In Jedi: Survivor, Star Wars Searches For a New Voice

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The sequel to Fallen Order may not be the big new thing in the galaxy far, far away. But this game is one step closer.

“Why fight when you can’t win?” This line of dialogue from the opening hours of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor may seem inconspicuous, but it stuck with me. Cal Kestis, the resilient padawan who somehow survived Order 66, became a Jedi knight in the first game of the series, Fallen Order. He lived. But these games exist in the period between Revenge of the Sith and the original trilogy. And… Cal is nowhere to be found in A New Hope. So, unless Kathleen Kennedy is going to go full George Lucas and digitally insert Cameron Monaghan into the background of a movie from 1977, we can safely assume that Cal is going to die soon. Which is a bummer. Because I really like these games.

That said, Fallen Order was a spectacularly bold approach to lightsaber combat—albeit a bit too difficult for its own good. Survivor, which releases on Playstation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S this Friday,is right in the sweet spot. This time around, it’s not all just: dodge, deflect, attack. Now, you have a handful of lightsaber (and blaster!) stances at your disposal. Perks, too. And rewards! But it’s really the stances that change the game here, and make the combat in this sequel finally feel as deep as its Soulslike influence. Well, almost as deep.

The lightsaber stances aren’t just cosmetic changes—they’re kind of the whole thing. Say you have to breach an Imperial outpost, but there’s a battalion of Stormtroopers in the way. You’re going to be facing a lot of laser fire, so a single lightsaber blade may not be enough. The double-bladed setup may