Summary
- Star Wars Jedi: Survivor improved gameplay with more stances and enemy variety, but the story lacked cohesion and left fans wanting more.
- A time jump in the sequel could offer fresh narrative opportunities, allowing for an older Cal and Kata to explore uncharted territory and avoid falling into series tropes.
- The Star Wars Jedi series should explore a new era, as it has already covered the Galactic Civil War and Clone Wars-era. A new threat and a big time jump could take the Jedi into the Thrawn era or the First Order-Resistance war.
While it wasn't quite perfect, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor did pretty much everything that fans wanted it to. From a gameplay perspective, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor was an improvement over its predecessor in practically every way, from adding more lightsaber stances to increasing enemy variety to bringing about a more rewarding progression system. But from a story perspective, things weren't quite as cut and dry.
For the most part, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor's story was pretty solid, but it definitely lacked some of the cohesion that made the first game such an engaging Star Wars story. It opted for a more large-scale, expansive narrative that tried to juggle three different Star Wars eras at once, along with a stacked cast of now-beloved characters. By the time the credits rolled on Jedi: Survivor, many fans were left feeling a little unsatisfied, and many were left eager to find out what happens next in Cal Kestis' journey. While the Star Wars Jedi series has plenty of different avenues left to explore, a time jump might be the series' best course of action.
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Why a Big Time Jump for Star Wars Jedi Makes Sense
A Story Revolving Around Kata Would Feel Too Repetitive Right Now
After finishing Star Wars Jedi: Survivor's main story, it seems pretty clear that the series' future lies with Kata Akuna. Orphaned after her father turns to the Dark Side and forces Cal Kestis to kill him, Kata Akuna is a young, potentially Force-sensitive child who's taken in by Cal, Merrin, and Greez by the end of Jedi: Survivor. While it's currently unclear just what Kata's role in the future of the Star Wars Jedi series will be, it seems almost guaranteed that it'll be major, though the series' time setting might factor into that quite heavily.
If Star Wars Jedi: Survivor's sequel picks up straight after the second game's events, then it seems fairly likely that Kata Akuna will play a sort of apprentice role in the game, with Cal Kestis being her Jedi Master. While this is a natural next step for the series, it's also the most dull, since fans have seen this dynamic play out time and time again in other pieces of Star Wars media. Even if Cal and Kata's relationship has nothing to do with The Force or learning to be a Jedi, mentor-learner dynamics are a dime-a-dozen in Star Wars, and it'd be a shame for the Star Wars Jedi series to just fall into series tropes at the last second.
But if Star Wars Jedi: Survivor's sequel made a big time jump, then that might serve to mix things up nicely. A time jump offers the Star Wars Jedi series almost limitless narrative opportunities. One possible avenue would be to have a much older Cal Kestis and an adult Kata leave Tanalorr for the first time in decades, taking their mentor-learner dynamic into uncharted territory. Another possible plot could see Kata run away from Tanalorr, with players taking control of an older Cal as he tries to track her down, with the potential there for her to turn to the Dark Side.
The Star Wars Jedi Series Could Benefit From Exploring A New Era
Though it's only had two entries so far, the Star Wars Jedi series has pretty much exhausted three major Star Wars eras, with both games taking place in the Galactic Civil War, and Jedi: Survivor seeing players take on both Clone Wars-era and High Republic-era threats. For the inevitable sequel, it might be time for Cal Kestis to face off against a new threat, and a big time jump would allow for that, taking the Jedi to either this budding new Thrawn era, or much further into the future with the First Order-Resistance war.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 84 /100 Critics Rec: 87%
- Released
- April 28, 2023
- ESRB
- T For Teen due to Mild Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Respawn Entertainment
- Publisher(s)
- Electronic Arts
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 4
- Franchise
- Star Wars
WHERE TO PLAY
The story of Cal Kestis continues in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor™, a third person galaxy-spanning action-adventure game from Respawn Entertainment, developed in collaboration with Lucasfilm Games. This narratively-driven, single player title picks up five years after the events of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order™ and follows Cal’s increasingly desperate fight as the galaxy descends further into darkness. Pushed to the edges of the galaxy by the Empire, Cal will find himself surrounded by threats new and familiar. As one of the last surviving Jedi Knights, Cal is driven to make a stand during the galaxy’s darkest times - but how far is he willing to go to protect himself, his crew, and the legacy of the Jedi Order?
Explore an Untamed Galaxy – Discover new planets and familiar frontiers in the Star Wars galaxy, each with unique biomes, challenges, and enemies. Master new skills, equipment, and abilities that will augment the ways you explore, fight, and roam. With larger areas to explore and more to discover off the beaten path, players who adventure beyond the horizon will find hidden rewards.
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- Genre(s)
- Action-Adventure, Soulslike, Sci-Fi
