In spite of never seeing Star Wars, I’ve always been able to follow the plots in Star Wars games. The gist of the original trilogy has permeated pop culture to the point that everyone knows the basics of the story, but in all of the other games I’ve played – like Knights of the Old Republic, The Force Unleashed, and Republic Commando – it was pretty easy to figure out the specifics.
For the first time, I feel a little lost in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. Survivor is still jam-packed with lore, to the point that it’s got one of the biggest Databanks I’ve ever seen. Getting to know all the worlds in this game doesn’t just mean picking up useful trinkets. It means stopping the game to read about what you just found – and then reading the related entries. I don’t mean that to be a criticism, but I do like seeing a game draw from its history like Star Wars Jedi: Survivor does. The game may not be completely accessible to newcomers, but you can get up to speed with just a little bit of work.
I’ve got nothing else to complain about. The fact that double-jumping is my only complaint, it should probably tell you that it’s a really good game. Despite reports of people having trouble with the game’s performance on PS5, I didn’t have any problems with it. Though, admittedly, most of the performance complaints seem to have come from PC players. There’s no doubt that one of the reasons I was able to get into the game so easily was because of its accessibility. EA made a big deal about how flexible this game is, and it wasn’t just lip service. If there’s something in this game, there’s a pretty good chance you can customize it. Things like difficulty levels or how you want to use your light sabre.
Most games don’t even let me do those things, but in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, they make it easy and intuitive enough that I always found myself slowing down before entering battle, waiting for enemies to fire lasers at me so I could shoot them back at them. (If you’re used to that kind of thing, you’ll enjoy the much harder difficulty levels too.) In addition, I liked how well Cal could parkour around the world in this game. In addition to those silly double jumps, you can run along walls, grab robes and swing across chasms, and grab a grappling hook to get up to places that are hard to reach. You’re able to explore the world in a way that makes me think of Spider-Man when you chain all those things together.
Basically, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is a blast to play. Explore this game by fighting enemies, customizing Cal and discovering the game’s lore. Everything is done so well, that it should appeal to anyone, regardless of their Star Wars knowledge. Sure, there are a few minor things wrong with it, but they’re so minor, it feels like nitpicking. Despite some outstanding games this year, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor still stands out.
