Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is so much more than just a worthy follow-up to Fallen Order.
Here are our impressions from a recent hands-on preview.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivorcarries all of the advantages and burdens that come with theStar Warsfranchise these days.
However, it also has to deal with the expectations and associations that come with that name.
Specifically, it has to navigate the struggles of delivering a truly spectacularStar Warssequel.
EversinceEmpire Strikes Back, theStar Warsfranchise has struggled a bit with sequels.
The demo I played joined Cals journey about an hour intoSurvivors main campaign.
However,Survivors story showcases quite a bit of promise in its earliest stages.
However, the word that came to mind so early intoSurvivors story was mature.
Cal became more interesting throughoutFallen Order, but he struggled to shake that generic player avatar label.
Survivoraddresses that issue fairly early on.
Cals growth is greatly enhanced by the decision to not reset his character in the classic Metroidvania sense.
Its also a decision that forms the basis ofSurvivors biggest draw: its gameplay.
However, nearly everyaspect of that design structure issignificantlylarger this time around.
Survivoris filled with lightsaber customization options, Cal customization options, and even BD-1 customization options.
More importantly, most of the modification options you find are located throughout the games worlds.
To be honest, Im a little mixed on that specific aspect of the game.
Specifically, Im talking about things like wall running, wall climbing, and general platforming challenges.
Thankfully,Survivors more traditional Metroidvania elements thrive in the transition to larger worlds.
However,Survivors additional lightsaber stances make everything sing.
The crossguard stance seems to be much more defensive, while the blaster stance is truly wild.
Weve never really seen anything quite like it in aStar Warsgame, though I must emphasize the word seen.
We only saw the blaster stance in a hands-off demo that showcased an end-game character build.
What a demo it was, though.
Customization options, larger worlds, dismemberments, a more interesting protagonist…its all there.
Actually, thats not the impressive part.
Lots of video game sequels offer more.
Whats amazing is howSurvivoraddresses all of those complaints/requests while staying true to the vision of theFallen Orderexperience.
Its almost always nice to return toStar Warson some level.
Its as eager to celebrate its previous successes as it is to acknowledge and address its flaws.
