Star Wars Jedi Survivor: An In-Depth Critique & Analysis

[@LazerzZ]

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[@geraintthatcher3076]

Did you ever review Uncharted 4 or Fallen Order as I can't find the reviews ?

[@Mpiewizard]

I’d like to point out that Cere dying in Cal’s arms is a force echo he receives when he touches her already dead body and he sees enough to know it was Vader who killed her. That’s the reason the fire goes out as soon as she passes, meaning she’s probably been dead for hours.

[@LazerzZ]

Someone else said this and I wish I'd picked up on that. Knowing it now, it's obvious and really adds to the moment, somehow it just went entirely over my head, which is crazy because that's the sort of shit I LOVE

[@baki484]

Something tells me that he saw every bit of it thanks to his psychometric ability.

[@rpgislife]

Guess the people who complain about that one climbing across the beam segment forgot that the people shooting at them were Stormtroopers.

[@xteven-11]

love your video analyses. great as always and also very well paced. one thing I would like to add is, **SPOILER WARNING** when Cal finds Cere’s body, it’s actually him using his Force Echo powers, thus all of the sequence with you playing as Cere, is actually him reliving her memories. that’s why the transition ends with him holding her with ashes falling around them.

[@LazerzZ]

I didn’t get that from the scene itself but that adds a whole other layer I wish I’d picked up on, love that. Glad you enjoyed the video 🙏🏻

[@jadencoremusic]

As someone who has also fallen out of love with Star Wars in recent years, the story in this game was an absolute treat, flaws and all. Cal's struggle is nuanced, real and something we all struggle with in our day to day. Trying to find purpose in a world that seems to be constantly changing and out of our control. As a fan of your channel for a long time, I feel honoured that you used my music, if only briefly. Take care mate.

[@LazerzZ]

Ah man, your music was a life saver, for whatever reason that particular track just hasn’t been officially released so your rendition did wonders, incredible stuff. The story really moved me too, very very strong stuff. Really glad the video resonated with you 🙏🏻

[@aiday5000]

I saw Cal’s pause before the first shot to Bode as one last chance for Bode to change his mind. Cal seeing Bode’s blaster fail to fire as he pulls the trigger showed him that he was too far gone Edit: This video was fire

[@LazerzZ]

That's a really cool way to look at the scene too, love the little details. Glad you enjoyed as well, I loved putting this one together!

[@baki484]

​@@LazerzZ Cal gave him a chance the Blaster was destroyed when Cal held him in a force grip after tapping into the darkside.

[@Comicbroe405]

Andor & the Jedi games saving SW fr 🤞

[@southpawlibranine3511]

They are both shit you just dont have any taste

[@SadJBomb]

>>>> Andor 🔥

[@officialmonarchmusic]

Maybe not saving, but they are all fantastic

[@Comicbroe405]

@@officialmonarchmusic Yeah fair enough.

[@officialmonarchmusic]

@@Comicbroe405 I'm not really sure anything can "save" or likewise "ruin" SW. SW IS the six episodes that George Lucas made, sometimes we get great fan fiction, sometimes we get bad fan fiction, but to me, it feels separate, in a way. Universes like this one are built from a single creative vision, who is no longer in charge

[@jc._.goated]

Jedi Survivor is deadass my favorite sequel game of all time, it does everything you would want for a sequel. It was an improve in every way and luckily it was rarely glitchy on launch for me.

[@reecenotryhs]

Survivor is yet another great example of a sequel done right, being similar enough to be recognisable as a part of the same franchise, but with enough new mechanics and a fresh coat of paint to bring it into 2023. Both this and Forbidden West were such refreshing experiences after years of That One Franchise slowly becoming unrecognisable from what I originally loved.

[@themanyouwanttobe]

Yeah. Bode's betrayal was inevitable but his motivation through the game was compelling.

[@11jerans]

The first game had Cal confront his fear, survivor had him confront his anger. I wouldn’t be surprised if the final game is him coming face to face with his hatred. Also, anyone else find it weird that Cere’s move set and Cal’s dark side move set are the exact same?

[@jerkopatrik]

I suppose Cere is as strong just using the light side as Cal is using the dark side, meaning Cal still has a lot of power to be extracted from him only using the light side. I can’t wait for the 3rd game, I think Respawn will nail it. They just seem like they understand Star Wars.

[@ofrund]

It reminds of Empire Strikes Back, where Yoda says to Luke that the Dark Side isn't stronger but easier and more seductive.

[@nickbooze9766]

@@jerkopatrik Well Cere mentions she's still very much struggling with the dark side. Makes sense she'd give to it in that moment to try to save everything she's worked for/cared for. Like Cal.

[@jerkopatrik]

@@nickbooze9766 She cut herself off the force before the first game because she thought she would be seduced by the dark side completely. IIRC she said in Survivor that she has ultimately won her inner battle with the dark side, that’s why she regained her full force powers.

[@regalsamyt1849]

I noticed that. It feels like dark side cal is either mimicking Cere or he's just on that level embracing his darkness

[@Longshanks1690]

Especially when watching Elva’s streams going over Fallen Order again, it just sticks out as to what a monumental improvement Survivor was in every essential and important way, without losing anything about what made Fallen Order a success in the first place too. The combat retains the same basic power fantasy, while being a lot smoother, faster and fluid, enhancing the power trip even more, bolstered massively with the addition of stances which allow for a much greater variety of gameplay between different players. The gameplay in regards to travelling around the world is also hugely improved upon. There is still the sense of being a fast and powerful Force user, with the added bonus of the grappling hook and dashes especially which allow you to get around much farther distances much faster. Likewise, the world design is also improved a lot. Fallen Order felt like so many areas were restricted by overly convoluted puzzles, poor placement of thing like vines or climbable walls and a failure of the game to tell you what was possible for you to do in certain areas. Playing Survivor, I had much less of that feeling, the world just feels better built and structured and while there are still a few moments that irritated me, it was overall a significant improvement. Now, I did initially find it something of an issue that unlike Fallen Order, there are essentially only two planets you spend any amount of time on, namely Koboh and Jedha, unlike the main four in Fallen Order… however, what Survivor does better is that it makes these worlds so much more personal to you. You build up your settlement at Rambler’s Reach with new NPCs, plants for gardening, etc. It really feels somewhere you can be proud of building up by the end, same with Jedha’s anchorites. You feel such pain when the betrayal happens and this world is torn apart, in a way you wouldn’t have about Zeffo or Bogano as you were always a visitor there. In Survivor, you’re really a part of it, and that’s a significant improvement. Some more worlds to travel to might have been nice but maybe they’ll do more in the third game lol. Speaking of more to do, the side content is very much an appreciated add on. There is so much to do in this world that keeps everything feeling alive, and keeps you playing even after the main story when there wasn’t much to do in Fallen Order save collectible hunting - though this game puts you through a lot of that too lmaooo. And as a final note, I have to revel in the glory that is this game’s customisation options because it is such a step up from Fallen Order that I did not expect. A surprise, you might even say, to be sure, but a welcome one. The only complaint about it I have is that there’s no wardrobe/outfits option so you can save the options you select and pick them later on, you have to manually renter it every time… but that’s only because there are so many options, so many layers, so many haircuts and lightsaber customisation options that just make every different Cal you play different from how everyone else’s looks. I did not expect it but it’s one of the things about this game that really incentivised me to explore even more to get the best options, by far one of the most welcome surprises you can get in a game like this. In every significant way, Survivor takes the best bits of playing Fallen Order and improves upon them to create a sequel that is truly enjoyable and incredible for anyone who loves Star Wars, action games or just games in general. It’s a must have, and an easy candidate for GOTY. I had enormous fun playing it, watching others play it and even though the wait will probably be long, I cannot wait for the third game to conclude the trilogy of Carl’s games and his story.

[@Vaultboy307]

Next time you copy and paste comments make sure to fix the paragraph spacing.

[@LunarOverdrive]

i have to disagree with the combat. I do think it has been vastly improved, of course, but combat in Fallen Order feels a lot more smooth and fluid. It's also a better depiction of how Cal would fight as a character, a fighter who's talented and unpredictable but never properly trained.

[@whodatninja439]

Why did you just write a whole review? Lol

[@baldapeter]

This video is absolutely fucking brilliant. I'm speechless. I don't really care about SW as I've never seen any of the movies, and Fallen Order went over my head when I played it (I was quite young) but seeing you frame Cal and company fantastically through a well written script made me shed a tear. Keep up the good work, James! ❤

[@LazerzZ]

Dude, that means the world. To know that my scripts mean something, even if only slightly, to anyone in anyway, makes it worth it. Truly appreciate it and the support 🙏🏻

[@jastinbalanquit]

I think a perfect example of a Jedi turning to the Dark Side that is justified is Count Dooku....if you watched the Tales of the Jedi series you'll undersrand what i mean....this is coming from a fan of the clone wars who unreasomably hate Dooku ever since and to have my opinions about him change in just ONE EPISODE

[@LazerzZ]

I do agree, Dooku’s turn somewhat does make sense, although there still has to be some amount of desire for control and power already there

[@Iliadic]

​@@LazerzZI think that part is just being a human.

[@loganwendigo937]

I loved this video! Likely my favorite one I've seen about Jedi Survivor, the entire discussion on Cal's character arc in this was brilliant

[@LazerzZ]

Thank you! So glad it resonated 🙏🏻

[@strikeforce1500]

Honestly. Bode is the personification of 'Man, Jedis could *really* had used a therapist in their budget'.

[@anlumo1]

In a galaxy far, far away, therapists don't seem to be a thing in general.

[@Resvain]

@@anlumo1 and that's why the Sith and Dark Jedi exist

[@TroopeRVids]

I think for the next game with lightsaber customization they should allow you to have 2 different colour lightsabers for the 2 halves

[@LazerzZ]

Definitely, that’d be very cool. I’d also like maybe a colour wheel, so we can fine tune our colour to be very specific

[@bernielomax4702]

@@LazerzZThat more than dual colors is what I really really wanted.

[@NarrowSpark96]

This is a great video! I love someone actually understanding the reason for the souls-like formula for these games, but I think it was also chosen due to the abilities of the Jedi. Jedi have a certain level of foresight. The game emulates this by forcing you to predict your opponents moves and wait for an opening for a strike. It's also why you have no animation cancelling (I know about dual stance). And Parrying is a strong tool, because it plays into the more passive ideals of the Jedi. I like to compare the stance system to DMC3 because I think that's the best comparison to make. Each one gives you slight advantages and disadvantages, but, more importantly, it gives you more choices of how to fight as the game continues. And I hope the evolution between games is also the same so we can use all the stances at once in the next game. Making enemies weak to certain stances can pretty easily turn out badly... And as much as want I hate Jedha too, it makes perfect sense. Cere wanted an ancient place in the middle of nowhere, and the game has multiple (at least 3) conversations and echoes that there is supposed to be nothing there. The real issue is that they decided to turn it into an open world. That was a bad choice.

[@SuperDoctor9]

Great video as always, can always trust that James will provide an excellent breakdown and analysis of a story. Survivor impressed me more than it might have otherwise because I didn't think much of Fallen Order, but this game was just fun to play through and I just became engrossed in the story and characters. Cal is so earnest and now I can't wait to see how they end his story

[@jamieforrester8012]

Another well thought out and in depth perspective James. I think you do the best retrospect and analysis videos and they are a pleasure to watch bud, keep up the good work 🙂

[@CinematicSeriesGaming]

I always thought you're insanely underrated. Your videos are really top tier. Great analysis, man. I agree that the story of Cal struggling with the dark side is brilliant. I also agree that it could have been done a bit better if the plot of the game was more focused and more logical. I think they should have given Dagen a stronger and more believable motivation - something that makes sense, something sensible, something we can relate to. Because if the entire story is about Cal slowly falling to the dark side, then this should be the point, right? If Dagan's motivations were fully understandable and we could empathize with him, then Cal's story would feel more impactful, too! The game would show us that the threat of falling to the dark side is very real because even good people tap into the darkness. If Dagan was made right, he would be a perfect paralell to Cal! Maybe a noble warrior who wanted to fight evil oppressors but got corrupted by revenge, fear and loss. This would be so much more powerful than whiny emo Dagan who just complains all the time, walks around with a frown and doesn't even know why he's on the dark side. Second thing I'd say is that the plot relies on too many contrivances and accidents. The tuner key thing is quite absurd when you think about it. Cal literally falls through a random cave floor and happens to land in an ancient jedi chamber, where a special robot happens to keep a special tuner key, that Rayvis happens to be looking for at the moment. This big mf was looking for the tuner key for god knows how many years (the game says he was released from prison 10 years prior when the Empire took over) and he couldn't find it, but it turns out that he was actually looking at the fkin entrance to the right chamber in the very first of his cutscenes. The tuner key was in Rambler's Reach chamber all along. Did he never look there??? Wouldn't he try to excavate these conspicuous chambers? They aren't really protected or hidden. The entrances are giant golden cubes and they are protected by some thin metal door. Rayvis could just use a random lightsaber (Raiders had many) to make a hole in the door and explore every chamber. He'd be done in a day cuz there are only a few chambers in total.

[@machodgdon]

I think for me the main problem with this game and the villains stems from the fact that instead of the game itself telling us more about these characters and fleshing them out, it’s left to force echoes, with Rayvis getting it the worst

[@Fizhy]

Big up

[@thedutchwolf97]

One thing I was personally sorely missing in this game were stance switch attacks. In Fallen Order, doing a switch attack gave so much combo potential, and I was pretty sad to see I couldn't keep a flow of attacks up as well as in the previous game. And yes - I did mix things up with power attacks and abilities that required Force meter.

[@NaitorYT]

I will say, the stances in GoT are actually more aesthetic than practical. As it turns out, the light attack is the exact same across all the stances, but with different animations, whereas the differences lie in the heavy attacks. Stances in Survivor aren't merely aesthetical at all, although I fully agree that they should be interchangeable mid-fight like Tsushima

[@jacksezer9434]

Awesome work! Just finished the game on grandmaster and am now going back to get 100% completion. Thanks for the closing video to satisfy my love for this game.

[@HegartyMath]

Another amazing video definitely my favourite KZbin channel

[@LazerzZ]

hugely appreciate that!

[@cloud_sky7227]

I'm a little late to this video as I was still finishing the game's story, but kudos to this great video. I've enjoyed the direction Respawn took with this game, especially exploring the high republic lore as opposed to more of the rebellion-empire conflict. Zee is probably my favorite droid after the classic C3PO and R2D2 pair.

[@laurencewhite3615]

Great video as always dude! I always really appreciate the consistent high quality of all your videos, whether they're smaller ones or bigger critiques like this. I'm genuinely really fucking excited for the RDR2 retrospective. It's my (probably) my favourite game of all time so to know it's gonna get a fully in-depth critique from you is definitely something to look forward to later in the year! Keep it up bro

[@LazerzZ]

Thanks for the kind words! Really means the world. Looking forward to working on that RDR2 video, gonna be a blast 👌🏻👌🏻

[@NinjaJDM]

Really great video James, because of how long you make your videos it takes me a while to get round to watching them, because they are basically the same length as watching a feature film 😅 so I like to watch them as so, and make sure I have the time to enjoy it in 1 go, and with snacks 😂 Anyway, I really appreciate the detail you put into this, breaking down each part, and what I also really love is that you put the time and effort in to always include a relevant clip if you or picture whenever you reference something, even if it's from another game you are comparing it to. I mostly agree with everything you said, and it's really interesting how you broke down how the themes/messages of the bosses compare to Cal, I've only played it the once but I hadn't really thought about the story in that regard but it makes total sense. I don't really play too many single player games anymore nowadays, but I thought this was great, I also replayed fallen order in the build-up and I think it improves on it in almost every way, at least mechaniclly. Having the ghost of Tsushima combat style so you could switch stances more easily would be a great shout! That's one of the only small things I disliked, that you had 5 but really only 2. The only other things I dislike are that you can't cancel your attacks with a dodge, this got me killed so many times! Especially against the Ogdo's 🙃 although I acknowledge that this does make it slightly more challenging. And lastly, they need to fix this bounty bunter glitch! I need to get the last few trophies from it so I can get my platinum trophy!

[@LazerzZ]

Thanks for the kind words and the comment! Really appreciate it, glad you enjoyed 🙏🏻 I hope we see more patches to get this game more polished although I do fear it’ll probably remain pretty rough forever as games that need patching often do

[@ebeaudoin8644]

I wasn't initially on the "we should have access to all stances at all times!" side, but your take has changed my mind. Making certain enemies much more vulnerable to certain stance types would be very cool, and could be interesting. Flying enemies dodging saber throws to force you to use blaster stance to shoot them out of the sky, shield troopers only having their shield broken by cross guard, enemies with repeating blasters and shields keeping distance better to force you to chain reflect with double bladed, or more swarm enemies that force you to use its wide hotboxes. Purge troopers that will "pin" a saber if you hit them normally, forcing you to take advantage of dual wield. It could be cool! My only complaint is I don't think the "jack of all trades" of survivor single blade or the "dueling" of fallen order single blade would work well in that system. I think that expanding on the number of enemies that have points where they're specifically vulnerable to force abilities rather than lightsaber strikes, and allowing single blade to uniquely use force abilities as a cancel after any attack would be cool. It would allow single blade to have its own "thing" without explicitly being the best for boss fights. I also personally think that a big condition for that style of gameplay to be good would be that boss main story bosses shouldn't force people to use a specific stance.

[@kwleeds]

Fantastic insight and analysis as always Jimothy.

[@neilk]

Respawn understand Star Wars infinitely more than any devs since Bioware and Obsidian (KoTOR 1&2)

[@RRai2000]

Mate, Bode and Rayvis aren't really shallow. Dagan was the only one who was shallow.

[@baki484]

I just wish dagan didn't turn to the darkside immediately after being released from the bacta tank. I would've liked to see the cracks as we spent more time with him.

[@idi-jq6cj]

I'm curious how you feel about Cal's unlucky streak with trying to appeal to villains to do the right thing. He tried this with Taron Malicos, Dagan Gera, Rayvis, and Bode. On one side, you can admire Cal's constant determination with believing that people can change, but on the other side, it can be easy to think this is formulaic writing.

[@LazerzZ]

I agree, you can view it either way really. I personally think it's merely a consistent character trait that speaks to Cal's unwavering determination to stick to this morals and in a way force himself to remain on that path, even when it gets tough. But you could argue it's just formulaic writing with no deeper meaning, I wouldn't agree though.

[@baki484]

It worked with Merrin. But with so many people throwing that compassion back in his face something tells me he's going to throw that out of the window with the 3rd game (at least thats what I'm hoping for).

[@jackbrassil5318]

**Starting the video now. Going to watch it all the way through until I see an Assassin's Creed Reference, then I will edit this comment. Let's begin.** 3:32 Ubisoft reference, which in turn is an AC reference, WE'VE DONE IT PEOPLE!!!!! 29:53 Okay okay fine THIS is the actual first reference.... whatever, still got one

[@LazerzZ]

Ah fuck I forgot that AC2 reference was in here 😭😭

[@jordanread5829]

imo I feel like Fallen Order did have the gameplay connect to the story. Cal is a padawan that relearning the training he was getting during the Clone Wars which was cut short. It also plays into the notion that the Empire is always there, always watching, it is unstoppable. As the ninth sister says, "You cannot stop the Empire". Cal being a padawan (until the final main story level) plays into this. He is out of his element and is learning it all again while hiding from an Empire that seems to be unbeatable.

[@LazerzZ]

Sure, but I feel that same message can be conveyed without it being a souls-like. It’s fine contextualisation but I don’t think it’s anywhere near as thematically resonant as Survivor is which genuinely takes the souls formula and makes it integral to the game’s entire existence which I find to be a huge improvement.

[@ryanhowe5753]

In spite of its bugs (which I thankfully didn’t experience that many) I had a blast with Jedi: Survivor. And from a storytelling standpoint; this makes Ragnarök look so bad

[@trentmckay5262]

Planning on watching this on Patreon soon Saw your tweet;will play this here in the background afterwards too give you a boost here

[@bernielomax4702]

I don’t think very many people are Star Wars fans. What they are, is “Nostalgia for action figures I loved as a kid” fans. And since they owned those characters via toys as kids they think they own the franchise now.

[@LizardMan8675309]

Everyone loves turgle, but no one gives my main man Skoova Stev enough credit!!

[@LazerzZ]

Skoova Stev is also based

[@Rid13y]

Massive disagree on the combat being shallow just because the game doesn't force you to use different styles. There's so much potential for player expression, it becomes more about finding the most fun and interesting ways to dispatch enemies, not about being efficient. Allowing the freedom to pick any style at any time would multiply that potential by a hundred. I've already seen a bunch of DMC style combo videos for this game. If certain enemies only took damage from specific styles, it would kill any freedom of expression the game has.

[@LazerzZ]

While I understand your point, I don't think that's really what the game is going for. Like I said, I think it sits between Ghost and Dark Souls without committing to either and while there is an element of fun, I feel there isn't enough substance to how the stances are handled. I think a simple change would be to allow me to spec points into making a stance more powerful because that's my preferred chosen playstyle and allow that from the very start of the game, something they absolutely could do in the 3rd entry. As it stands it just felt like a bit of fun but nothing hugely interesting or deep. You certainly can express yourself which I appreciate but I think they need to either go all in and let us swap on the fly to all 5 or go all in the other way like Dark Souls and really allow up to create a build around particular stances.

[@mikerice868]

As it relates to your point on nekkos and spamels and the way you travel with them, I'd argue the opposite of what you said feels more true to me. The nekkos on Koboh feel so incredibly situational that I found myself thinking that you could just about have them not be in the game at all and it would remain mostly the same. I only ever used them a single time in my whole playthrough when I didn't need them for specific, intentionally designed traversal you couldn't do without them. Spamels, on the other hand, felt more like your typical mount that you only use to cross great distances without anything very interesting happening along the way, true, but I think that's the only reason I would ever really want a mount. If the area I'm exploring is small enough that I'm considering just going on foot and the only thing stopping me from doing that is the fact that I need my mount for their mandatory double jump then I'm left wondering why the game couldn't have just given me a double jump or used one of its many other traversal methods that essentially function as double jumps instead of contriving a way to make me use their mostly otherwise useless mounts. Spamels at least exist in large enough areas that their existence feels warranted even if they're ultimately less interesting than the nekkos conceptually

[@anasshahid224]

Man loved Jedi Fallen Order and super hyped to pick up Jedi Survivor now 😊

[@ALCATRAZx29]

Little... robot guy? I've never really had a favourite droid in Star Wars. But you bet your ass i did after Fallen Order.

[@Reverendhero]

I think the Vader cameo works since he is hunting down Jedi. I sadly thought the fight was kinda boring though because I found immediately that you can do a combo until he blocks, dodge backwards against his unblockable then repeat, so it was a very easy fight that I didn’t get hit a single time. The actual story and cutscenes with it was great though

[@OrangeDragon04]

So ... Was I the only one, who was progressively sobbing more and more throughout the ending? Interrupted by anger and hate multiple times.

[@idi-jq6cj]

1:04:53 Did you think it was weird how Cal just immediately trusts Dagan to be a good guy? When I saw the moment where he freed Dagan, I'm just like, "After Taron Malicos, you'd think Cal would've learned to be more wary when dealing with these kinds of individuals."

[@theelectricprince8231]

Nah, it was desperation

[@baki484]

He literally experienced a vision of dagan being a jedi. I don't blame him he saw a injured fellow jedi (something in short supply in the time he was in). As the other commenter said he's also desperate after losing the jedi order and the 2 other families he's built. After Bode and Dagan I doubt he'll be as trusting going forward.

[@idi-jq6cj]

@@baki484 I know what you’re saying, but Taron Malicos was a former Jedi too, so I thought Cal would’ve been more wary when freeing Dagan.

[@baki484]

​​​@@idi-jq6cj I get where you coming from. I think the desperation clouded his judgment he was still fresh from the loss of his old/new crew. Not every jedi was bad look at Cere. Even dagan in the force psychometry he was heroic facing an army, talking about training young jedi and and building beacon of hope for the jedi. Then there's zee (who probably didn't know dagan went bad) who was genuine to Cal. Malicos was lying from the jump also but dagan he literally asked for help he was injured Cal probably thought he was forgotten compounding the prior vision. You could see Cal was hurt when senator Sejan asked him if he knew of any other jedi. I just wonder how he's going to be in the 3rd installment and how it'll affect Kata since her father is responsible for his current state and Cal carrying the guilt of killing her father turning her into an orphan. Sorry for the long one.

[@idi-jq6cj]

@@baki484 Yeah, what you’ve said actually makes sense. Thanks for the clarification.

[@jordanread5829]

This was stated by Gamingwins on their video and I seem to agree. Rayvis feels like a better secondary antagonist than Dagan does. Rayvis has a code that he follows religiously and that ends up being his downfall. Much like how the Jedi Code was for the Jedi. Cal trying to cling onto the code, even after Malicos told him that the code was a factor to the Jedi's fall back in Fallen Order acts as a good foil for Rayvis. Cal however lets go of the jedi code. And this is seen when he embraces his feelings for Merrin.

[@LazerzZ]

I agree, Dagan feels like purely a means to explore more interesting people and concepts, which while a shame for his character does allow for some great stuff with others.

[@baronmcmuffin732]

Now i noticed something that many people do not talk about, and that is merrin. I am a sucker for romance, and this is such a good love story, even in fallen order it was teased somewhat, and from what i heard in that novel i didn't yet read. But she is a constant in his heart, to some degree she always liked her more than a friend, and the kiss scenes, and the eventual line about the order being gone are also important to the story. She is the reason cal did not succumb to the dark side, he loves are and when he sees the pain in her eyes or nova gerra(dont shoot me for butchering the name) is what calms him. On the joruney to heal and accept the past and move on she is what he needs. She left to come sure of herself and now she can actually help him on this journey. It also plays a nice role and i think it has to be important that in the end despite losing so many people he has a family. The mom dad daughter and the comic uncle. They are a perfect crew nonetheless, even after the tragic deaths lf so many people. It is a story about Cal's growth and is it a good one. But in the story and some scenes marrin and her actions change cal, they shift something in him, and the influence she has is imense. Despite the shackles of the order he knows what he has is real, love, something that not many people experince and to such compatibility. Another thing to notice is that she is written amazing, her growth and self discovery not only in the way she talks and how she dresses, but also in the way she carries herself. Hurt and alone but at peace with the past, a wound that will never fully heal but is manageable. She was shy, talked less and was a cold person while cal was the outgoing one, sun and rhe moon type of thing. But 5 years later the roles are reversed but some what balanced. She still is pretty cold to newcomers and retains the way she was around people she doesn't know, but the journey she took helped her recover and find herself so she is more like cal was in the first game. He is darker, more cruel and prone to snapping, while trying to be at least half the way he was in the first game. The contrast is excellent and the relationships between these two is very important and integral to the plot. Remove her and you definitely get a dark side cal which would have been an interesting route but not one I'd ever want to see executed

[@caidenhanson4440]

As one trained in the force knows that true coincidences are rare. And what I mean by that is with the story having been started by luck I don’t think that I feel it was just the will of the force

[@n0body550]

Cal doesn’t rush in after she dies, that was a force echo him seeing her death happen.

[@LazerzZ]

I know, people have mentioned, I really wish I picked up on that, because I love it

[@n0body550]

@CyberPup 22 Walking towards a wall probably coded wrong or i see it as he was walking towards the wall to lean on it (my head canon) but yeah by the time cal was there, there wasn’t any fire, she’d been dead a couple hours

[@Mac_Mayne_ATL]

I think cal story is the best star wars we got

[@babyrage3861]

This is a great review, don’t know how it doesn’t have more views

[@Liamx-00]

Currently working on getting the platinum I think the Vader fight should’ve been bigger and more spectacular then what we got the same with the Bode fight

[@MrHoll87]

I think the betrayal was intentionally obvious to distract from the bombshell of what that traitor really is or was this whole time. I say this because even just from the commercials of the game, I had a feeling that person was gonna stab the crew in the back and this game is NOT written poorly, so my only conclusion is that the betrayal obvious to those paying attention on purpose, because that revelation that came at their first confrontation literally sent shivers down my spine and left my mouth wide open. I did not see that coming and was a truly powerful moment. Survivor is not a perfect game, but it's a damn near PERFECT Star Wars story and is far better than anything Disney has produced so far.

[@LazerzZ]

well said!

[@jacobcenter7374]

I feel like there's 2 responses to learning about Bode's daughter. Either "he's gonna betray us" or "he's gonna die." I assumed the latter and was blown away when he betrayed us, doubly so when he was revealed as a jedi, but on repeat playthroughs it feels completely obvious. That's good writing right there

[@erhiueQWEF]

After the end of the game, if you go back to the Empire base, you'll find a log that shows Vader DID go there after Cal left, and Vader killed the commander there in punishment, indicating Vader now has full and complete knowledge that Cal is still alive and his approximate power level and will possibly be the main villain for the 3rd game in the Kestis Trilogy.

[@clayyoder2477]

For me the open areas and lack of actual player agency with the stances took a lot of the wind out of this one for me. Slow burn on on the story but it was damn worth it. I’m sure I would’ve enjoyed the bounty stuff, but sadly my game was bugged in a way that won’t allow the initial conversion about them in the saloon to trigger. Just finished it up yesterday and it’s still fucked 😭

[@LazerzZ]

Yeah it’s a tricky one with some major issues, but underneath it’s worth it for the substance that’s so strong. Hopefully they get it patched up properly soon enough.

[@whodatninja439]

They release a tiny patch every like 2 months, what the hell is going on at respawn 💀 And the story only really gets good after Bodes betrayal.

[@tyleroutland435]

I love star wars Jedi fallen order I also love star wars Jedi survivor. So far its my game of the year and I want a sequel to survivor in the future to only be single player only.

[@TairiqueTuray]

Great video man!

[@Yilue]

Why the hell did I stop watching your content. Amazing video!!

[@LazerzZ]

Much love gamer 🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@NerdyGamerReacts]

Love this video man, absolutely brilliant, I love these games, and genuinely am looking forward to the conclusion, with the lead game director leaving though, I am a little worried about how the story woll end, as the vision might be different for whoever took over the project, ya know?

[@dans1129]

1) Excellent video. Just found you, subscribed. 2) Your humour is almost all on point and clearly has thought put into it. Please don't ever let a) people either tell you it's a bad thing b) feel obligated to add humour when you can't come up with anything good; the reason I'm commenting is to say it's so rare to see restraint like yours where only good jokes thought about are put in and I'd like to think you discarded loads in the creative process. Marvel humour started excellent (Avengers), became....today. you're at the early part. Stay there please ❤

[@dans1129]

If constructive criticism wanted I'd say could be improved from current 9/10 video in 2 ways: 1) explore better ways something bad could have been done quite thoroughly if a major flaw exists (you do this already sometimes ofc!) 2) consider other people's sources of fun/boredom a little more and mention it -- I love side stuff only if it is super impactcul/major & also when serious powerups are gained through exploration, rather than pure story or cosmetics. Just my 2 cents. My opinion isn't right but it is my view ahaha

[@dans1129]

Note I didn't say a think about your story exploration as I couldn't possibly come up with a criticism. Excellent.

[@finfan83]

The video is long ASF by today's standards but I appreciate you taking time to flesh it all out and explain so detailed way. The arc of Dagan I got myself, as for paralells of Reyvik and Bode with other faces of Cal's personality I didn;t catch them so clearly, thanks for pointing that out. And no, I didn't have that lightsaber customisation toy. But I sure did enjoy customising sword and blaster in Jedi Survivor. I purposely have mismatched ends on my dual bladed sabre cause I can utilise more parts this way.

[@emarikaesra1751]

You never disappoint Mr James.

[@LazerzZ]

Thank you! 🙏🏻

[@Cold_Zero_The_Wise]

I think having the game be more character driven than plot driven was the right choice, we already know the end plot, vader kills palplatin after luke talks to him, cal and his group are not essential to that so thier actions have no wight unless they want to change cannon, so Respawn was left with very little and chose to make surviver wbout the characters not the overall star wars stoty and i can dig it know how star wars ends for me id have been disappointed if they did it like they did in fallen order.

[@Helifax19]

30:00: I think the Cantina is part of the experience: - You get new people. You get to know them. The Cantina gets full. At some point towards the end, each of the character you recruited decides to move on, but they share their stories with you. So you now "have friends" in basically all parts of the galaxy. I expect they will use this in the next game ;) 34:00 Electro-dart: droid hacking once you get the module for each droid type, as well! (outside of combat you can use it to hack enemy droids before you engage them).

[@LazerzZ]

I agree that the Cantina is a part of the narrative experience for sure, it succeeds there. I just meant it would be nice if it worked it’s way in mechanically too more so than just rumours.

[@nuclearscarab]

I agree the stances should all be available from the beginning, or near the beginning of the game, but I do like how they are implemented into the game. Some are better for certain things, but generally it's up to what the player enjoys most to use. It provides a bit of customization of the gameplay that would be otherwise be unchanged other than force abilities.

[@cy_pher03]

Bodes betrayal caught me totally off guard, which was quite surprising because I normally smell every plot twist ten miles against the wind

[@PhiladelphiaChurchIL]

He was way too chummy! I smelled that shit from a mile away lol. Cere caught me off guard Tho ☹️

[@krypto_7155]

I really enjoyed exploring in this game. It was just genuine fun. Puzzles were pretty simple but I had plenty of aha moments playing the game. And I think the animations add on to the fun of exploring because they can be so flashy. I love the wall run to run animation. Cal does a twirl

[@idi-jq6cj]

47:38 But wouldn't that cause the game to lean more on the RPG side and make you grind for xp to get to a damage level that feels more optimal as a baseline, rather than something you build towards? I feel like that kind of grind would sour the gameplay.

[@LazerzZ]

Yeah, I can't say I have the exact answers for how I'd personally work on balancing the classes, maybe being just like dark souls wouldn't work, but it's an idea.

[@baki484]

​​@@LazerzZ honestly the only thing they have to do is expand the moveset honestly for the stances and perfect what's already there. The level design can be like the first game's as opposed to the open world and community building with the cantina and vendors as jedi survivor seems to be falling into the bigger is better trap. More rpg elements are not needed because the game isn't that far away from being another game with enemies bleeding numbers and grinding to get to a higher level. I'd rather have 3 more unique planets like Narshadaa, korraban or alzok 3 over koboh's or Jedha's open world.

[@Silverwind-bc2cr]

I think it’s more than what Bode could have done for Merin. Cal is still very much in control here. Bode shot first. That was his real last chance.

[@hefty4]

Look I’m going to be honest I’ve never watched star wars but good video man and here for your intros 😂

[@officialmonarchmusic]

Bad Batch was actually really good, just saying. Not saying you needed to watch it, but there is more good out there

[@rinzi1123]

I thought I'd put on this video for lunch and then maybe finish it later, but I ended up watching the whole thing in one go instead. I loved this game so much, and this is just the sort of in depth analysis I was looking for

[@LazerzZ]

Hugely appreciate that! So glad you enjoyed 🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@Iliadic]

1:06:10-1:06:17 count dooku. A quote from a book, of which I don't know the name, is this: The Jedi orders real problems Yoda. No one can stay in power that long without becoming complacent at best, or corrupt at worst. Dooku turned the dark side because he wanted to change things. Dooku didn't turn to the dark side out of evil desire. He did it, because he wanted to make things better for everyone.

[@WicksKE]

The game was fun and told a deep story: It’s a real shame there was no discussion of Survivor in game of the year talks. BG3 is amazing but Survivor is a not too too distant contender imo.

[@grahamgraves7709]

I feel like I am the only person that had no issues with either game? Played in Xbox series x and one s back in 2019, and had no major issues and very few minor ones

[@tryorse8340]

55:36 they only exist on kobi because they were made to prepare jedi to make the journey to Tanalor

[@nikkothegoblin]

The dark side is not a counter balance to the light as much as it is chaos, or corruption. It's irrational and in this game, obsessive. Dagan is clearly hinted at to have feelings for Santari, romantic or other take your pick, but regardless he sees tannalor as this bastion of what they did together. In this fear it seems to me that his care for tannalor was more of a representation of what he thought she shared with him, it's selfish and he placed her alongside him and the order as an enemy. Like you said, he isn't super in depth because his place in the story is to act as a mirror for Cal and (spoilers) ---> our good friend Bode. Bode fails because he had greater fear and tannalor was, similar to Dagan, a fortress to protect what was his and what he cared about. That excluded everyone else. Cal only started delving deeper into the dark side as a result of betrayals and obstacles to the same focus of obsession. The difference is he was fighting for the many and not the few, and the people he was fighting for stood by him, to ground him. Santari didn't stand by Dagan, even Bode's daughter seemed convinced what he was doing was hurting people, but Merrin Greez and even the sacrifice of Cere are examples that people believed in Cal that would not abandon him. Building off of what he learned from fallen order, which is finally respecting the sacrifice of others, like his master. Long winded comment, sorry. In a vacuum, Dagan is a bit bland, but with the overall themes of the story, I think his inclusion helps to make this game's exploration of the dark side to be one of my favorite depictions. I know you addressed this in the video, but I still wanted to share my thoughts and focus on that connection. Also MASSIVE PLOT HOLE: Bode throws an impact grenade at Cal on Jedha. Yet it explodes like a thermal detonator. What I mean to say with this is hrrrrgh I am very intelligent

[@garycaso6662]

Maybe it’s just me, but I felt the game was to short. I could be totally wrong here I know. However, when completing the game my first reaction was, “that’s it?” Anyone else?

[@peytonb2247]

I think that the High Republic was supposed to be something for Cal to strive for. The High Republic is on the surface a golden age of Jedi that Cal probably idealizes and wants to bring back.

[@shaggy1628]

(39:21) The combat in Fallen Order is also tied to the themes and story of that game. "Persistence reveals the Path", "Failure is not the end, just a necessary part of the Path", the words of Jaro Tapal and Eno Cordova. And as ArTorr puts it, it represents the ordeal stage of the heroes journey. These are all themes that are echoed through Survivor as well. But yeah, part of it is because souls-like is trendy

[@LazerzZ]

To me, the connection in Fallen Order felt like a justification whereas in Survivor it feels natural and an organic part of the story. I suppose for me it’s not that it doesn’t work in fallen order but that it feels like they wrote in some ideas that vaguely link. Whereas for me Survivor is all about those ideas, it’s the central point of the story. I guess that’s where I’m coming at it from.

[@shaggy1628]

@@LazerzZ That's fair, I think both do it very well in their own right. Also, great video, man. I really liked it, I remember watching your AC Let's plays back in the day, and I've gotta say, you've gotten very good at doing long video essays like these, I saw your black flag analysis last week and I loved it. I was tearing up by the end

[@Jensen-C]

My main issue with the game is that 90% of the gameplay is just “oh I need to go find this repair part for my ship! Oh darn on my way to get that part I have to detour around this entire planet” rinse and repeat for every mission And it starts to feel more like an obstacle to advance the game, than a cool exploration mechanic

[@theelectricprince8231]

The plot is weak but the characters and story are solid. The gameplay is also strong

[@goodhoonter9882]

Only issue i had was not enough planets,environment and world exploration,i wish more of plants were kinda like Kobo. And i should've at least have 2 vader main story encounters of vader chasing down cal and cal apmost by an inch of getting away.

[@LazerzZ]

I disagree with Vader, I think how he’s used is how it needed to be used, don’t need a retread of Fallen Order. But I do agree with the planets and environments, would’ve been nice to have a vaster array.

[@doomshill110]

SPOILERS: 14:30, Its rlly funny cuz I called it around here too, but I thought it’d be sooner so as it got further into the game I forgot about that suspicion and was really surprised i ended up being right lmao.

[@user-oj5jr8rm4z]

I loved Jedi survivor I didn't experience much problems on series x except for frame rate drops occasionally but the thing I hate and can't wait to be fixed (if ever) is I can't finish the bounties (got like 6 to go) as it's bugged like the girl doesn't talk anymore, so irritating

[@LazerzZ]

That’s rough, hopefully they patch that soon enough 😬

[@sumdaybro]

I ever play this game I'm definitely using cross guard and double saber, I love Kylo rens Saber and I also love the dual Saber shit😂

[@Silverwind-bc2cr]

Ok, I need to ask, what was so bad about the prequels? They gave us different color lightsabers outside of blue or green, an in-depth look at the tragedy that is Darth Vader, which hits so much harder, as we get to see what his life used to be, and what he lost, different lightsaber styles and shapes, Yoda as a Jedi, The double bladed lightsaber, order 66, and lots more. I’m not saying it did everything perfectly, or all that well, but I feel the hate it gets is completely overblown.

[@LazerzZ]

You said it yourself, didn’t do it that well. They’re poorly written films without focus. They aren’t an in-depth look at Vader, they’re shallow and meaningless.

[@Silverwind-bc2cr]

@@LazerzZ Please, you could say the same thing about The Lord of The Rings, or better yet, the first Dune movie. Shallow and meaningless is an absurd way to describe one of the biggest events in Star Wars history! Most of what we get today, aside from Disney stuff, is because of the prequels! Without the Prequels, Vader could be anyone. With the prequels, Vader is a friend, a husband, and an integral part of the Jedi Order. Vader spends his entire time in the OT as a dark shadow. An obstacle, instead of a man. We don’t get to see his humanity until episode 6.

[@Silverwind-bc2cr]

@@LazerzZ Also, without focus? Really? They set up Vader’s fall from the beginning. They set up The Emperor’s rise as a Sith from the beginning. Heck, the prequels gave us Count Dooku! One of the most complex characters in the Star Wars universe. There is way more lore of that guy, than I ever would have thought.

[@kommissarrex1193]

Gonna play it, when it’s fixed on my ps5 😅

[@LazerzZ]

Very fair

[@kommissarrex1193]

@@LazerzZ and then I’m gonna watch your video 😊

[@bozdog2532]

Vador was straight up limping, put some respect on sear😤

[@Wighafoc]

I haven’t watched the whole vid yet I’m on part 6, but I do think I agree like 95%. The game as a whole is great to me. My main issue is just that they didn’t utilize the high republic in a meaningful way. I guess when I heard that Survivor was going to include a high republic character, I thought that it would used similar to the way the Zeffo civilization was used in Fallen Order. To me finding out about the Zeffo was way more interesting than anything going on with the Empire, and inquisitor stuff. I guess it was more that it felt nice to feel like a game was appealing to me, whereas Survivor felt a bit more like it was trying to appeal to the wider Star Wars audience. I love finding out the history of stuff whether it’s real life or a fictional universe, but I get that most casual Star Wars fans will be satisfied as long as they see Vader and stormtroopers.

[@Wighafoc]

I finished video now. Another great video. There were some perspectives that I didn’t really look at when I played.

[@thomaspurvis5359]

40:08 I respectfully disagree, the major theme that’s presented in Jedi fallen order is how failure isn’t the end, it’s a necessary part of the path. And how hope will always survive in those who continue to fight. This message of not giving up hope and keep getting back on your feet is prevalent in both games. Cal’s choice to keep fighting the empire is almost mirrored as to how dark souls conveys its theme.

[@LazerzZ]

To an extent, but not in the same way Survivor does, it's far less directly present to the overall experience. The ideas are there I will concede that, but I never felt there was the same harmony between themes and gameplay as there is in Survivor. That said I think Fallen Order is terrific regardless

[@jackbrassil5318]

Finding it hilarious that your Jedi Fallen Order footage is all in 60 FPS while your Jedi Survivor footage is all 30 FPS (sometimes even less lololol). Hard to tell which game came out 4 years later on a different console generation

[@csam9167]

You are an Eagle LazerzZ , but more importantly , i think its weird that those game reignite my love for Star Wars more than the Sequel trilogy and the myriad of show or movie ever did.

[@isabaig6665]

@LazzerzZ Being part of the high republic is important because that was the period during the phantom menace right before the clone wars. It is the time where the Jedi were Poltiical and were focused on a Binary like you said. Cal uses the Dark side, has attachements, and is far more of a "grey" jedi and not someone who fits into the high republic like Dagan. Cal accepts that the Jedi are over(something that began at the end of Fallen Order). He always was brainwashed by the precendent of the High Republic and his purpose was never his own until the end of this story.

[@LazerzZ]

But see, the Jedi Cal was a part of were also binary, it also works if you just use that era, making it high republic gives a gravitas that ends up feeling unnecessary. It’s adds this layer of “oh what does this all mean?” When ultimately it means nothing that they’re from the high republic on a plot level, it’s really not a mystery or even something that has a point to be resolved it just is, for the sake of character. Idk if I’m explaining this right though 😅

[@isabaig6665]

@@LazerzZ I see your point and I agree with it however I do feel him being from the High Republic does add to the story maybe not as a myster but as way of showing this trend of the Jedi always being dogmatic. It creates a Dagan = Cal relationship which you do mention. High Republic is kinda just Phantom Menace. Its not old republic but like its not clone wars so I feel tis ok they don't really go into it. However I see your points. Awesome video by the way.

[@michaelfeldman6628]

I kind of want to see Kal use force lightning and choose to turn away from the dark side and use force judgement.

[@baki484]

Maybe the books from Cere's archive could have. There are plenty of other abilities for him to use it doesn't have to lightning.

[@TheVIITV]

I enjoyed not being forced to use specific stances seeing as I didn’t like all of them, specifically the blaster and single blade stance. I would have enjoyed the game a lot less if I was forced to used them. I disagree it’s just an aesthetic, because it allows players to create their own Jedi identity which is in line with the customization mechanics. To me, it fits in perfectly with the overall presentation of the game. If we were forced to play every stance it would be less possible for individual players to have a unique play style.

[@Krystalmyth]

Game is great and all, but I found myself hating the enemy balance halfway into the game when it started just throwing waves of random dudes at me over and over. The fact stormstroopers can just become parry gods is so weird against a Jedi. Not even Sekiro feels this absurdly frustrating.