Star Wars Jedi: Survivor had more than its fair share of technical issues at launch, for which it got plenty of deserved criticism. At the same time, amidst all of that criticism, Respawn Entertainment’s action-adventure title also ended up being more than a little underappreciated. Now, more than a year on from its original release, Jedi: Survivor is set to launch for PS4 and Xbox One, and though there’s reason to be concerned about how it will hold up on their significantly weaker hardware, the prospect of an even larger audience getting the chance to experience its incredible offerings is an exciting one. Ahead of its September 17 launch for PS4 and Xbox One, here, we’re going to go over a few key details about the game that new players should know about, as well as information specific to its upcoming last-gen port.
STORY
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is set five years after the events of Fallen Order. Young Jedi Knight Cal Kestis steps into the spotlight once again, though the crew of the Stinger Mantis has gone its separate ways. No longer in the company of Greez, Cere, and Merrin, Cal and BD-1 are working under Saw Gerrera as Resistance fighters, and continue to try and find ways to fight against the Empire while also remaining out of its grasp.
CHARACTERS
Cal doesn’t start out Jedi: Survivor in the company of his former crew, but to no one’s surprise, those characters continue to play a crucial role in the game. The likes of Greez, Cere, and Merrin all return, as do other familiar supporting characters from Fallen Order, such as the Ninth Sister or Jedi Master Eno Cordova. There’s also Bode Akuna, a newly introduced character who plays a crucial role in the story, as a mercenary and old friend of Cal’s who re-enters his life and goes on to become a major players throughout the events of the game. Meanwhile, several familiar fan-favourite characters from the larger Star Wars canon also make appearances, but we’ll leave those unspoiled.
PLANETS
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is quite a sizeable adventure, and sees players hopping across a number of planets. In total, the game features six planets – well, five planets and one moon – and it’s fair to say that there’s no shortage of room for exploration, even on the planets that are relatively more linear. Meanwhile, one of the game’s planets in particular is especially large- which brings us to our next point.
KOBOH
The rugged, rocky planet of Koboh was one of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor’s original introductions to larger Star Wars canon, and it serves as the centerpiece of the gameplay experience. As you’d expect, Jedi: Survivor continues to build on the Mtroidvania design style of its predecessor, but Koboh in particular also expands upon it by almost going the semi-open world route. Not only does it effectively serve as your hub for large swathes of the game, Koboh is also by far the single largest planet in Jedi: Survivor.
JEDI MEDITATION CHAMBERS
There’s a wealth of optional content on offer in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, a good portion of which comes in the form of Jedi Meditation Chambers. You’ll find a number of these scattered throughout the game, and each will present players with a unique set of puzzles and challenges, which will often be focused on using your traversal and Force abilities. The Perks that these chambers yield as rewards can be quite useful, so definitely they’re worth seeking out.
ABILITIES
Cal’s expanding arsenal of Force abilities and tools obviously continues to play a huge role in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, and as you’d imagine, the game expands on its predecessor’s options in several ways, with a healthy mix of new and returning tools and abilities. There’s Force powers like Force push and pull, Confuse, Force Slam, Slow Time, and more, as well as other tools and abilities such as a grappling hook (known as an ascension cable in the game), rideable (and glideable) mounts, and more.
COMBAT STANCES
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor also builds on its predecessor by expanding its combat options. It does so in the form of combat stances, with a total of five different stances available in the game, each bringing unique strengths and attributes. Fallen Order’s single and double bladed stances return, as does the dual blade stance, and they’re joined by new options with the crossguard stance, which features a crossguard lightsaber similar to Kylo Ren’s from the sequel trilogy, and the blaster stance, where, in addition to a lightsaber, you’re also equipped with a blaster, giving you long-range options.
LENGTH
So how long is Star Wars Jedi: Survivor? You can expect a meaty experience. At about 20-22 hours, its main story is a good chunk longer than Fallen Order’s critical path, while in terms of the side content on offer, it ends up being a much larger experience. You can easily get 30-35 hours out of the game, while completionists can even easily clock in over 50 hours.
COSMETIC CUSTOMIZATION
Cosmetic customization was an area where many found Fallen Order lacking, though Jedi: Survivor steps things up significantly here. In addition to having various different options for BD-1 and Cal’s weapons, Jedi: Survivor also options expanded options for Cal himself. Rather than just changing his poncho like in Fallen Order, now, you can equip various different outfits and choose between multiple hairstyles and beard options.
LAST-GEN OPTIMIZATION
Let’s come to tidbits specific to Star Wars Jedi: Survivor’s PS4 and Xbox One versions, because there’s plenty to talk about. After all, the game was infamously unstable on the technical front on all platforms upon its release last year, so how exactly will it perform on the much weaker hardware of last-gen consoles? EA and Respawn are touting “a variety of optimizations aimed at maximizing the hardware capabilities” of the PS4 and Xbox One, but specific details are currently scarce.
NO GRAPHICS MODE OPTIONS ON LAST-GEN
On current-gen console, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor obviously offers graphical options for a 60 FPS Performance Mode and a 4K Graphics Mode, though on PS4 and Xbox One, EA has confirmed that there will only be one standard setting, so multiple graphics modes won’t be offered. What resolution and frame rate we can expect the game to target on last-gen machines (or on PS4 Pro and Xbox One X) is currently unknown.
PS4/XBOX ONE COSMETICS
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor’s PS4 and Xbox One release is coming with entirely new cosmetics, and they’re being offered exclusively as pre-order bonuses. Specifically, those who pre-order the game on PS4 and Xbox One will get Obi-Wan Kenobi inspired in-game cosmetics that, based on what EA’s saying right now, won’t be available anywhere else- though hopefully they’ll be offered to all players a few months down the line.
PRICE AND UPGRADE PATH
When it launches on PS4 and Xbox One on September 17, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor will be available at a price of $49.99. On current-gen consoles, it is, of course, a $70, but given the fact that it’s a late port, the cheaper price on last-gen machines makes sense. Those who purchase the Cross-Gen Bundle will also be able to upgrade to the game’s PS5 or Xbox Series X/S version at no additional cost.
NO DELUXE EDITION OFFERED
When Star Wars Jedi: Suvivor releases on PS4 and Xbox One, the aforementioned standard edition and cross-gen bundles will be the only available options, which means a deluxe edition won’t be offered. Those with digital copies can, of course, upgrade to PS5 or Xbox Series X/S, where you then have the option to upgrade to the deluxe edition- but that option isn’t available on last-gen machines.
UPCOMING PC PATCH
To go along with its PS4 and Xbox One release, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is also set to receive a significant PC patch. Respawn Entertainment and EA have said that the update will “bring enhancements to the game’s technical performance, controls, and more”, in addition to “a variety of quality-of-life improvements”, though again, specifics haven’t been shared yet. Hopefully, we’ll find out soon exactly when this patch is supposed to arrive, and what it will entail.
