reminiscent of the puzzle-filled shrines in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. You may also stumble upon Force rifts, which present timed tests of combat or platforming skills. Successfully beating these will grant valuable Force upgrades and points. While not particularly creative, these side activities provide a welcome change of pace and offer a satisfying diversion for completionist players looking to beat everything.

With so many collectibles to find, playing Jedi: Survivor is like being a Jawa on a scavenging mission. The world is scattered with Force echoes, cosmetic items, and upgrades that boost Cal’s talents. These treasures make you want to search every nook and cranny of the environment to learn more about the world. The tactical guide serves as a valuable tool to catalogue all of BD-1’s obsessive environmental scans and now allows you to easily read relevant entries to dive into a rabbit hole of lore. Although a few entries are repeated from the Jedi: Fallen Order, the developers have delved deep to establish Star Wars canon.

Stylish like Lando Calrissian

One of the most satisfying rewards for exploring is completely customising Cal’s appearance. From the lightsaber to BD-1, a blaster, and even Cal’s hairstyle, there are plenty of options to make him truly your own. Pyloon’s Saloon, where you can purchase cosmetic items, is filled with charismatic sellers like bounty hunter Caij, High Republic droid Zee, and friendly local Doma. While select store items benefit gameplay, most shops can be ignored to streamline the main story. Before you know it though, you’ll be obsessively searching every corner, driven to discover the next beard variation.

A Force to be reckoned with

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor builds upon the combat system of the previous game with Force skills like Jedi mind tricks, Force smash and slam. You truly harness the power of the Force and feel like an absolute powerhouse in combat, combining all sorts of abilities to push and pull your way through foes.

Combat has been taken to the next level with the introduction of six lightsaber stances. Along with the single and double-bladed stances, you can now use the dual-wield, crossguard (as seen with Kylo Ren), and blaster-lightsaber stances, with their unique set of strengths and weaknesses. For example, the dual-wield stance is highly aggressive, while the crossguard stance is more methodical. My favourite has been the blaster-lightsaber stance, allowing for a fast-paced and ranged approach like fencing. All are effective against specific situations, and as you learn each stance, you’ll discover the best strategies to defeat the array of enemies.

Go beyond your training

Jedi: Survivor’s skill tree is a well-structured system that empowers you to customise Cal according to your preferred playstyle. The three main branches–Lightsaber, Force, and Survival–provide you with a diverse set of abilities to unlock. The skill tree’s expanded focus on lightsaber stances, in particular, enhances the overall combat experience. Unlike its predecessor, Jedi: Survivor’s skill tree allows you to prioritise the upgrades and abilities you want to use, without being forced to waste skill points on less exciting ones. It provides a personal sense of progression and makes each playthrough different and enjoyable.

Perks are playful modifiers assigned at Meditation Points that change gameplay. They can increase the power of lightsaber throws or randomly change the appearance of the player’s character upon death. Perks like Purity and Warrior are specific to the New Game Plus mode, allowing Cal to deal and receive additional damage resulting in a “glass-cannon” playstyle, and remixing combat encounters by introducing altered tough groups of enemies. They are a great addition to shake-up gameplay whenever you feel like it.

What’s refreshing about progression is there are no assigned numbers to lightsaber stances, no incremental health upgrades, and no percentages for damage boosts. Rather, the skill tree is designed to enhance Cal’s powers, eliminating the unnecessary over-reliance on RPG elements that have plagued many narrative-driven games of late. Jedi: Survivor instead focuses on the exponential discovery of power, delivering an experience that prioritises fun over calculations.

The beauty of the Force

Playing on PlayStation 5, both the performance and quality modes are a treat for the eyes. The world is brimming with vibrant colours, rich textures, and impressive lighting technology. The opening scene set in Coruscant is particularly awe-inspiring and serves as a testament to the visual prowess. However, it’s worth noting that there are frame rate drops in quality mode during chaotic firefights. Additionally, performance mode limits resolution to 1440p, which may cause select screens to appear blurry.

The attention to detail is stronger than a Wookiee’s arms. Swinging Cal’s lightsaber around detects hits against any enemy it barely scrapes and can even set fire to or singe nearby plants. Regrettably, noticeable cosmetic visual glitches like Cal’s beard disappearing at certain angles, parts of his model clipping through his cape, lots of texture pop-in, and the rare floating enemy may detract from the overall experience. These minor issues suggest further polishing to eliminate these bugs.