Was für eine epische Reise durch verdammt schwere, aber gleichermaßen schöne Japan-Landschaften!

Hierbei handelt es sich zwar um ein echtes Soulsborne-Spiel, aber es gibt ausnahmsweise keine Ausweichrolle. Stattdessen fokussiert sich das Gameplay beinahe vollständig auf die neue Haltungsleiste, die sogar wichtiger als die Lebensanzeige des Gegners ist; wenn man durch gezieltes Blocken Angriffe pariert, füllt sich die gegnerische Haltungsleiste. Sobald sie im dunkelroten Bereich ist, kann man einen Todesstoß ausführen, welcher die verbleibende Lebenskraft ignoriert. Die meisten Bosse halten jedoch mehr als einen „Tod“ aus, was an roten Punkten erkennbar ist.

Wer nun aber auf die Idee kommt, einfach alles zu blocken, wird schnell den eigenen Tod erleben – man selber hat schließlich auch eine Haltungsleiste, deren Füllung zum Glück nur eine temporäre Paralyse zur Folge hat. In beliebige Richtungen ausweichen kann man zwar auch, Unbesiegbarkeits-Frames gibt es bei Sekiro aber überhaupt nicht. Insgesamt fühlt sich jede Bewegung und Animation äußerst flüssig an, was ich von einem FromSoftware-Titel auch erwartet habe.

Gestaltet sind die abwechslungsreichen Gebiete der japanischen Samurai-Welt in Form einer mit dem Spielfortschritt wachsenden Open World. Zwar sind die Gegenden immer noch sehr klein im Vergleich zu Elden Ring, aber das kam ja auch Jahre später heraus und hat einen anderen Gameplay-Fokus. Sehr gut haben mir die sich mit der Geschichte verändernden Teile der Karte gefallen, wenn zum Beispiel eine Festung angegriffen wird und plötzlich die vorher besuchten Orte in Flammen stehen. Das wirkt extra betörend auf die Augen, wenn man mit HDR und Ultrawide-Auflösung spielt!

Ein Wermutstropfen war der absurd schwere Endbosskampf, der in keinem Verhältnis zu allen anderen Gegnern steht. Zu dem Zeitpunkt hatte ich schon alle bis auf 3 optionale Bosse erlegt, war den heftigen Kombos aber trotzdem nicht gewachsen. Problematisch war während des gesamten Spiels auch die Knopfbelegung auf dem Controller, denn wie schon bei Elden Ring funktionieren meine Xbox-Elite-Schultertasten für Angriff/Kontern/Blocken manchmal erst nach mehrmaligem Drücken. Nein, das ist keine Ausrede für fehlenden Skill, und geworfen habe ich den Controller auch nicht, auch wenn manchmal der Wunsch dazu aufkam.

Immerhin ist es jedes Mal ein richtig meddlgeiles Gefühl gewesen, einen bockschweren Boss endlich besiegt zu haben!

Achievements: 70 %

Some background info, I thought Fallen Order kinda mid. Couldn't tell you much of the story and the combat was jank. Sekiro outclassed it in every way for me in 2019.

In Survivor, I felt they vastly improved a lot of systems. The combat is really fun and might be some of the best combat this year. The parrying is smooth and satisfying and doesn't feel like jank anymore. It feels a lot closer to a Star Wars version of my beloved Sekiro. The movement has also been improved with new tools to traverse the map. On top of it, the boss fights are actually KINO especially a certain boss around the middle of the game. Difficulty wise, I played on Jedi Master (Hard mode) and thought the game was pretty damn easy. If you want a challenge, I suggest trying Master or Grandmaster mode.

Now the bad part. The navigation sucks in this game. This is one of those rare games I would actually want some kind of mini-map on the top right or objective marker on the screen because holy hell the game is confusing sometimes and where to go. It's not all the time but it happened a couple times that it really annoyed me.

This might not annoy everyone but I also hated the amount of puzzles and platforming sections in the first 1/3rd of the game. This was actually one of the reasons I really didn't like Fallen Order. It had too many puzzles and platforming and very little combat. I don't mind puzzles and platforming to break up the level but when it feels like 10 minutes of straight platforming and puzzles, you start to lose me.

In Survivor, there was a small stretch the game just felt like a platformer and not an action game. Thankfully, it stopped and the last 2/3rds of the game was insanely raw with a tons of combat sections. The "semi-open world" stuff is mainly all puzzle shrines with some bosses here and there so i kinda skipped it after dabbling in it for a bit and just mainlined the main story. It's not "bad" but its not for me. I would appreciate if the third game functioned like Elden Ring and all the hidden dungeons around the open world had challenging bosses that gave cool loot. Since its just puzzles, platforming, and more puzzles, I decided to skip out on it especially since the rewards weren't game changing.

Story Wise, I actually really liked the story and characters in this one a lot. Cal Kestis is a much better character and a lot more interesting than the first game. The supporting characters are top notch and have good chemistry with each other and Cal. The antagonists are also really really good and a big upgrade from the bland forgettable ones we had in Fallen Order. Don't wanna say too much on it because there's actually some really cool moments in this game.

The game overall took me about 24 hours to beat while doing some side content but skipping most of it. Highly recommend if you liked the ideas in Fallen Order but thought it had lots of jank. I am excited to see what they do for a third game and where they take Cal's character.

Also side note on performance: I played on PlayStation 5. The performance was good for 90% of the game on performance mode. I had 1 crash the whole game and the only times the frame rate dropped were in the semi-open world sections (which I ended up ignoring) and when transitioning into a cutscene. This personally did not annoy me but its worth pointing out for those who can't stand technical issues.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is a step back in time to an era in which western developers created single-player narrative experiences that captured and enthralled their players. An era in which you could own a game, and beat it without feeling like you were being nickel and dimed for "time savers" or cosmetics. An era where the game rewards you for exploration but doesn't punish you if you wish to partake in the critical path. An era in which Star Wars was good.

There's a lot to love about this game but first, the bad should be noted: the performance is far from perfect. While the game is gorgeous to look at, it does tank the performance of even the beefiest PC. Despite frame rates typically being a steady, playable state, I experienced some instances where (especially in higher positions or where more of the world was viewable), the frame rate would tank to an "unplayable" state; however, for the vast majority of the game and for any important combat encounter, the game kept up just well enough to continue. If you're the sort of person who believes that anything below 60 FPS is "unplayable" then maybe you should wait a few years for hardware to catch up/exceed what this game needs. Otherwise, it is worth it to push through and experience what is otherwise a great game.

Jedi: Survivor takes Fallen Order and expands upon it. The combat is more developed, feels tighter and more responsive than Fallen Order, and the new lightsaber styles allow for better depth of experience. While it would be nice to switch between the styles, the requirement to focus on only two helps drive the feeling that my Cal fought how I wanted and, for a game with no other real RPG elements, brings a slight amount of appreciated influence I have over the character. Is this game a FromSoft game, where the combat is perfectly dialed in? No. Is the combat serviceable and does it make me feel like the Jedi my wonder-stricken child-self occasionally pretended to be? Yes.

Aside from the combat, there's plenty to love about Survivor. The environments are diverse and fun to explore (although, I might argue that Koboh is actually too big and can become difficult to navigate as a result). The story's cast of characters are a good bunch who's dialogue and banter felt appropriate and welcomed (with the correct amount of levity sprinkled in; looking at you, Rick the Door Technician). The narrative beats held some obvious twists but still some unique surprises. The visuals and vistas are stunning. The sound design and music melds well with the IP it belongs to and further drives a cinematic experience.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is a game that, while suffering from some performance shortcomings, is one which delivers an experience that is rare in 2023; something which cannot be championed enough. The game is fun, the combat is enjoyable, and it is one of the few games in recent years which I will likely dive back into to complete my collect-a-thon. I only wish there were more games like it. Games I bought, can play, can dive back into if I'm looking for some easy, quick action; but otherwise am not beholden to some live service model nor season pass that requires my constant attention.

The only real problem is that, now, I want good Star Wars movies.