Credit: Inside the MagicCal Kestis fails to disappoint fans once again in his new sequel, “Jedi: Survivor”, and the real shame is that most Star Wars fans might skip out on this experience.
A Star Wars video game might not attract every fan for good reasons. Difficult challenges aren’t meant for everyone and some fans just want to follow the story, not suffer because one boss refuses to die by your lightsaber. Being a Jedi in a video game is a treat for others who do enjoy force-pushing stormtroopers off cliffs and facing bizarre creatures in the galaxy.
Jedi: Survivor offers many great adventures for you to experience as the big sequel doesn’t hold back from delivering a brand new tale in the galaxy far, far away. Here are five reasons why Jedi Survivor manages to make Star Wars feel alive and fresh without copying what has already been done a thousand times over.
5. Connections to Rogue One and Obi-Wan Kenobi
Earlier on in the game, Cal Kestis ends up on the sandy dunes of Jeddha, a planet first seen in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), where Saw Gerra based his operations right before the Death Star’s first attack. The war-torn city may have been explored, but Jeddha remained an enigma to fans, and Respawn used this moment to explore a key connection to another project fans might not have noticed right away.
Cere Junda, Cal’s former mentor, managed to help to survive Jedi in a special way. By creating a network meant to shelter them out of harm’s way. The Hidden Path is what Cere and Eno Cordova are committed to doing in Survivor and it helps make sense why that group was so successful in helping Ewan McGregor’s Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Disney+ series.
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If Cal weren’t disrupting the Empire in a big way, they would have more resources able to track the Hidden Path, but Kestis continues to thwart the Empire’s plans, leaving the Empire unable to continue their search sometimes. This distraction helps other iconic Jedi like Quinlan Vos remain in hiding after Order 66, which only means that more video games in the Jedi series might revolve around other characters.
4. Meet Iconic Beasts and Characters
Star Wars has a lot of iconic creatures and characters and “Survivor” doesn’t disappoint with any cameo. One thing to share is that it might be best to stop reading if you wish not to have a few spoilers. Some of these moments are meant to be big moments in the game and at the very least, a reason to expand the Star Wars story, while others are pure fanservice.
Right when you start the game, Koboh, a huge planet full of secrets, has a Rancor boss lurking near where you start on the planet. Early on, this fight is a huge challenge for some, but getting the ability to say you can fight rancor just like Luke Skywalker is quite impressive.
The game also has Mago, which is basically a forest version of the Wampa for players to face. This fun addition has Cal face off against another beast that Luke managed to defeat, and it’s no joke. The creatures are highly aggressive, and with a harder difficulty, it would be tough to face the creature in freezing conditions.
As mentioned above, some parts of the game brought back iconic characters, and this is the last reminder before diving into some heavy spoilers for the sequel. Cal Kestis manages to interact with Darth Vader and Boba Fett in the game. Vader makes his next dashing cameo at the end of the story, just like he did in Jedi: Fallen Order, while Boba Fett (voiced by Temuera Morrison) shows up in a fun side quest dedicated to bounty hunters, which is why his appearance feels earned and amazing.
3. Devoted Love to the Prequel Trilogy
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Respawn doesn’t allow you to team up with clones and face the Separatist Alliance just yet, their sequel brings in a horde of CIS droids to defeat. Almost, all of the different types of soldiers, end up in the game with B1s marching with blasters in large groups, B2s armed with wrist rockets, Droidekas ready to pounce with energy shields and heavy firepower, and nimble commando droids armed with vibroswords assault Cal Kestis as he tries to deal with a new gang on Koboh working for the main antagonist.
These moments make the era feel special as it defines Cal Kestis in a big way while also pushing the narrative further without just doing fan service.
2. A Perfect Blend of All Eras
“Jedi: Survivor” does everything to tell a story worthy of including so much Star Wars lore. Most of the time, a Star Wars project might hint at one of two major moments from another era without exploring it further. Survivor ensures that fans get what they want and get a cohesive story meant for all fans that don’t allow safe story decisions.
The High Republic makes its debut in the franchise for most fans who don’t read the comics or books. The Acolyte will be when the era gets the most attention and as for now, opens the way for the High Republic to be intriguing without feeling overdone or unoriginal. It’s a different time for the Jedi, and it allows for radical decisions to be made in the sequel.
This blend of different eras made the game feel more complete and less of a rigid story because any character could show up onscreen or provide a challenge for Cal that makes sense without being just the Empire all the time. Three eras fitting into one could end up a disaster, but Respawn masterfully intertwines all of the elements into one big Star Wars adventure.
1. A Reminder of George Lucas’s Star Wars
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“Jedi: Survivor” manages to do one thing above all else. Tell a swashbuckling story that will remind fans of how George Lucas crafts his stories. While the plot might be a little bland, the worlds, characters, and interactions found in the game are so amazing most fans will look over the tiny flaws in Respawn’s sequel.
EA may have failed with previous Star Wars games by allowing microtransactions to take over or refusing to support the game for the long term, which led to some fans not having any Star Wars games worth playing for a few years. Now, Cal Kestis’s journey is one all fans can enjoy and feel immersed in the galaxy that Lucas built.
After traveling to planets like Coruscant and seeing the Jedi Temple or going through wreckage sits full of relics from the Clone Wars, “Survivor” doesn’t hesitate to fuse different eras together to help tell a bigger story. A story that is focused on expanding our thoughts and feelings toward the Jedi Order in a meaningful way.
It’s not about failure like Rian Johnson’s Star Wars: Episode VIII — The Last Jedi (2017), where the hero of the story suddenly changes offscreen, but the story doesn’t shy away from taking bold directions, which is why it’s worth experiencing. It’s a story meant for all Star Wars fans to help explore and understand more of Star Wars in a fun, engaging manner since you get to slash your way through anything as a powerful Jedi trying to make a difference.
Do you plan to play “Jedi: Survivor” soon? Let Inside the Magic know what you will do!