Star Wars Jedi: Survivor

The best thing to happen to Star Wars in years

- MORGAN PARK

AT A GLANCE, Jedi: Survivor falls on the pulpy, safer side of Star Wars—the gifted Jedi with untapped potential, a faithful droid companion, and a swashbuckling crew certainly paint that picture, but there’s more to lead character Cal Kestis. Jedi: Survivor doesn’t shy away from the darkest chapter of Star Wars history, findaas humor in an unfair world, and sometimes succumbs to helplessness.

It’s not a story about fighting the Empire as much as coping with its dominance, grappling with the futility of rebellion, and questioning what’s left to fight for. The modern Star Wars media that this feels closest to is Andor, though it’s not as ambitious in its storytelling or as cynical. Unfortunately, those themes take a backseat through the middle of the story while Cal Kestis and crew entertain the deranged tantrums of a skin-deep evil guy with a red lightsaber, reminding us that this is still Uncharted in space.

But man, is it damn good space Uncharted. Better, in fact, because Jedi: Survivor breaks free of the Naughty Dog trends 2019’s Fallen Order chased. Yes, Cal climbs up crumbling buildings and swings on ropes, but he also double jumps, air dashes, wallruns, and grapple hooks all over the place. There’s an almost equal ratio of combat to platforming, and both things are fun this time around.

Jedi: Survivor revisits an era when third-person action games were designed like jungle gyms—bottomless death pits flanked by a wall you can climb, platforms that move for no reason, floating balloons that slingshot you across the sky. Respawn has resurrected the big-budget 3D platformer, and it’s glorious.