As a fan of Star Wars, Soulslikes, and big-budget single-player action games, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order spoke to me on many levels. It manages to blend the risk and reward elements of From Software’s Souls series with the inherent power fantasy of the Jedi. That said, it wasn’t a perfect combination. Backtracking without fast travel is tedious, exploration is rewarded mostly with overwhelming cosmetics, and I wish I could do more with my powers than just pushing and pulling and slowing down. I couldn’t help but think.
I say all this because my main takeaway from about 5 hours in the upcoming sequel, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, seems to be systematically solving the problems I had with Fallen Order. Survivor feels more grand without the burgeoning scope detracting from the feeling of exploration and discovery that serves as its heart.
My preview time spent about 4 hours on the Kobo planet, a huge, wide-open planet that primarily serves as Cal’s second home over the course of the Jedi Survivor story, followed by about 1 hour on the lunar planet. Spent and split. Introducing the more traditional combat and platforming encounters fans have come to expect. Let’s start with Koboh. Because this represents the biggest change in Jedi Survivor and Fallen Order. A vast open world that stretches in all directions, with interesting encounters and rewards wherever you turn.
Kobo Let’s Go
We already showed you nine minutes of Koboh’s gameplay as part of an IGN First article, but what we couldn’t really point out was the fact that most of that footage only covered the introduction of the planets. . A traditional straight section leading through caves, valleys and trails, it opens wide once it reaches the Southern Reach. Breath of Breath of the Great He remembered the first time he stepped onto the plateau. wild.
My main goal throughout this section was to go to the cantina and find someone to fix the crashed Mantis ship. There was a hidden cave in one direction and an incredibly tough (and incredibly cool) boss fight. I forget to spoil it here. In the other direction was the Bedlam Raider camp, outfitted with stormtrooper armor on spikes. A nasty surprise awaits me at the trapdoor that leads underground, and if you follow a different path you’ll eventually find the Jedi Chamber, which houses a huge puzzle room. Other paths were still closed.
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Even better, all of these excursions felt appropriately rewarding. Most people gave me skill points for my troubles. This is much more valuable in Survivor, as there are separate skill trees for lightsaber stances, force powers, and flat health and force upgrades. Offering cosmetics greatly improved the rewards due to the fact that you could find completely different outfits for Cal to wear (more than just a different poncho design). My personal favorite so far has been the bandana, which looks a bit like Solid Snake from Metal Gear Solid.
Koboh is huge, but thankfully it didn’t get lost thanks to some really good map features. For example, automatic markers highlighting passages leading to unexplored areas, symbols signaling areas not yet accessible with current abilities, and so on. The trail that marks the way you came, and of course fast travel. Yoda, thank you for fast travel. Even better, Cal eventually gains the ability to tame beasts as well, so he can use them as mounts or as a way to cross large gaps. All the extras make exploring Koboh fun.
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Another thing that struck me as I played was how good both the level and enemy designs were at setting up opportunities to use Force powers in fun ways. The mini-boss arena is full of objects that can be tugged hard or thrown to deal a lot of damage. Rolling Mine is both a constant threat and a constant blessing when you can track down your enemies and send them back, giving you plenty of opportunities to end combat before. It even started by forcing the enemy off a ledge. My favorite interaction is when you try to force an enemy-wielding staff toward you. I tried to stop it by sticking my cane into the ground, but when that didn’t work, I let go of my hand and tried to slash, or was pulled towards me. The first time I tried this, he caught me, but then I found I could dodge his frantic attacks.
The workshop is not a one-stop shop either. It’s a planet that Cal is supposed to return to many times over the course of his adventures. The town of Rambler, Rambler’s Ranch, also serves as a home base of sorts for Cal. There are vendors you can buy new customization options from, colorful NPCs to talk to, and you can be sure there’s something new each time you return.
Fly Me to the Moon (planet)
The second area I played was an unnamed lunar planet visited by Cal and fellow Bode later in the game. Compared to Koboh, this felt like a more traditionally styled level that suited Jedi: Fallen Order. That said, it doesn’t take anything away from it, as it was a lot of fun, with a good balance of both death-defying platforming challenges and challenging combat.
What stood out most about this level was that it almost had a horror theme. It turns out that the enemy was expecting Cal, so most of them ambushed him. I was very nervous at first as enemies were hiding around every corner and seemed to be waiting to pounce on me. suddenly emerged from the fog.
Even the much more linear levels still had a lot of goodies hidden in secluded places, such as tackling the DMC-like challenge rooms in Jedi: Survivor. In it, I had to face wave after wave of hundreds of B1 droids. When the droids started to mingle, they self-destructed if I didn’t force myself to push them or I wasn’t there in time.
I loved this encounter because it makes no sense within the context of a real level, but in an enclosed space where anything goes, it was the perfect kind of combat test. . I will gladly search nooks and crannies to find them.
I could talk about the puzzle rooms in the Jedi Chambers, the fun new Force powers, the exciting story beats that happened after I stepped into the cantina, or some of the great boss fights I had to overcome, but that’s all It’s one of those.When the game releases on April 28th, you’ll probably want to experience it for yourself.
Mitchell Saltzman is IGN’s Editorial Producer.you can find him on twitter @jurassic rabbit
