How strong is the Force in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor?

It’s been four years since the first adventure for Cal Kestis and his little droid friend BD-1 “Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order”. A lot seems to have happened in the young Jedi’s life since then. While Cal worked with the crew of the Stinger Mantis starship towards the end of the first part, he is now back on a solo mission in the sequel, set five years after the events of part one. By his side: his little droid BD-1. Our nearly four-hour hands-on appointment begins about an hour after the game starts and begins with a crash. Cal and BD-1 crash-land on the planet Koboh. Fortunately, Cal’s old buddy Greez lives there and we go to visit him.

Exciting story about the High Republic?

First, Cal and BD-1’s job is to find spare parts for their starship. However, this soon turns out to be the beginning of what is likely to be an exciting adventure. We can’t and shouldn’t reveal too much, but what we were allowed to see beforehand made us excited for the complete story. Especially the connections with the era of the so-called High Republic will make old “Star Wars” fans happy. At least then the developers at Respawn had us and we can’t wait to find out what’s in store for Cal and BD-1.

The most versatile lightsaber ever

While Cal was already right in part one when it came to using his lightsaber against enemies, “Star Wars Jedi: Survivor” raises the bar again. In total, Cal has five combat modes available in the game, three of which we have already tried: we already knew the one-time use of the lightsaber and the double blade. New is the so-called Dual Wield. To do this, Call separates his double-bladed lightsaber and fights with two single swords.

Just right for us, because we like to play aggressively. The highlight of the modes is that every player, regardless of whether they play defensively or aggressively, gets their own mode. Defensive players are more likely to use a single sword, while the double blade is suitable for attacking larger groups of stormtroopers and the like at the same time. The other two modes were shown to us in a short video. Crossguard Stance is a powerful double bladed stance that requires Cal to use both hands, but also makes him quite slow.

The blaster mode probably surprised us the most, since Cal hasn’t used a gun before. We are very excited to hear how the Jedi got their hands on this weapon.

More comfort makes Jedi’s life easier

Of course, Cal also uses his power. With this, the Jedi can bring his opponents closer or even incite them against each other. That felt wonderfully smooth again in part two and invites you to combine lightsaber action with the Force. If we are already smooth on the subject: “Star Wars Jedi: Survivor” relies on even more comfort in terms of skill tree. As with the predecessor, it is still divided into the three areas “Survival”, “Lightsaber” and “Might”. However, there are now significantly more ways to distribute skill points in the two areas “Lightsaber” and “Might”.

The “Lightsabre” section alone has an individual skill tree for each fighting stance just mentioned. This is especially useful for players who want to focus on a combat stance.

Comfortable fast travel, beards and colorful lightsabers

There is now more comfort with regard to fast travel. The countless meditation points are used not only for Cal to rest, save the game and distribute skill points, but also for fast travel. This is now possible between all previously found meditation points.

We found that very practical, because in the almost four-hour session we mainly concentrated on the main path. Thanks to fast travel, we can now tackle unfinished side missions more easily afterwards. Even players who like to customize characters, weapons and sidekicks like BD-1 will now get their money’s worth in “Star Wars Jedi: Survivor”.

Cal deserves a beard? No problem. Assuming we found this extra in one of the many boxes. Just select it from the menu and hey, he’s got thick beard hair. The same goes for hairstyles and clothes. By the way, not only Cal can be changed optically. BD-1 and the lightsaber can also be optically upgraded with loot found.

Our final assessment…

In the nearly four hours of just wandering around the planet Koboh, we were very impressed by its chic look. Thanks to ray tracing and chic particle effects, the game environment in particular looked great. The characters we’ve met are also detailed and lovingly realized, as are the cutscenes that propel the story along.

That alone got us excited about what’s to come. We were happy to turn a blind eye to a bush glistening due to a graphic glitch or the frame rate dropping momentarily during combat. The numerous customization options, the further expanded skill tree and especially Cal’s significantly improved lightsaber martial arts have already convinced us and we can hardly wait to finally fully immerse ourselves in the world of “Star Wars Jedi: Survivor”.