#star wars jedi survivor review

[lemmonhead67]

STAR WARS JEDI SURVIVOR SPOILER REVIEW - Game Chat Ep. 42

[saber-life]

Eno Cordova Lightsaber (Jedi Video Game Series)

Available from @sabermach

www.sabermach.com

[flammabel]

I didn't know xbox did a year in review but my results are predictable. I am *so* surprised at my most played game. 🙃😌

[jonberry555]

Star Wars Jedi: Battle Scars by Sam Maggs Review

[rebelsofshield]

Uninformed Early Thoughts on 2023 Star Wars:

The Bad Batch Season 2: I was lukewarm on season one, but I did enjoy it and Star Wars animation has always had a soft spot in my heart. The early buzz for this season has been really positive though, so I’m excited.

The Mandalorian Season 3: I am very skeptical of all the Favroni shows at this point after how mixed the previous season of Mando was and the overall mess of The Book of Boba Fett. I do like the idea that we are getting a season that does seem to be more about Mandolorian politics and power struggles, which feels way more interesting than the aimless fetch quests and cameo parades that have defined the show for much of its run.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor: I loved Fallen Order and this would be at the top of my list if I had a game system that could run it. Is there a way to get a PS5 without giving up close to a thousand dollars? I’ve yet to find one.

Ahsoka: This could be a really fun and exciting show or it could be an absolute mess, and unfortunately I’m leaning towards the latter right now. Dave Filoni has yet to prove himself to me as a live action storyteller and I am very unenthusiastic about Rosario Dawson’s portrayal of Ahsoka. I also just can’t get over the fact that this show is like the most convoluted thing that the franchise has ever produced and I have no idea how casual viewers are going to be able to access it. That being said, I do miss my Rebels cast. I just wish I was more confident that they were going to show up in something good.

Skeleton Crew: Details on this are sparse and I am neutral on Jon Watts as a director/writer, but the idea is new and different and has the potential to show us some really fun, unexplored parts of the universe.

The High Republic: I am so far behind on The High Republic stuff, but it’s been so consistently great that I am excited to consume more. I particularly like the concept in Phase II of Jedha having been this holy city for many different Force traditions and getting to explore their interactions and tensions is really fascinating.

Novels: I love the cast of the Jedi games so Battle Scars should be fun. Delilah S. Dawson has also been a dependable Star Wars author and the idea of a deeper dive into the Inquisitorius in Rise of the Red Blade should be intriguing.

Comics: I’ve enjoyed the post-Empire Strikes Back comics, but I feel like most of the major series have been spinning their wheels for a while now. I’m ready for a new status quo or era shift.

[imgoingtocrash]

cal and merrin having an argument in the middle of a battle and telling an inquisitor to shut up is their han/leia arguing in the middle of the base hallway moment no i will not elaborate

[cantbrowsewithoutaccount]

Star Wars Jedi: Battle Scars spoiler review

Let me start off by saying I love the game and finished it only recently, with the characters still fresh in my mind. I was excited about the book. I ate it up. 

Do I love the book? No. But I don’t hate it either and I don’t think it is terrible.

The characterization in this book is good, great, even. It lets you live in the character’s heads and see the world through their eyes. Their internal dialogue is fitting, especially Cal’s in my opinion. He is headstrong, stubborn even, devoted to a point of recklesness. His world has a bit of humour in it, too, and I though it wasn’t misplaced. He’s had this little spunky side of him in the game, too. Love it. 

There are some great points of conflict in this book. The fact that the Mantis crew is not as united in spirit as some of its member may think, something I suppose will tie into the second game where we don’t see the group together. There are wonderful moments of debate and fears and how each character deals with it. I liked it. Greez has an important moment and is not overshadowed, he’s given a proper voice as he should. Not just being shelved at the pilot seat all the time. Cere is being pivoted towards her position in the next game (trailer) and her behaviour is belieavable. I liked that Cal is still unfinished in a sense, he sees himself as a weapon, as a brute force that he wants to have a purpose, and he’s decided it’s to defeat the empire. He goes far enough that sometimes you wonder if he is still a Jedi or just a vigilante with a lightsaber. I like that. And I think the book gave him enough foundation to build into this idea - this unfinished, unpolished Jedi who’s left to his own devices to decide what being a Jedi even is or means.

Saying that, I am not a fan of making Cere his new Master - his new mentor. She even calls him a Padawan in one scene. Have we forgotten that Cere herself knighted Cal a Jedi knight? He’s grown past this trauma and became a man, that was the entire point of the first game I thought? And his behaviour seemed to reflect this, he was confident and took on this “leader” role in a lot of instances, clear signs of growth. I wanted to see a lot more about his knighthood, maybe see it brought up in moments when he doubted himself. Also, why does his ass have to be saved all the time? He’s very capable. He’s much stronger than at the beginning of his story. I wish he had more agency in his own book.

And this brings me to a point I wanted to make: this really isn’t much of a Cal’s story. He is in it, but the main focus is on Merrin. This isn’t wrong on its own, she is a very interesting character and I desperately wanted to know more about her. Do I feel like her characterization is good? Yes. I do. I don’t mind her being this easy-to-crush passionate person. I don’t mind her loving easily and I understand her trauma tied to Dathomir. But... she can’t talk about it with Cal? Really? Saying she felt connection to Fret because she let her be angry felt a bit too convoluted and just... stupid. Cal who is known and even described as this amicable, sweet, compassionate guy was not someone Merrin could confide in? I understand the point that the Jedi want to feel peace, and him and Cere have moved on, and I’m glad that this is not retconned by the novel, but Cal absolutely felt fear and fury and was angry. He would understand. He would help, not just worry for Merrin in the background. Am I a bit mad that he was not the one Merrin felt connected to so strongly? Yes. They even mention that they have a connection but just don’t ever expand on it.

I am getting a bit side tracked. New characters: Fret. Her girlfriend. I don’t mind them and I think they served the story just fine. There were not very interesting to me personally, I couldn’t really connect with them. But I think that is my fault, because my headcannon of Merrin and Cal being together kept knocking on my skull whenever Fret was there. I won’t like a character just because Merrin sleeps with her and Cal can’t help but “like her”. Why? Why should I like her? You gave me nothing but a conflicted romantic interest that you tried to hide behind cheesy descriptions of her body. Calling her “beautiful” and “hot” won’t change my mind: I wanted to throw her out of the airlock.

The romance: it felt rushed. It felt too much like a fanfiction. It made me blush and I audibly said “Noooo, they didn’t.” a few times. Was it fun? For sure. Was it fitting to the story? No. I am not one to shy away from smut, I love a good romance story. But this is a Star Wars story. About family, about being lost and about finding your connection to the outside world and someone in it. The game set a standard, a higher standard than we are unfortunately used to by Disney, and it was this beautiful, deep story that you could relate to. These raunchy parts in the book made it feel... childish, cheapened. I can understand the connection between Fret and Merrin, even if I don’t agree with it, without hearing about their plush lips and reading description of Fret’s tight and ripped bod. Cal being a dumbass and mistaking Merrin’s hickey for a bruise from a fight? What? There is a place for these stories, and it’s on ao4, not in the official novelization. It is not wrong - it is just so, so out of place that it is jarring. I would much rather hear Merrin’s internal monologue and know more about her history - her world of Dathomir and her Magick. I liked that she was losing her “fire”. I liked that she found a way how to gain it back. But it could have been done more gracefully.

This is my main point with this book. It reads like a fanfiction. It is nice to read and easy, you rush through it like a lightning. But is that it? So many phrases and descriptions in this pulled me right out because I recognize them from smut oneshots.

+ I do have to say that I liked the battle scenes - the combat felt fluid and nice to follow.

I also kind of like the story, even when you know from the start that it has to be something without real consequence or payoff, because it is hard to fit something in between “official” stories without overshadowing what they’ve already got going on. It was good for what it was, I liked how the story tied together. There were some rough spots - Is nobody worried about the fact that someone can track the Mantis for weeks? An Imperial? The weird bird dude? Are we gonna talk about that?

Cal feeling these tinges of jealousy without giving them a name was nice. I like the idea of him being so fiercely protective, so lost in his idealogy that he hasn’t even thought about romantic love, but is slowly coming around to it. He’s getting curious. His and Merrin’s relationship is so sweet and supportive, and I do enjoy that this Merrin’s story still does not rule him out like a potential love interest, because I really do wish to see that happen. This clash of cultures and idealogies is such a rich field and I want desperately for something to grow there, tall and strong.

Maybe in the game. Maybe in the game. But not in a “make out in the fresher” kind of way, please. No more.

The book leaves us at a set up for the game while not really answering much about Merrin or anybody else. It is fun, it is definitely not terrible. But it just leaves me with higher hopes for the game.

Number rating seems very limited but if I had to, I’d give it 6/10.

[miloscat]

[Review] Star Wars: Jedi Survivor (PS5)

An excellent continuation.

After Fallen Order impressed me so much, I was keen for the sequel. Even more so when I found out a friend had worked on it; from their reports, conditions at Respawn are very healthy and the three-year development went smoothly. The result is a “next episode” that is mechanically iterative, experiments a bit with the structure, and tells a satisfying new story with its cast.

Building off the now-popular template of “like Dark Souls but”, Survivor presents deliberate combat and exploration with encounters designed to test you, but with puzzles and platforming segments layered in. The new Force powers of lift and slam (working through the cardinal directions of movement after the first game’s pull and push) factor into each, while a grappling hook makes for fun traversal options. Additional combat styles include off-handing a gun—which I found too fiddly and underpowered—and my preferred combo: heavy crossguard style offset by the swift, offensive dual-wield style. Mind-tricks can now also turn a difficult multi-enemy engagement into a farcical fracas.

After an opening jaunt in Coruscant, Cal crashes on Koboh, a rocky planet that’s got more going on than first meets the eye. The first game had you returning periodically to Bogano, but Koboh is much more: not just a huge map, but a hub, and a home base. This frontier planet is a site for prospector’s mines, that’s also the base of a bandit troop who have co-opted Clone Wars battle droids, plus it’s a haven for outcasts who gather in the local saloon, not to mention a focal point of scientific Jedi research from the golden era of the Republic. It’s got canyons, forests, swamps, sky-high peaks, run-down outposts and high-tech labs. This rich history gives Koboh a great sense of place, avoiding one-note single-biome planet tropes to create a world that feels real and important in a big and complex galaxy. Also, its open-world design grants a new layer of discovery and exploration beyond the intricate dungeon design (which does still exist here).

Koboh is the real star of this game (with a runner-up recognition to Rogue One’s Jedha with its smaller open-world map and ancient temples). Initially just a stop-off, Cal (now sporting a rugged and customisable stubble alongside an array of outfits) finds ancient terrors, entrancing possibilities, lots of fun nods to Star Wars ephemera, and a motley group of new friends and acquaintances. Special shout out to the queer representation; I thrilled at the non-binary character and I think almost every romantic pairing or allusion is gay, which is awesome! Returning to Greez’s cantina to check in with the patrons and gradually continue conversations as you get to know them was a great feeling, as the derelict dive gets spruced up and populated over the course of the adventure.

When Survivor introduced the High Republic era as a key part of its plot in terms of legacy and flashbacks, I saw it as a cynical Disney marketing ploy. But they won me over because like everything else in the game, it’s well-developed and paid off, with engaging heroes and villains, distinctive visual design, and fun setpieces. The High Republic Jedi chambers are fun self-contained puzzle chambers like the previous game’s Zeffo stuff, and the chaotic crystals and ferrofluid of the exotic “Koboh matter” make for interesting interactions while looking damn cool.

I loved my time with this game. It’s got a strong central thrust and story, lots of fun sidequests and collectibles, and the open-world aspects aren’t overwhelming like I found Elden Ring to be. You’ve got fast travel and an excellent map with unlockable collectible markers. The battle droids are an always charismatic foe with fun dialogue and designs. The story does have some real bummer moments towards the end but cool twists as well. I’m just sad that I now have to wait a few years to see what Respawn comes up with next!

[keybladespirit]

16. Star Wars: Jedi Survivor

Wow! My PC is not good enough to run this game, but I can tell it's a great followup to Fallen Order. Even through the framerates given to me by my struggling PC, the gamefeel that would have been there if I had the money for an upgrade or three showed through pretty well. Looks ugly on the lowest graphics settings though. And yeah maybe that's supposed to be expected but like, games used to look pretty good on Low, you know?

The story was a big improvement over Fallen Order. For one, Cal Kestis feels a lot more like a unique character who couldn't be replaced with the an existing character. Where Fallen Order felt like a pretty generic Star Wars story for this time period, Survivor does a lot more with the unique bits and pieces that Fallen Order had. Still maybe not the best execution of the story being told, but it succeeds very at being a Star Wars story about trauma and loss and how these things can control us if we don't let ourselves heal. It feels very much like Fallen Order stumbled so Survivor could jog briskly. I hope this series turns into a trilogy because I really feel like there's one last story to be told here.

My biggest problem is mainly that it feels like there's a lot more going back and forth between locations. It's like.... Koboh, Jedha, Koboh's moon, Koboh, Jedha, Koboh again, moon again... and it makes sense for the story but like... that stretch of the game could have been broken up more, I think. That said, Koboh does have a decent amount of different kinds of environments (but the swamp should have been more poisony I think), so that helps a lot with reducing that fatigue. If there's another game, I'd like a new planet for a home base of the kind that Koboh is, Dagobah as a dedicated poison swamp planet, one of the moons of Tatooine but not Tatooine itself, and probably a few others.

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[empireofstarsandsmoke]

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Review

So I finished Jedi Survivor... and I would describe it as underwhelming. I would rate the game a 6/10. I finished the story and used the dual-wield and double-bladed lightsaber stances with my cyan-colored lightsaber (from the last game) and played on the normal/ Jedi knight difficulty. I spent 40 hours doing the main story, exploring, and doing some side content. I didn't get a lot of screenshots, but I will post some gifs so keep on the lookout for that.

Overall, I'm glad I didn't buy the game (my sister bought it for me, I will be selling it back to get some money back). I still love the first one, but I would wait for a sale for Jedi Survivor. Worth 60-40 in my opinion though it does have a lot of content. I expected a really good game since the 1st one was so good and I saw a lot of good reviews and hype for this game. Besides the lightsaber stances, there wasn't anything that I loved about the game. No scene that stood out to me. :/ (kinda bummed out that it was a letdown for me).

Idk what game to play next but yeah (Maybe Baldur's Gate 3 or Dragons Dogma 2?? 😉👀). Below are my thoughts and stats on Jedi Survivor *spoilers included*.

Thank you for reading and for your support. Spoilers below!!!

So like I said above I was very underwhelmed with the game and the story. I heard a lot of good reviews and podcasts I listened to raved about how good the game was (minus the bugs and issues at launch). I expected to enjoy my time with Jedi Survivor. I am not a Star Wars fan but I played Jedi Fallen Order and fell in love with the characters, and the story in Jedi Fallen Order was so good (in my opinion someone who knew little to nothing about Star Wars). There was some stuff done right and some that were meh (not bad but not great). Stuff that I didn't like were the open-world aspect of Koboh and Jedah. I got annoyed that a lot of areas I wanted to explore early in the game were blocked off due to not having all the traversal skills. I did go back to some areas to explore them once I got the traversal ability needed but it got annoying fast. I thought this was very strange for me because I love open-world games and being free to explore the game's world at my own pace and get lost in it. But for this game, I preferred the more linear story sections with the side paths with hidden content (chest and mini-side bosses).

Moving on to the topic of side content. I thought a lot of the side content was boring. The character customization was meh. I was not impressed with the hairstyles and beard options available. I stuck with the survivor hairstyle and beard stubble for 99% of the game. For the other 1% I had Cal in his scrapper Jedi fallen order hair style. The outfits sucked in my opinion. They were not cool and just generic I guess? Again mostly had Cal in his survivor outfit just changed the outfit color and the scrapper look. Once I got the ponchos I stayed the ponchos lol. The lightsaber customization was cool. I liked changing my lightsaber look every so often. Okay now on to side content. Again pretty meh. The seeds were all the same except for different color variations, I do not see the point of doing the chambers (even though I did them all), and side bosses were not challenging. (Also I guess you can't customize the mantis which sucks. I even got the pit droid but I could not find how to customize the mantis). The most challenging boss/ side boss in the whole game was the Spawn of Oggdo Boggdo (f*ck Oggdo Boggdo and his spawn). I found some of the legendary bosses, but they did not pose a challenge for me so I didn't go out of my way to find them all. I liked the holo-tactics mini-game, that was fun. Also, I don't think the perks that were added. Once I equipped my first one I kept it for most of the game and only switched it out before the Dagan fight which I don't think did much.

Okay and now story. The story was again meh. I went on my phone for a lot of the cut scenes. The quest to find Tanalorr was clearly not exciting for me. The most exciting part was Bode's betrayal (obviously) however I was not that surprised because I never really trusted him. Cere's death and Cordova being alive and then later dying were also pretty surprising events. And the story bosses Rayvis, Dagan, and Bode were not that difficult. Bode was the hardest (took me two tries to kill him). Darth Vader when playing as Cere was kind of challenging but it took me 5 tries so... yeah (Oggdo Boggdo took me an hour, idk how many deaths). When looking back to Fallen Order the Ninth Sister, Malicos, and the Second Sister took me so many tries it was exciting when I finally beat them. I would have liked more BD-1 and Cal talk like in the Fallen Order. I also did not like the romance between Cal and Merrin (why can't we have two people just be friends and bond over trauma (low key thought Merrin was lesbian)). In the end, I was ready for the game to be over when usually I try to drag out the ending cause I love the characters, story, setting...

Cause I don't want to end on a bad note. The stuff that I did like about the game was the stances. They were fun to try and I liked that you could pick your 2 favorites. I also liked that the lightsaber colors had different sounds and the lightsaber customization was cool. 

But yeah those are my thoughts on Jedi Survivor. Thank you for reading. Hope you have a good day and a great gaming session. 😊🎮

[drunkwooky]

Book Review: Art of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor

The Art of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor comes out on February 20th, 2024 from Lucasfilm and Dark Horse Comics. Here's my review.

[lordfentongaming]

Lord Fenton Gaming 2023 Year in Review

[jonberry555]

Spoiler-Free Review - Star Wars Jedi: Battle Scars by Sam Maggs

I've Read Star Wars Jedi: Battle Scars by Sam Maggs. "Cal Kestis leads the Mantis crew on an adventure set between Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and the highly anticipated Star Wars Jedi: Survivor." The videogame tie-in novel follows Cal an the Mantis Crew between the games Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.