Star Wars Jedi: Survivor will be launching in the new year as the sequel to the 2019 game, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. Survivor will take place five years after the first game and gives players the chance to continue on their adventure with Cal Kestis and his adorable droid BD-1. But what can be gleaned about this new game? We’ve been busy checking trailers and press releases to find out all the little variations between Jedi Survivor and its predecessor, and we’re going to be running through all the key differences in combat, features and storytelling. Read on to find out more.
Compatibility
Fallen Order was released in 2019, before the release of next-gen consoles like the PS5 and Xbox Series X/Series S. While it was initially released on the Xbox One and PS4, it has since been ported to these newer consoles, and can also be enjoyed on PC. Developers of Jedi Survivor, EA and Respawn Entertainment, have confirmed that the latest Star Wars game has been developed specifically for the PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, meaning that it will not be launching on older platforms like the PS4 and Xbox One, which will limit its audience.
Story
As we’ve already mentioned, players will reprise the role of Cal Kestis in Jedi Survivor. Unlike Jedi Fallen Order, Cal is now a true Jedi and seems to be one of the last of his kind, with this story taking place a whole five years after the previous game. Cal will still be attempting to thwart the Empire and avoid their ever-growing attacks, with new companions including the mercenary Bode Akuna, and old team members like Cere Junda.
Gameplay
Like Jedi Fallen Order, Jedi Survivor will be a single-player third-person action game that is largely narrative-driven. From what we have seen in the Jedi Survivor trailer, it looks like the combat has evolved from how it functioned in the first game. Cal can now take on a dual-lightsaber stance while in battle, and in the trailer we see him freely use the cross-guard stance as he takes on several enemy droids. EA has claimed that it is aiming to give players more agency when it comes to playstyle, suggesting that there will be more move sets that are accessible and a larger variety in how you can take down enemies than in Jedi Fallen Order. This will inventively be aided by the advanced technology on the PS5 and Xbox Series X, with the Game Director of Jedi Survivor, Stig Asmussen, claiming that the game will “expand on the series’ dynamic combat in new and innovative ways. In order to survive, Cal must learn new skills and grow his connection with the Force.” Alongside new Force and lightsaber abilities, Cal will now be able to wield a blaster to take down what EA has claimed is an expanded range of enemies compared to the previous game, although it’s not clear what that will entail just yet. The trailer also shows Cal swinging from grappling points and using animals to traverse the game’s levels. This suggests that Jedi Survivor may be more open-ended and have a larger map than Jedi Fallen Order, with EA stating that the sequel has taken on a Metroidvania-inspired design where Cal gains more abilities the further you get through the story. Moreover, Cal will be joined by a new human companion in this title, Bode Akuna. It’s unclear if players will be able to play as Bode, but the trailer shows a clip of them flipping over Cal’s back to attack enemies, so we may see them take on a sizeable role in the story.
Early Verdict
While we can’t make any definitive claims about Jedi Survivor until it’s available to play, it looks like it will expand on Jedi Fallen Order in almost every category. With new team members, a larger variety of weapons and combat options and the ability to ride animals around the map – it seems that Jedi Survivor will boast more varied gameplay. Plus, since it’s only available on the latest consoles (unlike Jedi Fallen Order), we expect Jedi Survivor to look a lot better than its predecessor, as it’s likely that features like ray-tracing will be a huge component thanks to the new technology.
