What does a Jedi do when they are on the run from the Empire and finding the odds are constantly against them? This is what Cal Kestis faces in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, the sequel to developer Respawn’s Jedi: Fallen Order. Set again after Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, the game continues the story of Cal after he escapes from the Imperial Inquisitors and Darth Vader.

The game starts with an opening area that gets players reacquainted with both the controls and general mechanics while giving them an update on what’s happened to all the characters since the last game ended. I won’t give anything away but the story choices hit hard early in the game, though they do ultimately serve in putting the player in a position that initially restricts their options which is typical of the genre.

It can’t be understated just how great of a first impression the game makes with an opening sequence that showcases many of the visual improvements in the new game. And while it may be tightly linear experience through this “tutorial area” the environment really makes you feel like you’re in a much larger world. And a “larger world” is something Jedi Survivor does VERY well in presenting – there is a lot to find for the completionist player that forces them to travel far and wide to find cosmetic items and unlock achievements.

Controls feel good and I like how the basic “force pull” and “force push” Jedi abilities are by default mapped to the controller triggers making them easy to memorise and use in combat. Movement is handled well and it’s easy enough to get Cal doing what you need though in a few cases when navigating trickier terrain it’s not always clear how to leverage abilities. There’s a hint feature included where the game can prompt you if you appear stuck but I’m not sure yet of it’s usefulness.

On the downside though my first run through the game’s opening locked up, forcing a restart and repeating a lengthy part of that area, including a couple of the tutorial instructions. Having that happen so early on does impact a player’s momentum and was surprising to see it so early as you’d normally expect this part of the game to be the most heavily tested.

I’ve been impressed with what I’ve seen so far in the game and how it takes what appealed from the first game and expands on it. There is so much to see in just the early areas it feels like players keen to unlock as much as they can will be kept busy for a long time. Best comparison I’ve come across is that Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is the Batman: Arkham City to Fallen Order‘s Batman: Arkham Asylum. Both are bigger than their predecessors and cement themselves as being some of the best in the Metroidvania-style genre. I’m looking forward to seeing how it ends. 🙂

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is out now on PC, Xbox and PlayStation. Played on an Xbox Series X.