Jedi: Survivor Review (XSX) - SPIOLERS

Looking back at the ending of Jedi: Fallen Order, I didn't really know where the story could go. It was summed up well in that last scene with Cal chopping the Holocron up. Five years now had gone by. Everyone had split up, doing their own thing, like Merrin exploring the galaxy outside of her home and Greez opening Pyloon Cantina. And we find Cal Kestis working sneakily against the growing Empire.

So here we come to his second journey: Survivor. I was looking forward to it after that sweet launch trailer. Maybe him and Merrin would develop their relationship. Perhaps Cal would have a tough battle against another of Vader's Inquisitors or something else. Like I mentioned, I didn't know what might happen. Just along for the ride.

A month of playing it brought my playtime to an end. It was a good time. Jedi: Survivor carries on Cal's adventure really well. The first half of the game was a slow burn, kinda meandering, and too sluggishly paced. Especially Chapter 3; the best part of that was that thrilling chase sequence of him flying with Merrin's Magik Charm away from the Imperial jellyfish machine thing. And that kiss - great moment. And it happens two more times later on. I don't like romance in games, but that was entertaining.

Starting the game in Corusant means finally seeing just a snapshot of its famous underbelly. Shows you how vast the planet truly is. But the next three chapters were almost hard to make sense of. It was fine that it really started to hit home in the second half. There were like three major plot twists shaking up the who, why, and where. Bode wasn't all that likable for a while. He was there to expand on gameplay mechanics as well as narrative design. His goal was good, you know, providing for Kata. He took too much time away from Merrin growing more on Cal. His gameplay mechanics were very similar to his: jetpack instead of teleportation to fly around to open pathways. If those scenes had largely (not completely) been Merrin instead, their relationship would be given way more growing space. More sassy humor from her. More exploration for him. So I started to appreciate Bode's use as a secondary villain much more in the second half. When Cal defeated and shot him, it actually made me feel bad. Cal felt it. Merrin, and especially Kata, did as well. Bode walked a fine line for a while until he gave over to the dark to save his family, just like Anakin did.

Dagan Gera... holy sh**. That was one TOUGH boss fight. He was nearly as challenging as the Second Sister in Fallen Order (I hated that one lol). He's rather compelling. I liked how much the game explored his dreams of a Jedi life on Tanaloor with his best friend? romantic interest? It obviously was on the way to fulfilling it all before the Nihil attacked. He had a good reason to be angry at the Jedi Council. In their defense, the Jedi might have been right to abandon Koboh as well as Tanaloor if they simply didn't have the resources. I'd be angry at all that, too. Angry enough to sleep in bacta for two centuries and get revenge? Naw. So well done to the writing team. Even those absurdly ridiculous second and third round fights. My gosh those were tough.

As far as gameplay, its an improvement over Fallen Order. The stance are a nice touch. Lightsaber plus blaster? Flashy. I love the crossguard one. The Perks were not well utilized however. Those could have been attached to the stances themselves, as additional options or included with each. Perhaps customized.

Lore: like the first game, there is heaps of lore. I read a lot of it as a study on game writing. If I forgot a detail or forgot a part of story progression, those are super useful.

Writing itself is really good. Themes of family, betrayal, home all very present and, I'd say, thought through. It makes you remember that family is more than blood relatives. Home is where you make it. And betrayal cuts deep. Respawn peppers the world hubs with various characters and needs. That said, please reduce the filler dialogue between traversal levels. We need quiet moments, ya know. Even Merrin isn't immune to that.

As Cal, Merrin, Kata and Greez mourn the fallen with a pyre funeral in the end, Cals expressions, Merrin's words (I dont remember if she spoke) all bring the journey home. They all loose family. Cere went out on a bang. One of the few times Darth Vader is nearly beat, the other being in the Obi Wan Kenobi show. They all gain family where it was lost. They all have lost homes and gained new ones. They all have belonging now. however, they have their toughest uphill climb to come.. A third game is guaranteed to happen. Wonder what it will be called. Hopefully with more humor.

Thanks Respawn! You produced a worthy sequel! Only iron out the technical bugs. They are a nuisance; Xbox Series X has a ton of frame studders, some graphic and sound pop-in.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor: 8 out of 10.