I'm a pretty big Star Wars fan. While, I'm a IP traditionalist, I truly enjoyed Star Wars Fallen Order. The animations, combat and movement were reasonably entertaining and the concept of a young Jedi on the run was a sufficiently interesting concept. You even eventually fight Vader, get your butt kicked, and have to run away. The game set up a few concepts for future exploration, and despite a slew of weaknesses, the game felt satisfying overall. I considered it a good, if albeit not great game. Needless to say, I was pretty stoked for Jedi Survivor.

Imagine my disappointment, when I discovered that Jedi Survivor was basically Fallen Order+. All the same weaknesses bundled with a dearth of new ideas hamper this title and make it unbelievably superfluous. The plot of the game is threadbare, with Cal organizing a forgettable team of rebels to strike back at the Empire. Rather than tying their exploits to Star Wars A New Hope, much like Rogue One, instead you run through an introductory piece in Coruscant. The chapter is lifeless, sterile and filled with hyper-buffed storm troopers and movement puzzle after movement puzzle. Very quickly, your rebel team is wiped out in short order with the exception of one easily telegraphed betrayal-bait.

It's at this time that you get your first taste at how utterly pointless this title is as a legitimate addendum to the Star Wars mythos. Despite being loosed in a small sand boxed area, there's really nothing of aesthetic value or thematic curiosity. There are no real, relevant secrets. Sure, there's the same plethora of sweatshirt colorations and some new hairdos but, aside from utterly pointless fare, the game gives you very little incentive to travel off the beaten path and explore their already small, formulaic world. It seems that the developers learned absolutely nothing from the last title and decided to commit all the same errors.

Yes, you can level up in the game with skill points but progress is glacial and he new skills are only vanity moves as more threatening enemies will swarm you while frantically blocking everything you throw at them, rendering your new bag of tricks predominantly pointless. Bosses all respond to the exact, same predetermined combat patterns and you'll often spend time blocking and dodging instead of using your newly acquired abilities. Despite spot-on perfect combat animations and a wealth of melee panache, the game forgets the purpose of different light saber stances and instead favors a few stances over others.

The plot leaves Cal in the same spot as we found him in the first game. And while the supporting cast changed substantially, it did not really do so for the better. Environments, characters, and thematic beats all seem anathematic to traditional Star Wars and no where is this seen more clearly than in how the game treats its villains. The villains are boring and, for the most part, photocopied throughout the title. Battle a giant, butch alien Sith and she'll use the same moves that are foisted upon Darth Vader later in the game. In fact, Vader is treated pretty poorly, lacking the gravitas and fearsome presence of the first title.

Worse still is that the game conveys a negative message that Jedis need to access the dark side to become more powerful and to be able to triumph over enemies. On the bright side (har har), the animation and combat are often sublime and, with the exception of Cal's creepy Benjamin Button-like features, the game looks and plays beautifully. Music and voice acting is, for the most part, good. It's just that the game gives little incentive to play it other than humping the same 5 slashing animations over and over. The game even disrespects its player's time by forcing them to return to areas hours later, to unlock forgettable areas that only contain blobs of flavor text or absurdly flamboyant dress coloring.

I guess my gripe with Star Wars: Jedi Survivor comes down to this:

Remember in The Empire Strikes back, when Luke spent 4 hours fighting overpowered baton-wielding storm troopers, super-droids and animal-analogues as he wandered aimlessly through sterile and empty Bespin hallways? Oh and that time that Luke spent 15 minutes trying to figure out how to shimmy up a pipe, so that he could half pipe off of a metal plank and land on a platform 20 feet away? What about right after that when he added frosted tips to his hair and changed the color of his light saber to puce? Wasn't that quintessential Star Wars? You remember all that right?

No?

Me neither. This isn't Star Wars, it's Tomb Raider with glow sticks and without the Shakira Hips-Don't-Lie protagonist eye-candy. This game is just boring and it still doesn't even support Steam Overlays and FPS counters. Pass.

Not worth the time. There are better games available.

6/10.

I'm a pretty big Star Wars fan. While, I'm a IP traditionalist, I truly enjoyed Star Wars Fallen Order. The animations, combat and movement were reasonably entertaining and the concept of a young Jedi on the run was a sufficiently interesting concept. You even eventually fight Vader, get your butt kicked, and have to run away. The game set up a few concepts for future exploration, and despite a slew of weaknesses, the game felt satisfying overall. I considered it a good, if albeit not great game. Needless to say, I was pretty stoked for Jedi Survivor. Imagine my disappointment, when I discovered that Jedi Survivor was basically Fallen Order+. All the same weaknesses bundled with a dearth of new ideas hamper this title and make it unbelievably superfluous. The plot of the game is threadbare, with Cal organizing a forgettable team of rebels to strike back at the Empire. Rather than tying their exploits to Star Wars A New Hope, much like Rogue One, instead you run through an introductory piece in Coruscant. The chapter is lifeless, sterile and filled with hyper-buffed storm troopers and movement puzzle after movement puzzle. Very quickly, your rebel team is wiped out in short order with the exception of one easily telegraphed betrayal-bait. It's at this time that you get your first taste at how utterly pointless this title is as a legitimate addendum to the Star Wars mythos. Despite being loosed in a small sand boxed area, there's really nothing of aesthetic value or thematic curiosity. There are no real, relevant secrets. Sure, there's the same plethora of sweatshirt colorations and some new hairdos but, aside from utterly pointless fare, the game gives you very little incentive to travel off the beaten path and explore their already small, formulaic world. It seems that the developers learned absolutely nothing from the last title and decided to commit all the same errors. Yes, you can level up in the game with skill points but progress is glacial and he new skills are only vanity moves as more threatening enemies will swarm you while frantically blocking everything you throw at them, rendering your new bag of tricks predominantly pointless. Bosses all respond to the exact, same predetermined combat patterns and you'll often spend time blocking and dodging instead of using your newly acquired abilities. Despite spot-on perfect combat animations and a wealth of melee panache, the game forgets the purpose of different light saber stances and instead favors a few stances over others. The plot leaves Cal in the same spot as we found him in the first game. And while the supporting cast changed substantially, it did not really do so for the better. Environments, characters, and thematic beats all seem anathematic to traditional Star Wars and no where is this seen more clearly than in how the game treats its villains. The villains are boring and, for the most part, photocopied throughout the title. Battle a giant, butch alien Sith and she'll use the same moves that are foisted upon Darth Vader later in the game. In fact, Vader is treated pretty poorly, lacking the gravitas and fearsome presence of the first title. Worse still is that the game conveys a negative message that Jedis need to access the dark side to become more powerful and to be able to triumph over enemies. On the bright side (har har), the animation and combat are often sublime and, with the exception of Cal's creepy Benjamin Button-like features, the game looks and plays beautifully. Music and voice acting is, for the most part, good. It's just that the game gives little incentive to play it other than humping the same 5 slashing animations over and over. The game even disrespects its player's time by forcing them to return to areas hours later, to unlock forgettable areas that only contain blobs of flavor text or absurdly flamboyant dress coloring. I guess my gripe with Star Wars: Jedi Survivor comes down to this: Remember in The Empire Strikes back, when Luke spent 4 hours fighting overpowered baton-wielding storm troopers, super-droids and animal-analogues as he wandered aimlessly through sterile and empty Bespin hallways? Oh and that time that Luke spent 15 minutes trying to figure out how to shimmy up a pipe, so that he could half pipe off of a metal plank and land on a platform 20 feet away? What about right after that when he added frosted tips to his hair and changed the color of his light saber to puce? Wasn't that quintessential Star Wars? You remember all that right? No? Me neither. This isn't Star Wars, it's Tomb Raider with glow sticks and without the Shakira Hips-Don't-Lie protagonist eye-candy. This game is just boring and it still doesn't even support Steam Overlays and FPS counters. Pass. Not worth the time. There are better games available. 6/10.