I have a complicated relationship with . Thankfully, mine doesn’t involve harassing actors or fancying Jar Jar Binks, but it does mean watching everything in the series even though I know most aren’t very good. For every great bit of Star Wars media like the original trilogy, Revenge of the Sith, The Last Jedi, and The Mandalorian, there are stinkers like The Rise of Sky🌄walker, The Book of Boba Fett, and Attack of the Clones.
As mixed as the live-action universe is, my true love for Star Wars comes from the video games. There are stinkers there too, don’t get me wrong (looking at you Masters of Teras Kasi), but games like and Foܫrce Unleashed are where I first fell in love with Star Wars. Out of the many games in the franchise, was the one I fell hardest for thanks to its excellent combat, strong cast of characters, and of course, its beautiful protagonist.
Updated April 14, 2023: We've updated this article to include preview footage of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor alongside a discussion about our hopes for the game between news lead George Foster and features editor Eric Switzer.
Fallen Order had its fair share of problems, but is easily the best sing🐲le-player Star Wars game out there and a strong foundation for the future. I’m happy to report that, after four hours of hands-on time with , it see♓ms that has built upon those foundations in every way imaginable. The Force is strong with this one.
My preview took place around an hour into the game, just as Cal and BD-1 crash-land on Koboh, a new desert planet that acts as one of the central locations in the game. Cal and BD-1 are initially just trying to fix the Mantis, but they soon learn about Tannalor, a mysterious anomal🐻y that quickly becomes a driving force of the plot.
I can’t say too much about that plot right now, but I’m intrigued to see where it’s going next and was impressed with how full of character Survivor was in my short playtime. Cal, Greez and BD-1 are highlights once more, but Koboh had an interesting person to talꦍk to at every turn, from the weird frog-like Turgle to bounty hunters and even a Glup Shitto🎃 or two. It’s a marked improvement over the original game, which kept things slim and laser-focused on the Mantis crew.
Although I was initially a little bit disꦍappointed to be previewing an area that I thought we’d already seen so much of, it turns out that previous trailers were barely scratching the surface - Koboh is ღabsolutely massive.
Without going off the beaten path too much, I fouಞnd tons of optional side content to dig into like side missions (referred to as Rumours), cosmetics t🌠o find for Cal and BD-1, puzzle rooms to complete, and even optional fights against challenging enemies, like a Rancor that can be found in a cave. Safe to say that kicked my ass a few times before I managed to beat it.
Fallen Order didn’t have to❀o much side content to do beyond optional fights and some uninteresting collectibles, so I’m glad to see that’s clearly been a focus this time around. That represents a clear theme in Survivor - improving on what didn’t work in the last game and turning it up to 11.
Fast-travel is in, climbing has been sped up, customisation is no longer just a bunch of awful raincoats, lightsaber colours return from the start, and exploration offers meaningful rewards, just to name a few. If there was something you didn’t like abওout the original game, chances are that Survivor has improved upon it.
Thankfully, Survivor isn’t just about changing what didn’t work in the original game, it’s also building on its best elements. The Dark Souls-inspired combat was one 💦Fallen ▨Order’s biggest charms, and it returns in full force here with much more depth thanks to new stances and more effective Force powers.
The biggest new addition I got to try out was the Dual Wield stance, which lets Cal use two Lightsaber🌞s at once in a “high skill ceiling” style of play. When in this stance, Cal’s attacks are much faster but with a shorter range to them, which makes Cal feel like a glass cannon. At least when he’s n༒ot using a new Force power to slow down time and instantly counter anything thrown at him - then he’s more like a regular cannon.
Even without the Blaster and Crossguard stance, which seem like mid-game unlocks, Survivor’s combat already feels a lot more fleshed-out than before, especially when combined with new Force powers like the ab🅠ilﷺity to turn someone on their side and slow down time completely. Every encounter feels unique, which couldn’t be said for Fallen Order. Combine that with Cal being much more agile, and Survivor just feels better to play in every way.
My only concern from my time wꦑith Jedi: Survivor was its jankiness, which was also Fallen Order’s biggest problem. It’s nowhere near as bad this time around, with movement and combat feeling smoother overall, but some animations felt a little off and there were consistent framerate drops. The build I played was pre-launch and the game has yet to go gold, so I’m hoping that the extra time from the delay goes into polishing things up a bit to avoid repeating Fallen Order’s mistake.
As much as I love how big Koboh is, I hope that Survivor doesn't stretch itself too thin with side content. It makes sense for what is essentially the game's hub-world, but I hope Respawn has just as much focus on the main quest as it does all the Rumours and optional content - here's hoping it's more like Assassin's Creed 2 than Assassin's Creed Ragnarok in terms of scope.
Technical issues aside, the many ꦫchanges made to Survivor already have it feeling more well-rounded and more satisfying to play. It may not be making any groundbreaking tweaks to the formula, but it’s bigger and better than the origiꩲnal in every way. All it needs to do is stick the landing with its story and it looks set to be Jedi’s Empire Strikes Back moment.
Disclaimer: EA funded press travel and accommodation for this preview.