I have a complicated relationship withStar Wars. 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 Skywalker, 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 likeBattlefrontand Force Unleashed are where I first fell in love with Star Wars. Out of the many games in the franchise,Jedi: Fallen Orderwas the one I fell hardest for thanks to its excellent combat, strong cast of characters, and of course, its beautiful protagonist.
Related:I Forgot How Hard The Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Opening Goes
Updated May 20, 2025: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 single-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 withJedi: Survivor, it seems thatRespawnhas 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 anomaly 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 talk 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 disappointed 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 absolutely massive.
Without going off the beaten path too much, I found tons of optional side content to dig into like side missions (referred to as Rumours), cosmetics to 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 too 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 about 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 Lightsabers 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 not 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 ability 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 with 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 itselftoothin 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 changes 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 original 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.
