In 'Jedi: Survivor', Star Wars Searches For a New Voice

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“Why fight when you can’t win?” This line of dialogue from the opening hours of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor may seem inconspicuous, but it stuck with me. Cal Kestis, the resilient padawan who somehow survived Order 66, became a Jedi knight in the first game of the series, Fallen Order. He lived. But these games exist in the period between Revenge of the Sith and the original trilogy. And… Cal is nowhere to be found in A New Hope. So, unless Kathleen Kennedy is going to go full George Lucas and digitally insert Cameron Monaghan into the background of a movie from 1977, we can safely assume that Cal is going to die soon. Which is a bummer. Because I really like these games.

That said, Fallen Order was a spectacularly bold approach to lightsaber combat—albeit a bit too difficult for its own good. Survivor, which releases on Playstation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S this Friday, is right in the sweet spot. This time around, it’s not all just: dodge, deflect, attack. Now, you have a handful of lightsaber (and blaster!) stances at your disposal. Perks, too. And rewards! But it’s really the stances that change the game here, and make the combat in this sequel finally feel as deep as its Soulslike influence. Well, almost as deep.

The lightsaber stances aren’t just cosmetic changes—they’re kind of the whole thing. Say you have to breach an Imperial outpost, but there’s a battalion of Stormtroopers in the way. You’re going to be facing a lot of laser fire, so a single lightsaber blade may not be enough. The double-bladed setup may do the trick. But what about the flying troopers who are out-of-reach on jet packs? Now that you can equip a blaster stance, you can shoot the troopers out of the sky AND cut through the grunts on the ground. But it’s not always this straightforward. Especially not when the game drops you in a pit with a Rancor, or unleashes an army of little crab monsters. God, I hate those crabs.

The combat isn’t the main attraction of Survivor, though. This time around, the developers at Respawn seem most interested in exploration and community-building. The game is better for it. Especially after I clocked in an embarrassing number of hours grinding my way through the uncaring void of Elden Ring, the world of Survivor feels friendly. Welcoming. Like a splash of Coke in a fiery scotch. Goes down easy.

Here’s Jedi: Survivor's setup: you have your spaceship, crew, and a planet that improves every time you return from your adventures. Koboh, a rocky world that resembles something between Tatooine and one of those lush, cliffy garden planets of the prequel movies, acts a sort of homebase. There’s a community on Koboh that will hook you up with upgrades and gameplay hints. In return, you’ll help deck out their garden, build up their town, and clear away the nosey Imps who are closing in on the periphery of the village. You can even send people you meet on other planets to Koboh. And, yes, there’s your mandatory Star Wars cantina there, too. It’s very good.

Outside of Koboh’s orbit? The galaxy far, far away is not very hospitable for a Jedi ronin. The world of Star Wars is very much in its fascist-hellscape era during Survivor, and Cal’s days are numbered. Sure, it makes for some compelling battles. But I was surprised to hear rumors of more games coming from this series. It’s hard to imagine where they can go from here.

It goes back to that quote from early in the game, about Cal’s fight. We all know for a fact that the guy cannot win. We know he does not rebuild the Jedi order. Plus, we’re all but certain at this point, especially after what we’ve seen in series like Andor, that Cal does not factor into the rebellion in any way worth writing home about. So, why fight? Why make a series about an inconsequential hero bound for doom? I know he's got a cool beard now (there are actually a ton of beards to choose from), but why should I give a shit about Cal Kestis? Turns out, the answer isn’t exactly in Cal’s story. It’s somewhere else.

Yep. As you plunge deeper into the strange and legitimately unexpected rabbit hole of Survivor, a bizarre new side of the franchise presents itself. I’m under embargo, so I can’t quite speak to exactly what’s going on here–and I don't want to spoil it for you. But Jedi Survivor is going after something new.

The story here feels different than The Mandalorian, which often just feels concerned with tying off loose ends. Jedi: Survivor isn't like these in-between entries (see: Kenobi and Rogue One) either. This is different. Whether or not this new direction is totally relevant to Cal, or if it’s just a corporate mandate to align the Star Wars Jedi games with the broader plans of the overall franchise—whether or not you jive with it, really!—you have to admit: it’s high time Star Wars finds its new voice. Survivor isn’t afraid to search for it. For that, the game deserves to be played. I know I’ll be finishing it… as soon as I get past these damn little crab monsters.

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