Why You Can Trust CNET Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Trailer Reveals Gameplay, March 17 Release Date
Thursday's Game Awards brought a look at the new mechanics and returning characters in the sequel to Jedi: Fallen Order.
It looks like Cal Kestis and BD-1 will have plenty of exploration to do in Star Wars: Jedi Survivor.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, the sequel to 2019's Jedi: Fallen Order, got a March 17, 2023, release date during Thursday's Game Awards, along with a new trailer giving us our first look at gameplay, some returning characters and a bunch of new faces. The action-adventure game is coming to PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC.
It'll once again star surviving Padawan Cal Kestis, along with charming droid sidekick BD-1, as he tries to reclaim his lost lightsaber after being defeated in battle by a dark Force wielder. Thursday's trailer was more about gameplay than narrative, but we caught glimpses of Cal's mentor Cere Junda (who's shaved her head) and new mercenary ally Bode Akuna.
On the gameplay side, the trailer showed off Cal's new traversal options like an ascension cable to and the ability to tame and ride creatures. There are also several new combat stances like speedy dual lightsabers and a heavy Kylo Ren-style crossguard stance
The third-person adventure, which was revealed with a cinematic trailer during Star Wars Celebration Anaheim back in May, is being developed by Apex Legends and Titanfall studio Respawn Entertainment.
"This is going to be an emotional rollercoaster for people," actor Cameron Monaghan told StarWars.com on Friday. "I think that you'd have to be made of stone for it to not hit you in the heart."
The helmet-wearing enemy's identity is unclear, but they sure seem to have a problem with Cal.
Timeline-wise, the sequel picks up five years after Jedi: Fallen Order -- so it's 10 years after Revenge of the Sith and nine years before A New Hope. That puts the events of Jedi: Survivor around the same time as the Obi-Wan Kenobi Disney Plus series and four years before the start of Andor.
Preordering the $70 game gets you a cosmetic pack that lets Cal cosplay Obi-Wan as he appeared in the show, while the deluxe edition includes outfits inspired by Han Solo and Luke Skywalker's fetching yellow jacket from the end of A New Hope (which deluxe content lets you deck BD-1 in R2-D2's colors). There's also a super fancy $300 collector's edition that includes a replica of Cal's lightsaber hilt.
If you're curious about what Cal, Cere, Nightsister ally Merrin and pilot buddy Greez got up to in the half decade between games, that story will be told in Sam Maggs' novel Jedi: Battle Scars. It comes out March 7, and sees them running into nasty Imperial Inquisitor the Fifth Brother (seen in the Obi-Wan show and CGI animated series Rebels).
