“Star Wars Jedi: Survivor” takes the first game, “Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order,” and improves upon it in nearly every way. From its combat to its exploration, “Star Wars Jedi: Survivor” puts the first game on a whole new level. 

The game follows Cal Kestis as he fights alongside rebel groups in order to put a dent in the empire. But when he takes a detour on the planet Koboh, he is put on a new quest to find a path to the world known as Tanalorr, which if successful will provide a safe haven for the enemies of the Empire. 

While “Star Wars Jedi: Survivor” does tell a compelling story, it doesn’t feel quite as concise as the first game’s story. A lot of the time, it feels the game doesn’t give clear directions on why the player is doing what they’re doing, leading to a somewhat empty feeling when a task is completed. Moreover, there is one major issue with the game: its performance. On console, the frame rate and resolution aren’t terrible but definitely take some noticeable dips here and there, especially at the start of the game. Meanwhile on PC (personal computer), the game is almost unplayable with several drops in performance. This is a big AAA game, so the fact that it isn’t able to run well on all platforms is pretty disappointing. Besides that, there are some quite exciting moments throughout the game and a very shocking plot twist towards the ending. 

Primarily, the combat is greatly improved upon from the first game. “Star Wars Jedi: Survivor” takes the combat from “Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order” and pushes it to the limit. Now, the player can equip two of five lightsaber combat styles with each having their own abilities and weaknesses. On top of that, the player can now use perks which will give them an assortment of buffs to work with. This all leads  the game to have far more playing styles to choose from. 

Additionally, this game got a massive upgrade from the previous one in terms of its exploration aspect. While there are less planets in this game, they feel far more expanded with some even feeling like an open world game. There is also more of a reason to explore, with the game having more collectibles than the first which either power up Cal or allow his look to be customized. And with all the new movement options, it is a blast to investigate every nook and cranny of these well thought out worlds. 

All in all, “Star Wars Jedi: Survivor” takes such a huge leap forward from the first game that mechanically, it almost feels like two new games. And while the performance issues are upsetting, this will still certainly be one of the finer games 2023 offers.