Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is the massively anticipated video game sequel to 2019s Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. Made by Respawn Entertainment (of Titanfall and Apex Legends fame), this is the studio’s latest big budget blockbuster.

You play as Cal Kestis – now a powerful and experienced Jedi Knight. Set five years after the events of the first game, the Galactic Empire is growing stronger and stronger. But Cal is one of the last Jedi Knights in the whole galaxy. Is he the only one who can stop them? And how far is he willing to go to protect his friends and uphold the legacy of the Jedi Order? That’s all up to you.

So, grab your lightsaber and hop in your X-Wing. It’s time to go and slay some stormtroopers….

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor gameplay

Fallen Order’s exciting blend of Souls-like lightsaber combat and Tomb Raider inspired exploration, puzzling and platforming are back. But Respawn have built on all of them in fresh, exciting ways. Making Survivor one of the most cinematic Star Wars games of the last 20 years. It’s 3rd person action-adventure gaming at its best.

There are new unseen planets to explore. New Force powers to master. New enemies to battle against. And a whole bucket-load of new secrets to find. Each world you travel to starts off fairly small. But as you progress and collect important gear, you’ll unlock more and more areas to discover. You’ll steadily reveal the map until you’ve uncovered every nook and cranny. And while there’s an exciting main story to follow, there are plenty of side quests to get stuck into and unique characters to meet. Especially when you head off the beaten track.

But it’s fair to say that you’ll spend most of your time fighting. Parrying. Counterattacks. Blocks. Lunges. Overhead strikes. Make sure you master them all. Because you’ll be pitting your skills against all manner of human, robotic and alien nasties. Battle droids, rancors, bounty hunters, giant spiders and Sith lords are only the tip of the iceberg here.

Just try not to die. Because if you do, you’ll lose all your unspent experience points. And all the enemies in the area will respawn. Oh, and you’ll have to defeat the enemy who killed you to get your XP back. Good luck, Jedi.

There’s more Star Wars detail packed in here than you can shake an Ewok at too. The developers have absolutely nailed the look and sound of the galaxy far, far away. From the hum and crackle of your lightsaber, to a huge star destroyer hovering overhead. The feel of the films is on full display everywhere you look.

Stances

Stances give you a bunch of different fighting styles to pick from. Each one gives you a unique way of using your lightsaber – with pros and cons depending on what you choose.

You’ll unlock these stances at key points in the story. But you can only have two of them equipped at once (they’re mapped to right and left on the D-pad). So, make sure you choose wisely…..

• Single – this is *the* classic lightsaber fighting style. Think Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi. It’s the easiest stance to master and gives you a good balance of power, defence, and attack speed.

• Double-bladed – want to go full Darth Maul? Of course you do. With a blade set in either end of the hilt, it’s great for crowd control. You won’t have as much power, but you’ll be faster, with a good level of defence. There’s even a special whirling attack that’ll hit multiple enemies. So, you’ll make quick work of those pesky groups of stormtroopers.

• Dual wield – with one lightsaber in each hand, this stance is super-fast and aggressive. You won’t have much in the way of defence, but the extra speed and power lets you smash through enemies. If you want to take the fight to the Empire, this is the one to go for.

• Blaster – a lightsaber in one hand. A blaster in the other one. It’s like if Han Solo and Luke Skywalker had a baby. You’ll be able to take down foes from a distance before they can get close. And there’s also a charged shot that deals extra damage (which you can quickly refill by attacking).

• Crossguard – remember Kylo Ren’s medieval-looking lightsaber from The Force Awakens? This stance adds a crossguard to your saber – giving you a ton of extra damage with every swing. It’s the most powerful stance in the game and is the best option if you’re a more defensive Jedi. But there’s a trade-off. That extra power means you’re much slower, as the weapon becomes a lot heavier to wield.

Gear

With Jedi Survivor, Respawn have really gone to town with the customisation.

You can now change pretty much every part of Cal Kestis’ look. From his jacket and trousers to his haircut and facial hair. If you want to, you can even give him a mullet and a handlebar tache. After all, you’ve got to look good while you take down the Empire.

Your droid companion BD-1 even gets in on the action too. Whether that’s a fresh lick of paint, or a new set of legs. Everything down to the actual material he’s made out of can be tweaked. R2D2 eat your heart out.

Then there’s the lightsaber itself. Split into nine unique sections, you can swap components in and out to craft your dream weapon. If you want to recreate Mace Windu’s epic purple saber from Attack of the Clones, you can do that. Either way, you’ll be able to make a lightsaber that’s entirely unique to you.

And boy are there a lot of cosmetic options to choose from. There are tons to collect across the course of your journey. So make sure you explore every corner of the galaxy. You never know what cool bit of gear you might find…

Skills and abilities

What’s a Star Wars game without a load of fun Force powers and Jedi skills?

As you complete quests and defeat the baddies, you’ll get experience points. Then, when you level up you’ll get a skill point to spend. This can be used to unlock new abilities from three different major skill trees – Survival, Force, and Lightsaber.

This lets you tailor your Cal to match your preferred playing style. Want to become an unstoppable Force wielder? You can do that. Like the idea of getting up close and personal to tear through your opponents? That’s an option too.

These skills aren’t all available from the off though. You’ll have to work your way through the story to get the most powerful abilities in the game. You’ll start with Force pull and push (which is perfect for knocking enemies off high ledges), plus some basic saber moves - building a bigger arsenal of tricks as you go.

There’s plenty more fun powers and skills to unlock, but we’ll let you discover those for yourself. But it’s definitely fair to say that by the end of your journey, you’ll be a Force to be reckoned with…

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor platforms

Game developers are now starting to take full advantage of the power of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and Series S. And doing that lets them make games with extra-crisp graphics and even smoother framerates. These both put extra strain on the consoles though. So, because of that, the trusty PS4 and Xbox One X don’t have the added oomph that’s needed to run certain new games.

You’ll only be able to play Star Wars Jedi: Survivor on PC, PS5 or Xbox Series X/S. If you’re a huge Star Wars fan and you’re thinking about upgrading your gaming setup, now might be a good time.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor FAQ

Not sure which console to play Jedi Survivor on? Don’t Force it. Head to ShopLive and speak to one of our tech experts instead. They’ll be able to point you in the right direction. And they won’t use any Jedi mind tricks either…