Review: ‘Jedi Survivor’ is not up to par

Michael Clark Staff Reporter

I’ll be the first to say it, I was not the biggest fan of 2019’s “Jedi: Fallen Order.”

It was a fun, yet fundamentally flawed game with clunky level design, unresponsive combat and one of the worst user interfaces I have seen in a game.

Thankfully, Respawn’s 2023 follow up, “Jedi Survivor” is a fantastic sequel in just about every way. The gameplay is faster, the world is bigger, the graphics are stunning.

Despite that, I cannot recommend this game. The story of the game is miles better than the cookie cutter set of the original. The game continues the story of Cal Kestis and his crew adventuring across the galaxy, fighting off the Empire. It continues certain themes from “Fallen Order” such as survivor’s guilt and conquering one’s inner darkness. These themes are portrayed in much more compelling and emotional ways, making for a far more engaging story with some really heavy hitting moments.

While the gameplay still feels a little unresponsive, sometimes an enemy will do an attack you can’t dodge due to being halfway through a combo, but it feels much tighter overall.

There are several ways to wield your lightsabers which make for varied and immersive gameplay.

One of the best new features about “Jedi Survivor” is just how big it is. The planets Cal visits feel so alive and fun to explore, if not a bit overwhelming.

While the game still suffers from poor map design and frustrating puzzles, these moments aren’t half as bad as they were in “Jedi: Fallen Order.” The game is a delight to play.

With all of that in mind, I just cannot say that this game is great. Despite everything it does right, this game suffers from some of the worst performance issues I have ever seen.

It’s been about a week since the game’s release and there are still no fixes from Electronic Arts. The frame rate is atrocious, the graphics stutter and textures do not render properly. Enemies won’t spawn into the world until you’re a certain distance away from them, shattering the immersion. entertainment.ed@ocolly.com

Worst of all, the game crashes like crazy, killing your hard-earned progress. This ruins the game for obvious reasons. It’s an unacceptable release and should not run this bad on the PS5, let alone PC.

All in all, “Jedi Survivor” will be a fantastic game in about 6 months. However, as of now, it is an unfinished and disappointing release. Something that is far too common in 2023.

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