Star Wars Jedi: Survivor

9.5/10

This is the sequel to Fallen Order which I played a few years ago, and back then I gave that game a ten, being basically the only person in the galaxy to truly love that game. The sequel came out to good-not-great reviews, so I put it off, and wondered if maybe I overrated the first game. 

No! I didn't! And I don't get people saying that these aren't masterpieces! I think they are phenomenal in several areas, and the absolute perfect games for me. To be fair, these games always release in an unfinished state, and that affects the reviews, so for me, always playing a year late, I have very few complaints in that regard after they are patched up. But still, I feel like these games are never appreciated as much as they deserve. 

I said in my first review that it takes clear inspiration from Uncharted and the Souls games. In some ways, Survivor falls short of both, but in other ways, I actually prefer this one. Uncharted has those amazing sequences and beautiful vistas, but the platforming is pretty standard. This game has some very fun platforming, sometimes being my favorite part of the game. It's smooth, has good flow, and most importantly has a grappling hook. The set pieces are still very impressive and the action sequences nearly as bombastic as Uncharted. 

As for combat, it's definitely not the pixel-perfect, strategic stuff you get in Souls, but it sure is faster and more exciting. It's hard but not as needlessly annoying, and I'm afraid the biggest advantage it has is that lightsaber combat looks and sounds cooler than anything Souls has to offer. With that said, there were two VERY difficult, possibly unfair fights in Survivor and I'm man enough to admit that I turned the difficulty down to beat one part (in my defence, I had to beat this game quickly). 

Aside from a few fights, the only negatives I have is that the story and writing are pretty weak. Much of the story is typical video game stuff (there are 3 keys on 3 different planets that we need to unlock something), but even when the story does a lot more interesting things in the end, I just found the writing to be corny and the voice acting cornier. I think this is a talented cast, but yeah, it just wasn't working. I would call it all "serviceable." There is also a romance here where the characters have zero chemistry and it was hard to watch. I also have a few minor gameplay nitpicks, like the weird stamina bar, the hit boxes, etc. but who cares. 

With all that said, nothing was bad enough to make me think this game was anything less than a masterpiece. The combination of combat, platforming and puzzles were perfect (I forgot to mention puzzles - this is also a Zelda game). This game is mostly linear, which i prefer, but any exploration is both fun and handomly rewarded. The side content was all good stuff, and even though I was in a rush to finish this game, I couldn't help but get sidetracked. Even the little minigame was amongst the best I've played, and I wish they would've utilized it more. Small stuff like the cosmetics and customization are better in this game too. 

This game is gorgeous and has classic Star Wars music. It provides plenty for fans to love without feeling like blatant fan service. It explores the Empire era without trying to force everything into existing lore. 

It's great. If you're a Star Wars fan, this game is a must. It is better than the first game in every way. I wish they would just take their time releasing these so that they could win the accolades and awards they deserve.