7 Ways We Hope Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Improves on Fallen Order

A Smoother Launch

Every videogame that actually comes to market is a miracle. Beyond the difficulties of making games in a vacuum, the financial and corporate constraints of AAA development often result in troubled development cycles. Seemingly a victim of these realities, Fallen Order was riddled with bugs at launch. While it was patched later on, the game was unplayable for many at launch. Recently, Jedi: Survivor was delayed into late April, indicating that Respawn Entertainment may be taking a more cautious approach to its launch.

Better Progression and Customization

Fallen Order’s customization and progression presented players with some baffling decisions. As an RPG that incorporated elements of Souls-like games and focused squarely on deep combat, there just wasn’t enough to start with, forcing combat for the first third of the game into a very narrow loop. Things eventually opened up in satisfying, interesting ways but many of the options introduced later on in the game felt like they were filling in pieces that were missing, rather than adding to an already strong structure.

Customization felt the same way; when the game presents you with its first workbench, it teases you with a rainbow of different lightsaber colors, only to keep most of them out of reach until the end of the game. It’s a small but frustrating choice that never fails to confuse. This is something we’re all but guaranteed to see change, as Cal unlocked the new colors as part of a major story beat.

Even Cal’s lightsaber stances felt undercooked in Fallen Order, with only a few options for combat styles that were drip-fed throughout the game, including one that required resources mid-combat to even use. That’s an understandable decision from a narrative standpoint, but it ultimately wound up feeling limiting in-game.

More Force Visions and Flashbacks

Force visions have always provided some of Star Wars’ most gripping, mystical moments. From introspective moments highlighting a character’s struggle to foreshadowing a looming twist, force visions can offer an exciting departure from the norm while embellishing a narrative beat. We saw them used to great effect in Fallen Order as vehicles for both tutorials and character moments. But Cal’s repaired his connection to the Force. While this could mean we might not see him learn any new moves, that doesn’t mean Force visions should go the way of the dodo.

Better Genre Representation

Fallen Order had the unenviable task of blending Souls-like combat with Metroid-style exploration and the cinematic platforming found in games like Uncharted. Like a lot of Fallen Order’s individual parts, these pieces fit together well enough but don’t stand out as special or particularly interesting within their own genres aside from a few memorable sequences. But now that Respawn’s managed to pull off this cocktail of mechanics, the studio’s poised to improve on granular aspects that can (and would) prop up Jedi: Survivor as a standout in the genres it draws from.

On its freshman outing in the Star Wars galaxy, Respawn got a lot right, nailing not only the vibe but the ideas of what makes a great Star Wars game. But while Jedi: Fallen Order was a good game in its own right, it felt limited—both by fictional and real-world constraints. With new hardware, a bigger budget and the first game’s success to appease the often risk-averse EA, Jedi: Survivor’s almost sure to address some of Fallen Order’s greatest shortcomings.

Charlie Wacholz is a freelance writer and college student. When he’s not playing the latest and greatest indie games, competing in Smash tournaments or working on a new cocktail recipe, you can find him on Twitter at @chas_mke.