Summary
Each new franchise installment always has a difficult task in making gameplay more satisfying and rewarding than in previous entries while not making players too OP right from the get-go. Traditional Soulslikes don’t have this issue since they all begin with the player experiencing punishing deaths and a lack of resources or equipment, buttheStar Wars Jedifranchise has an odd cross to bear being a Soulslikeand a narrative-driven action-adventure game, too.Star Wars Jedi: Survivorwas able to get creative with how it iterated onStar Wars Jedi:Fallen Order, but iterating onSurvivormay now be far more difficult.
Respawn might be able to come up with morelightsaber stances followingSurvivoror perhaps refine pre-existing ones further, and Respawn will deserve an incredible amount of praise for its ingenuity if Cal never turns to the dark side or indulges in newfound dark side Force abilities. However, one way thatSurvivor’s sequel could make gameplay more dynamic and help accentuate other combat features is if it was to steal Cal’s lightsaber away for an extended period of time. This would be divisive since lightsaber combat is a staple of the franchise, but it could be precisely whatStar Wars Jedineeds right now.
Star Wars Jedi Gameplay Would Be Interesting if Cal Didn’t Have His Lightsaber
Fallen Order’s Ordo Eris Gave a Taste of Gameplay with No Lightsaber
Respawn’s tutorial introductions forStar Wars Jedi: Fallen OrderandStar Wars Jedi: Survivorhave both been spectacular, and a common denominator in both is that Cal couldn’t instantly brandish his lightsaber.Fallen Orderopened with Cal as a Padawan refugee in hiding on Bracca, and therefore even though he had his lightsaber on his person he didn’t want to expose himself as a Jedi, until he inevitably did so in response to Prauf’s murder.
Survivor, on the other hand, opens with Cal in control of the situation as he and his new crewinfiltrate Senator Sejan’s yacht on Coruscant. Here, Cal’s lightsaber is gifted to Sejan as part of Cal’s alleged capture before BD-1 unshackles him and he uses the Force to retrieve his weapon. That said, outside of these tutorial introductions there has only been one significant gameplay sequence in the series where Cal was without his lightsaber, and that was when he is inescapably abducted by the Haxion Brood inFallen Orderand taken to an underground jail on Ordo Eris.
Cal had neither his lightsaber nor BD-1 for a brief period here, where players needed to solve environmental puzzles using the Force to make their way out and to the surface before Cal is given back his lightsaber so he can involuntarily take part in Sorc Tormo’s gladiator arena.
Cal Has More Than Enough at His Disposal without a Lightsaber
Now, stripping Cal of his lightsaber again probably can’t be done as a gimmick since that would echo Ordo Eris too much. But ifCal needed to rely on only his Force abilities and a blaster pistol, he’d still have a decent chance against the Empire. It would be exciting to see how combat would look if players couldn’t automatically deflect blaster bolts or parry incoming melee strikes, and instead need to balance their Force meter with strategic offensive and defensive attacks.
The blaster pistol could come in handy for such a circumstance and be a weapon Cal leans on when he can’t wield a lightsaber. But there’s also a valid argument to make for Cal tossing away the inelegant weapon given to him bySurvivor’s Bode Akuna, an ally-turned-foe whom Cal killed in front of the man’s daughter—with that same blaster, no less.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
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.
