Star Wars is one of the few pop culture franchises that won’t die. Andor shows that even in the galaxy far, far away, good stories can be told. After the controversial Star Wars Battlefront 2, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order delivered a great game. Star Wars games are better three-and-a-half years later.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, like God of War Ragnarok, may appear like a retread, but play it to find how much better it is. Cal Kestis’ story continues with new planets, side content, and quality of life improvements. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is one of the franchise’s best games.

Our brief review process always agreed. We only confirmed it 24 hours ago. Before a Day 0 patch, frame rate drops and screen tearing were severe. We loved the experience, but the launch was unacceptable. Version 1.02 saved Star Wars Jedi: Survivor in the final hour.

Performance Mode now mostly hits 60 frames per second at 1440p resolution. The occasional frame rate drop is nothing compared to what was standard before. Screen tearing is also gone.

However, the smooth frame rate makes Star Wars Jedi: Survivor easier to enjoy without any issues. Its vast worlds and breezier Dark Souls formula return. The Pyloon’s Saloon on Koboh is your home base for a long list of side content and collectibles.

Cal arrives on the backwaters planet to repair his ship after a story-focused introduction. One of the game’s most satisfying loops is reviving Rambler’s Reach Outpost, which becomes more important later. You can recruit and bring friends to the cantina by doing quests and meeting people. Exploration becomes more rewarding with the promise of new conversations and more missions if you meet a friendly person.

Characters make the story. While your goal of a new Jedi home on Tanalorr is intriguing, it’s the Mantis crew and Pyloon’s Saloon that will make you care. They’re charming, funny, and worth talking to.

Even if you don’t find a new home base, exploration is addictive, giving you one more place to search. With verticality and a large map, you could easily double the 25 hours it takes to beat the story.

Compared to Jedi: Fallen Order, combat hasn’t been expanded, but a new stance system lets you choose a lightsaber and control its use. Dual wielding, twin blades, and blaster use depend on the opponent and number of them. It expands your Force experience.

Meditation Points serve as Bonfires, death resets experience points, and the game has a slightly higher difficulty curve than other action-adventure games. You can customize the experience with multiple difficulty options.

Respawn Entertainment also brings back Metroidvania, teasing later powers and abilities in early areas. Puzzles are challenging and add to the exploration loop. The prize is customizing Cal, BD-1, and your lightsaber.

Star Wars’ quirky dialogue and music complete it. The former is stunning, with film-like tracks. Jedi: Survivor’s best feature is the latter. Before combat, droids and stormtroopers will talk about how they’ll kill the Jedi, only to be stabbed by a lightsaber seconds later. Good stuff.

Visuals aren’t. They’re inconsistent: cutscenes look great but gameplay doesn’t. In-game action could never match the game’s 147GB cutscenes. The PS5 version should support the DualSense controller, but its features are rarely used. Haptic feedback and adaptive trigger resistance rarely occur when using the Force.

Conclusion
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, like any good sequel, builds on the first game and improves it. Combat is fun and has more options, exploration is amazing, and Metroidvania puzzles and rewards are satisfying. It adds another crowning moment to 2023.

Pro:

• Worthy sequel
• Fun combat
• Enchanting discovery
• Fun puzzles
• Fantastic cast
• Music and witty dialogue

Cons:

• Minor framerate issues
• Visuals vary

Excellent 9/10