What to Expect from Star Wars Jedi: Survivor in 2023
What to Expect from Star Wars Jedi: Survivor in 2023
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order received average-to-mixed reviews at launch back in 2019. Many of its criticisms were valid, including a severe lack of polish that resulted in plenty of glitches and bugs. But many fans adored it for introducing the Soulslike genre to the Star Wars IP in combination with action-adventure, Metroidvania, and platforming genres in a unique concoction. Regardless, it was always assumed that its eventual success would result in a sequel, and that has now come to fruition with Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor was officially announced at the beginning of 2022 without a title assigned to it, and it took until May for a reveal teaser to appear. This teaser revealed that Star Wars Jedi: Survivor’s rumored subtitle was indeed correct, and demonstrated what tone fans should expect from the game without sharing too much else. The Game Awards in December was where it finally hit its stride, sharing gameplay, special edition bonuses, and an official release date. Now, fans should have a half-decent idea of what to expect from Star Wars Jedi: Survivor in 2023.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor’s official release date is March 17, 2023, for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. Because there are no plans for it to launch on last-gen platforms, fans should hopefully be able to expect a product that represents current-gen quality.
There is a standard, Deluxe, and Collector’s edition available for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. The Deluxe edition comes with two cosmetic skin packs: Galactic Hero and New Hero, which ascribe a Han Solo and Luke Skywalker aesthetic to Cal’s clothes, lightsaber, and blaster respectively, as well as a unique skin for BD-1 in each. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor’s general pre-order bonus is another fan-service cosmetic that resembles Obi-Wan Kenobi’s clothing, lightsaber, and blaster in a Jedi Survival pack inspired by the character’s eponymous Disney Plus show.
The Collector’s edition comes with all these cosmetic packs alongside a full-size, functional Cal Kestis replica lightsaber, though the blade is sold separately. Moreover, the Collector’s edition includes a premium magnetic box for the lightsaber hilt, a certificate of authenticity, and an official SteelBook accompanying the game’s physical disc copy.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor’s Marketing Will Likely Be Sparse
It is commonplace for AAA games to be announced and marketed thoroughly before their release dates eventually arrive. In Star Wars Jedi: Survivor’s case, however, the game only had an obscure cinematic teaser before its gameplay reveal at The Game Awards.
This new trailer revealed Star Wars Jedi: Survivor’s release date, and it is unlikely that a lot more gameplay will be shared between now and the game’s launch. It may be best for fans not to expect too much else before Star Wars Jedi: Survivorlaunches, especially since it took until four months before its official release date for Respawn to reveal gameplay. If new gameplay does appear, it could perhaps be accompanied by another tonal narrative trailer, but all that would need to be packed tightly together to meet that release window.
Therefore, it may be unrealistic to expect an extensive round of gameplay showcases preceding its release. Instead, there may be weekly clips released, or other teasers sparsely disseminated in the last couple of months before launch. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor’s sparse marketing approach was previously suggested by insider Jeff Grubb, where it seems that EA has no issue withholding a lot of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor before release due to it being an established IP.
Having no other substantial marketing could be a boon, though, since Star Wars Jedi: Survivor’s original teaser had already been shrouded in a similar mystery. In that case, EA may not want to share much about Star Wars Jedi: Survivor if its narrative and content are ripe with exciting spoilers that fans would want to wait to see at launch. With Star Wars being a colossal IP, it is certainly true that EA will not need a lot of marketing to sell the game either.
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Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Could Be a Tragic Tale
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order features some relatively dark subject matter, finding itself at the height of the Jedi Order’s purge. This is a somber era in the franchise, but Cal soon finds companions to trust and dedicates himself to a new goal. Nothing particularly problematic or harrowing happens in the narrative besides the deaths of Prauf and Trilla, and aboard the Stinger Mantis, there are a lot of cheeky and heartfelt moments. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor’s narrative, unlike that of the original, seems to dissociate from that lighthearted sentiment further and depict Cal as a lone survivor with BD-1 thankfully still clinging to his shoulder.
Five years have apparently passed in the narrative between Fallen Order and Survivor, and fans can likely expect this narrative to be much more downtrodden, especially if Cal’s beloved Stinger Mantis companions have potentially suffered a terrible fate. Not much else has been detailed or shown, and thus it is difficult to predict what may occur, but its tone seems decidedly lonesome and distraught.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor May Not Get Post-Launch DLC
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order did not get post-launch DLC. However, it did have a large update with the addition of a New Journey Plus mode that arrived with Inquisitor armor and a red lightsaber skin, as well as a challenge arena mode. It would not be surprising if Star Wars Jedi: Survivor followed in its footsteps and launched without a New Journey Plus, but it is also possible that it will be a feature players can hop into immediately on release.
There is currently no reason to assume that there will be any post-launch DLC, particularly because there was no mention of a Season Pass or other such hints toward such content in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor’s pre-order bonus or special editions. That said, it is always possible that the sequel could have DLC planned, and may have a surprise announcement later in the year, but based solely on the original game’s plans it would seem like that is not the case at the moment. Still, little is known about what the base game itself entails. It will be exciting to see how much content is available in its main campaign, considering Star Wars Jedi: Survivor’s map exploration takes “a wider Metroidvania approach,” according to Game Director Stig Asmussen in a recent interview with Game Informer.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor releases on March 17, 2023, for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
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