Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Review – Cal Strikes Back

Review based on console (PS5) version no starter patch.

We can probably agree that developer Respawn just doesn’t make bad games. For example, many consider their game Titanfall 2’s story campaign to be one of the best in the entire genre, while other players won’t let Apex Legends be their favorite battle royale of all time. However, we were all quite surprised at how successfully the studio entered the realm of third-person action in 2019 with the release of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. Not only did they manage to tell a compelling story in a Star Wars setting, they also managed to combine the inspirations of hits like Uncharted (cinematic storytelling style/pacing and impressive “scene” moments) with elements of the soul genre (difficult melee combat, reviving enemies after the “rest” of the player at the checkpoint). So it is not surprising that the second part of this game was awaited with great hopes. I must say right away that the game is in many ways even better than the first part, but, unfortunately, it also has weaknesses.

• Platform: PS5 (Review), XSX|S, PC
• Publication date: 04/28/2023
• Manufacturer: Respawn Entertainment (USA)
• Genre: action adventure
• Czech localization: No
• Multiplayer: No
• Data to download: 147 GB
• Game time: 15+ hours
• Price: 1649 CZK (couples)

More mature characters and relationships

I have a rather peculiar method of “discovering” more mature and ambitious stories – it works not only for games, but also for movies. If the filmmakers allow themselves to spend a long time on someone’s face, but the character doesn’t say anything, showing their “inner thought processes” or “inner emotions”, it usually means that you have a deeper, more human and honest story. than movie scenes. who do not use this method. Of all of them, I can name for example The Last of Us or Red Dead Redemption 2. Jedi Survivor also falls into this category and does not hesitate to offer you long atmospheric shots, where the older and hardened Cal Kestis looks into the distance and thinks, for example, about everything, what he had to sacrifice, and whether his struggle still makes sense. More or less from the very beginning of the game, his character made a much better impression on me than in the first part.

However, Cal’s more mature personality also affects his relationships with other characters, which are much more interesting and human than in the first game. At the very beginning, you will learn that his entire original gang has broken up, but this does not mean that you will not see their members in the second part – on the contrary, you will visit them in new places. to find out why they pulled away from you and how they live now. In addition to familiar characters, you will also meet many new ones on both sides of the battle. Your goal, among other things, is to assemble a reliable crew for your mission. As you might have guessed, the main star of this story is, just like last time, the “night nurse” Merrin, whose veiled voice and enigmatic personality captivate many fans once again. As for the plot, I will deliberately not reveal too much, because the story is literally full of big surprises.

The story is literally full of big surprises.

But one thing is certain: Star Wars connoisseurs of all levels, from those who have never seen the films to those who have read the related literature, will find something to enjoy. What at first seems like a predictable story about the uneven resistance of the Empire’s rebels quickly turns into a much more interesting plot based on an unexpected revelation about the history of the “High Republic”, which takes place literally hundreds of years before the release of the entire series of films (and is explored mainly in comics). This past hides unexpected resources that could drastically affect the fight against the Empire. The problem is that as this past comes to life, its “ghosts” begin to appear with their own plans. In other words, the story is truly epic and includes, among other things, cameos that you won’t be able to easily forget. Jedi Survivor strikes a brilliant balance between epic action and very delicately crafted human moments.

A sword, two or a pistol?

One of the most interesting features of this series in terms of gameplay is undoubtedly its dose of inspiration from the souls genre. This is most evident in the existence of “meditation points” in the form of checkpoints, where you can maintain your position and replenish health, but at the same time you will revive an already killed enemy in a given location. In fact, I would say that the design of the combat system is much more important, which also takes a lot from Souls – from the need to combine attacks with defense to focusing on more intimate duels between you and stronger enemies. One of the nice things about Jedi Survivor is that you have more or less all the abilities from the previous game right from the start, namely sword fighting, double-bladed wands, or two swords at the same time.

In addition to the already known optional fighting styles (the so-called stances), as you progress through the story, you will also receive two more – one of them will make your sword “two-handed”, i.e. a noticeably slower, but also stronger version, accompanied, of course, by a stylish visual effect. Even more striking, and probably more controversial for many adherents of Jedi mythology, is the sword in one hand, the blaster (pistol) in the other fighting style. However, this does not work so that the game suddenly turns into a shooter. Cal can only use the blaster to a limited extent, which is recharged by sword strikes – so you can knock down an annoying flurry or add a shot to a combo, but you can’t just shoot endlessly. You can easily switch between the two styles. Most importantly, each fighting style has a markedly different function (balanced single-sword combat, more aggressive dual-sword combat, ambidextrous pole for the widest range in large groups of enemies) and is fun to test and switch between. But you will have to choose which ones you want to infuse with additional unlocked ability points.

Each fighting style has completely different functions.

When it comes to the difficulty of the fights, whether it’s with normal enemies or numerous bosses, the best news is that you have a choice of five levels of customization. So if you just want to complete the main story missions without any problems, just set the lowest difficulty of “Story Mode” and you won’t die even once (you can also set the quick interaction to auto-complete without pressing a button). But if you’re looking for a real challenge where you’ll really need your Jedi reflexes and every opponent can be your last, there’s no problem picking the highest difficulty, aptly named Jedi Grandmaster. Of course, there are intermediate levels for those who are looking for a reasonable balance. During the difficulty selection, the game offers a clear visualization of the effect of the setting on the opponent’s aggression, strength and duration of the counter strike interval. As in the case of the previous game, you will find several spectacular boss battles that will scare you with their appearance, strength and abilities. The maturity of the story also kicks in here, which gives some of the battles a very personal dimension, and you’ll probably fear them even before they actually happen. On the other hand, some mini-bosses may be repetitive too often.

Little big universe

I didn’t feel like the game was significantly bigger or longer than the first part. For example, the number of planets you are looking at is more or less the same. However, the biggest criticism of the first part, namely returning several times along the same route, has disappeared. Unfortunately, it is still true that you will repeatedly return to several planets, although this time during these returns you will follow a different route to other corners, and you can of course use teleportation to quickly travel between unlocked locations. But that doesn’t get in the way of the “I’ve been here before” feeling, as the individual routes and locations of each planet are, unfortunately, very similar. These feelings are also facilitated by the fact that one of the planets (or a specific town on it) serves as your base, to which you will return very often.

On the other hand, many locations are absolutely beautiful, so the powerful experience of beautiful scenery and walking through the finely crafted interiors from the movies is sure to be overwhelming. The variety of level design as such must also be commended, where in one location you’ll be battling through rooms and corridors full of enemies, in another you’ll be jumping through a complex spatial puzzle in the landscape, and in a third you’ll be racing wildly in one of the vehicles or saddled creatures. But I will not forgive the criticism of passing on a desert planet, where you have to jump against and downwind for quite a long time and repeatedly (so that during the jump it will go where you want) – in many moments I got the impression that it is impossible to predict exactly where the wind will take you in advance, so I had to discover the route through painful trial and error. The side-activities didn’t particularly interest me either, whether it was just collecting items or “hunting bounty hunters” a bit like ranking targets from the Assassin’s Creed series. But we were pleased with the cosmetic possibilities, thanks to which you can dress Cal as a real Jedi or, conversely, an inconspicuous wanderer in the style of Han Solo (of course, the sword can also be customized, including the color of the crystal).

Powerful impressions of landscape views, as well as walks through movie interiors.

On the technical side of things, the publisher has told us that for the purposes of this review, we will unfortunately have to play without a rather important launch patch. As such, I can’t reliably confirm how the game will perform on Friday, but unfortunately during my playthrough on PS5, performance mode (4K 30fps quality mode is also available) couldn’t maintain a stable 60fps, and there were occasional drops or textures bounce or flare. Also missing was the implementation of HDR, which was supposed to come in this patch. While this didn’t make the game as good in places as it could have been, none of it spoiled the experience enough to affect my immersion in the story or the combat system. So take this as a word of caution, and of course we’ll be offering articles with links to post-release analysis of the state of the game.