Star Wars – Jedi Survivor: The Force is strong with this great sequel to the 2019 game

Released in November 2019 Star Wars: The Fallen Jedi OrderDeveloped by studio Respawn Entertainment, it was a huge success, so much so that in May 2020, publisher Electronic Arts announced that the game would be the first installment of the franchise in production.

If EA trusted the talented teams of the Respawn studio, Vince Zampella, its CEO and game director under the leadership of Stig Asmussen, we have an extraordinary duty. God of War IIIIts success was all the more deserved because it defied the logic adopted by EA in recent years. Game as a service. There are no multiplayer components, no loot, exclusively solo play.

Painstakingly developed in less than three years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the delay in release continues The Fallen Order of the Jediwas baptized A Jedi survivorIt hit the shelves on April 28.

And let’s be honest: if the title is not free from all reproaches, it rises above the bar set by its superior, although in the service of its narrative and artistic ambitions, the game is certainly perfect, sometimes demanding, a little. More technical than the previous opus, but also rewarding and generous.

If you missed the start…

A little reminder is not useless for latecomers. The Fallen Order of the Jedi Set between Episodes III and IV of the cinematic saga, shortly after Emperor Palpatine’s infamous 66 Order Purge, which aimed to eliminate all traces of the Jedi.

He controlled Cal Castis, played by actor Cameron Monaghan. A Padawan who survived Order 66 and is trying to piece together the pieces of his broken past to complete his training and learn to master the lightsaber and the Force. Hiding under the noses of the Empire, he was relentlessly hunted down by its merciless Inquisitors under the direct command of Darth Vader.

story A Jedi survivor Begins five years after the events of the previous game. In any case, if you start an adventure with this game (it’s bad!), you won’t be completely lost: an overview of the previous story, in the form of a cinematic, is available from the start menu.

Cal Kestis, who became a Jedi Knight, is still trying to escape the Empire and improve his everyday life, especially by working for Saw Guerrera. Always accompanied by his loyal and beloved droid companion BD-1, he gathers new and old allies to help him on his new quest, including mercenary Bode Acuna (Noshir Dalal), ex-crewman Cere Junda (Debra Wilson). Or Griz Dritus, the former captain of the Stinger Mantis spaceship in the first game, and now the owner of the Pyloon Saloon, a cantina located on the planet Koboh that attracts all desires and will be the (un)nerve center of the adventure. hero.

Inspired art direction

The excess of a license like Star Wars is due to two aspects in particular. First of all, this expansive and fascinating, almost endless ability to create and shape an expanded world, with a learning layout whose depth can be dizzying.

Lore, or background, which Doug Chiang observes religiously, leaving absolutely nothing to chance, from the appearance of the droid to the costumes, the ships, the surface of the planet and more, as the CEO of Lucasfilm Games explained to us. Douglas Reilly, whom we met in 2019.

in this case, Survivor of the Jedi It is strongly served by an inspired art direction that regularly rewards us with impressive panoramas with amazing depth of field. From the swampy and lush lands of the planet Koboh, to the vast plains of desert Jedha and its scattered ancient ruins, via Ecumenopolis Coruscant, it’s a lot of fun to traverse the galaxy in this game. Metroidvania which easily works for thirty hours.

We also have a little trepidation in our heart about Coruscant itself, part of which opens in the shallows, thinking it must have been the setting for the game Star Wars 1313. Cut by Disney in 2013 after the closure of the legendary development studio LucasArts…

The second pillar of the license is this ability (or sometimes, unfortunately, its opposite) to create immersive stories populated by a gallery of characters who live alone and for themselves and can never let the player (or viewer) go. A difficult balancing act, quite a successful one at that A Jedi survivorWhich doesn’t usurp or live up to its name – this idea of ​​survival – with a story that’s certainly darker than the first game.

Even in certain aspects of Twilight, many of its characters, worn down by years of fruitless and unequal struggle against the forces of the Empire, seem eager to leave a world that is no longer theirs when it is no longer theirs. Not purely and simply destroyed.

Challenging gameplay, but not too much

The packaging is good. But what about the actual gameplay? Because the Jedi aren’t there to do gardening (if you’re wondering what this absurd reference is doing here, wait until you play the game to find out…).

Always watered by the influence of a god of war (for violence, although clearly measured here), of GeorgiaUncharted or even from Software Studio production for complexity, A Jedi survivor It significantly complicates his game compared to the previous opus.

Now we have 5 possible combat positions; Knowing that only two are equipped and that you will need to find a meditation point to switch. Add to that the perks that also come as mods, such as “Endurance”, which increases the hit block window gauge, or “Versatility”, which gives a temporary damage bonus after changing the position of the lightsaber, and you’ve got a character versatile enough to fit right in. enemies.

We’re always sorry, though it’s a relative disappointment, that his glow-in-the-dark build is purely cosmetic and doesn’t affect gameplay. Of course, we are not in a role-playing game either, but still.

A Jedi survivor While it may be a lot less demanding than the titles mentioned above, it still requires the average player to master its gameplay in order to play. Especially since sometimes the camera seems to panic in front of the hordes of enemies that melt down on Kal Kesti, and that it’s not always easy to get the immediate environment of the conflict right. It can be hectic at times, especially on higher difficulty levels, where some encounters can be brutally punishing.

Therefore, there is no question of rushing into the pile. And for those who put the difficulty on hold and who prefer to focus on the story, a simple mode, aptly named “Story”, is available at any time. But in our opinion, it can kill something that also creates salt while playing. The “Jedi Knight” level, which corresponds to the “normal” game mode, is already quite an honorable gate.

If Electronic Arts loses the exclusivity of the Star Wars video game license, it remains the only publisher that can hold the field for now. The open world announced by Ubisoft in 2021 isn’t ready for release, and neither is the Star Wars eclipse being developed by French studio Quantic Dream, which you’ll have to wait to see the actual first images, not the cinematics. Luxurious as it is. As for the remake of Extraordinary Star Wars: Knights of the Old RepublicWhich, let’s face it, is one of the best Star Wars games ever made, its fate hanging in the balance since last year…

With this sequence of ideas, there is no reason to skip it A Jedi survivor Very successful, essentially freed from the dross of the first part; Although a very good Star Wars game cut exclusively for single player has been sorely lacking in recent years.