Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Review

I will cut right to the chase; I am a MASSIVE Star Wars fan so this game has probably skewed my objectivity in reviewing it. There's a case to be made that if this game had been released without the Star Wars branding - it may have just fallen by the wayside based purely on its story and gameplay alone. However, I would argue my opinion for example on Star Wars Battlefront (2015) was generally a negative one until the further DLC began to change my mind. So I will approach this review with the utmost objectivity possible without 'fanboying'.

Story

The story in my opinion is one of the best in modern gaming with regards to cinematography and production value. Without spoilers - the execution of certain scenes and how things transition made me feel as though I was watching a movie. Some cutscenes lasted for minutes without feeling like they were dragging and I was fully invested in the performances of all the actors. For me, Red Dead Redemption 2 is the best single player story I've ever played; followed by Dragon Age: Inquisition. Jedi: Survivor comes in third for me just ahead of its predecessor Fallen Order; narratively speaking. 

The story picks up 5 years after the events of the previous game with Cal being separated from his crew on the Mantis. Throughout the course of the game Cal reconnects with Greez, Cere and Merrin along with newcomer Bode. The crew seeks to uncover a mystery from the High Republic era. With a few twists and turns throughout the course of the narrative; I was kept on the edge of my seat the whole time. Whilst the story as a whole didn't have the grandeur and scale of the previous game with the involvement of the Inquisitors and Darth Vader (although you do feel the Imperial presence in this game), the game feels more focused and detached from the main narrative of Star Wars at this point in the timeline.

Whilst I understand some people may critique the story as 'tropey' or 'simplistic' - my counter would be that it doesn't over-complicate what it sets out to do. It serves as the middle (presuming this becomes a trilogy) chapter of Cal Kestis' character arc. He battles with his emotions against the tenants instilled within him by the Jedi Order to try and find his own identity in the universe. He isn't totally convinced by the mindset of the Jedi and maybe some of the words from Taron Malicos from Fallen Order have rubbed off on Cal. By the end of the game, it's a bittersweet ending because it wraps up the events of this story rather well but leaves the future open ended - much like the ending to the first title. I ended up feeling relatively satisfied but yearning for more which I suppose is the ultimate goal for a second instalment in what should be a three chapter narrative arc.

Without delving into spoilers, Cal has quickly become one of my favourite protagonists and is certainly helped by the phenomenal acting of Cameron Monaghan. One of my favourite Star Wars games was the Force Unleashed duology and the Jedi series from Respawn certainly captures a more 'true-to-lore' representation of this time period. This is certainly one of the best stories since Disney's acquisition.

STORY: 9.5/10

Gameplay

The gameplay is a continuation and progression from the strengths of Jedi: Fallen Order. The blend of FromSoftwares combat and the traversal akin to Uncharted remains strong and polished as ever. Jedi: Survivor adds 3 new combat stances to the mix; Dual Wield, Blaster Stance and Crossguard. Personally I picked both the dual wield and blaster stances as they felt the best and most well rounded. Along with these new additions, a grapple hook is also added to the game fairly early on. New force abilities are also welcome additions with regards to both combat and traversal. 

Another game in a similar genre is Elden Ring. Whilst they aren't identical games by any stretch of the imagination; comparing their combat diversity and mechanics is certainly fair game. Elden Ring has a near limitless amount of combat possibilities whereas Jedi: Survivor is fairly restrictive in its approach. The variety it offers is certainly serviceable under the constraints of both the timeline and lore; but if you're coming into this thinking it's Elden Ring in space - you'll be sorely disappointed. 

The 5 difficulty levels make each playthrough feel different; with new players being able to experience the story without the challenge and consequence of the harder difficulties. In contrast, higher skilled players will find a difficult game that I believe is balanced fairly for the most part. 

Overall, Jedi: Survivor expands and improves on everything Fallen Order laid for its foundation. I have very few complaints barring a few nitpicks with hit registration and the occasional animation bug when traversing the environment. There was nothing that ultimately ruined my experience gameplay-wise.

GAMEPLAY: 9.5/10  

Performance

As stated previously, the biggest critique of this game both from my perspective and from other reviewers has been the performance and stability of this game at launch. Myself, I didn't have too many problems with performance and stability apart from frame drops on Koboh and parts of Jedha. I had around 3 hard crashes when navigating a part of Koboh late on in the game around the same point. The amount this affects your experience is purely subjective - for me, it wasn't an issue but I can certainly understand if it does hamper people's experience.

Performance has varied from platform to platform so I cannot speak to how it performs on Playstation 5 or PC. I would advise if frame drops and occasional crashes are a big problem for you then I'd hold off until a patch is released to fix it.

PERFORMANCE: 6/10

Conclusion

Overall, Jedi: Survivor is the exact sequel Fallen Order needed. It progressed and built upon the successes of its predecessor whilst adding and expanding on a lot of systems. The story is compelling and well acted, if not a little bit simple (which has its benefits). In my opinion a sequel should justify its position in a franchise by developing what came before positively and I believe this game passes that test with flying colours. Performance issues aside - what Respawn Entertainment is doing with their Star Wars licence is truly remarkable and I look forward to how they wrap up this franchise.

I believe it is a must buy for any Star Wars fan.