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Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is the culmination of the series’ rocky gaming history

Tomas Franzese
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I’ve played Star Wars Jedi: Survivor’s Coruscant heist opening multiple times at this point, and every time I play it, I can’t help but think about what could’ve been with Star Wars 1313, the franchise’s most infamous canceled game. 

The idea of an Uncharted-like game about Boba Fett fighting throughout the Coruscant underworld is such an excellent pitch that I’ve grieved the loss of a game I never even had a chance to play for over a decade. Playing through Survivor’s opening doesn’t elicit feelings of disappointment about 1313, though. Instead, I feel happy that at least some fraction of that idea was able to be realized.

Survivor’s Metroidanvia-like level design and Lightsaber-and-Force-based combat are much different than what was promised from 1313. However, the idea of cleverly climbing and fighting across a seedy-looking level of Coruscant during a heist was still realized. Reflecting on the lost project ahead of this year’s Star Wars Day, I had a revelation about Respawn Entertainment’s latest game. Despite technically being a sequel to just Fallen Order, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor feels like the culmination of over a decade of Star Wars games, both released and canceled, that came before.

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A walk through Star Wars gaming history

Growing up, two of my favorite video games were the original Star Wars: Battlefront II and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. To this day, 2005’s Battlefront II is my favorite game of all time, not only because of all the great memories that I had with it but also because it feels like an authentic Star Wars simulator where multiple eras, planets, and characters are preserved in incredible detail. Survivor feels like it has the same keen attention to detail.

Players may not visit as many planets as they do in Battlefront II, but each location in Survivor is densely packed with content and immaculately packed with detailed environments and characters that faithfully represent the High Republic, prequel, and Imperial eras. While the aesthetics feel as detailed as Battlefront, the gameplay fantasy pulls more from The Force Unleashed.

Rancor fights from Jedi Survivor and Force Unleashed.

LucasArts took God of War’s formula and applied it to Star Wars, and for years provided the best Force user power fantasy in gaming. Survivor’s combat is a lot more like Dark Souls than God of War, but it’s one of very few Star Wars games since The Force Unleashed that achieves and maintains that enthralling Jedi power fantasy. The Force Unleashed felt like LucasArts’ last great Star Wars hoorah before things sputtered out with a disappointing sequel, Star Wars Kinect, as well as Star Wars 1313‘s promising announcement and devastating cancelation.

Although LucasArts is gone, it left all the right ingredients for whoever would pick up the Star Wars video game mantle next, though it would take EA a while to get there. Survivor would eventually take learnings from these earlier games, as well as EA’s rocky decade exclusively making Star Wars games.

The EA Star Wars Era

After obtaining the exclusive Star Wars video game license in 2013, EA tried to revive Star Wars Battlefront. While their games did match the immaculate detail of the original, both were rife with controversy. The first was derided for its lack of single-player content. Later, its sequel caused massive controversy at release because of its pay-to-win loot boxes. While EA moved quickly to make them less intrusive, it sullied the reputation of the EA Star Wars era.

As this was all going on, a new game titled Star Wars 1313 was in development at Visceral Games under Amy Hennig, one of the minds behind the Uncharted games. The project was reportedly a linear single-player action-adventure game about smugglers, but it didn’t align with EA leadership’s vision for Star Wars games at the time, so it was canceled.

Star Wars fans did not take this hat trick of Star Wars gaming blunders lightly. Thankfully, change came in 2019 with Respawn Entertainment’s Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. That title proved that an action-adventure Star Wars game about a ragtag group of survivors during the Empire’s reign was a good idea despite 1313‘s unceremonious cancellation. Its success showed that there was a market for single-player Star Wars content.

Fallen Order’s success only allowed Survivor to get bigger and better in almost every way. It has better combat, a more complex story, more detailed and content-rich worlds to explore, and set pieces that make hardcore Star Wars fans like myself remember what came before.

Bode helps Cal up in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.

Survivor is a Star Wars game that feels like it has learned something from every released and canceled title that came before it and is all the better because of that. We’re entering a new era of Star Wars, where EA no longer has exclusive rights to the franchise. New games are in the works at studios like Quantic Dream, Ubisoft, Zynga, and even Skydance New Media, where Amy Hennig is once again working on a new game.

As we enter this new period of Star Wars gaming history, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, even with its flaws, seems like it could stand the test of time and be the pinnacle of what a modern Star Wars game should look like. It’s the treasure at the end of a long road of video game successes and failures.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is available now for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.

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Tomas Franzese
Tomas Franzese
Gaming Staff Writer
Tomas Franzese is a Staff Writer at Digital Trends, where he reports on and reviews the latest releases and exciting…
First Star Wars Jedi: Survivor trailer features dual-lightsaber combat, open-world teases
Cal Kestis with BD-1 droid on his shoulder.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is launching on March 17, 2023, for Xbox Series X, PlayStation 5, and PC. The action-adventure game received an impressive trailer during The Game Awards that showed off several new features and teased some potential open-world aspects.
Survivor takes place five years after 2019’s Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, continuing the adventures of Cal Kestis and his droid pal BD-1. Cal is no longer a young Padawan and is now a full-blown Jedi. The much larger scope of the game seems to reflect that change.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor - Official Reveal Trailer
Combat is notably evolved in the trailer, as Cal can now freely use a dual-lightsaber stance in battle. Later, we see him enter “cross guard” stance as he takes down droids with heavy, two-handed slashes. EA tells Digital Trends that the goal of the sequel is to give players more agency when it comes to their playstyle.
Traversal plays a large role in the clip too. In addition to swinging around via grappling points, Cal is seen mounted on animals. He’s shown riding the back of a four-legged creature and using a winged one like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s glider. The clip seems to imply that the game’s planets might be more open-ended than Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order’s, as one shot shows Cal peering out over a gigantic vista. EA notes that the sequel is still largely a Metroidvania-inspired title where Cal gets new abilities over time.
Cal has a new human companion this time named Bode Akuna. In one clip, we see Bode flipping over Cal’s back to attack an enemy with a combo move.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor was built with current-generation consoles in mind, with ray tracing being a major focus. It appears to be a graphically impressive showcase that features more dynamic lighting and flashy lightsaber effects. The adventure won’t launch on PS4 or Xbox One, but it’ll be available for PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC on March 17, 2023.

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Star Wars Jedi: Survivor release date pops up on Steam ahead of Game Awards
Cal Kestis with BD-1 droid on his shoulder.

The release date of the highly anticipated Star Wars game Star Wars Jedi: Survivor leaked on the game's official Steam page.
A Steam Page for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor went live with this release date information on Monday morning, seemingly ahead of a heavily rumored appearance at The Game Awards. The store page description reveals more details about Star Wars Jedi: Survivor as well as its Deluxe Edition, which contains cosmetics that make protagonist Cal Kestis look like Luke Skywalker and Han Solo and the pre-order bonus with a costume, Lightsaber, and Blaster based on Obi-Wan. 

The "About This Game" section also provides more details on the game. Narratively, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor's Steam page explains that "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?" On the gameplay side of things, new Force abilities, Lightsaber fighting styles, and enemies to take down are teased. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor looks like it will be a galaxy-trotting adventure like its predecessor the description hints that there will be lots of planets to explore and that they'll be bigger and have more secrets than the ones in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.
EA and Respawn Entertainment have been relatively quiet regarding Star Wars Jedi: Survivor since announcing the game in May, so it's exciting to get a lot of new information about the game like its sooner-than-expected release date. If the rumors are true, this may have deflated the hype from one of The Game Awards 2022's big reveals.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor will be released for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S on March 15, 2023.

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Star Wars Jedi: Survivor comes to current consoles in 2023
Cal Kestis stares at a person in a tank in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.

EA has finally revealed the title and set a release year for the sequel to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. According to a new teaser trailer, the game's name is Star Wars Jedi: Survivor and it will release in 2023.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor - Official Teaser
In addition to the trailer, EA shared a synopsis for the game's story in a press release, revealing that Survivor takes place five years after the events of Fallen Order. "Cal must stay one step ahead of the Empire's constant pursuit as he begins to feel the weight of being one of the last remaining Jedi in the galaxy," the press release says. "Accompanied by his trusty companion BD-1, Cal will meet and ally himself with an array of unique and interesting characters on his journey."
The teaser trailer doesn't feature any gameplay. However, the press release confirms that Survivor will be a single-player action-adventure title like its predecessor and that Cal will have some new abilities at his disposal. Fallen Order director Stig Asmussen returned to direct this new game, saying that "we're leveraging advanced technology to create more dynamic Jedi combat and cinematic storytelling to expand on Cal's story as he matures and survives during the dark times." He also promised to show more of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor later this year. 
This announcement comes during a jam-packed Star Wars Celebration where we've also received trailers for shows like Andor and Willow. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor appears to be the big video game announcement of the event, although EA has previously stated that Respawn Entertainment was developing a sequel to Fallen Order.
In a press release, EA confirms that Survivor will be current-gen only "to create a deeper and more expansive Star Wars experience," so don't expect it to come out for PS4 or Xbox One. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor will be available for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S when it releases in 2023. 

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