For a game as enjoyable and fun as Jedi Fallen Order, I had my fair share of problems with it. The levels and environments were a blast to explore, the combat and force powers were awesome and the story was engaging. I ultimately rated it a 3.5/5 because of how much of a slog it was to navigate the levels (the map + no fast travel sucked), and the collectibles were pretty damn disappointing (BD-1 paint, lightsaber parts that were nigh impossible to notice in gameplay, and enough has been said about the poncho and its various colors). But ultimately for me, the game felt buggy and sloppy as hell; as someone that sank a ton of hours into Titanfall 2, Respawn clearly know how to make a polished, buttery smooth action experience. But Fallen Order was broken as hell at times, the sliding and jumping always felt off, and I can't count how many times I'd fall to my death or die from some random ass glitch or buggy movement.

I'm being hard on the game, but after playing and completing Jedi Survivor, I feel like I shouldn't have been, because this sequel has improved so much of what didn't work in the first that it's actually almost made the first game better.

For clarity, I played this on PS5, so yes - I experienced crashes, bugs, glitches, and poor FPS. This was not my entire experience, and I feel like I was too hard on the first game for this when I was sitting here grinning like an idiot at how much I enjoyed Survivor that it feels contradictory to excuse those issues when I was harsh on the first game. But those issues aside...

This is the perfect example of what a sequel should be; like God Of War Ragnarok, they took what worked in the first game, made it better, bigger, more intense, and packed a punch into their story. No spoilers, but I loved the villain and how it all played out. I got attached to these characters and the big moments that happen between them. This game really goes places and is not afraid to go there! It feels darker and more dangerous, with higher stakes than before.

The sheer amount of things to collect, bosses to find and defeat, puzzles and challenges to best, and not to mention really pushing the limits of challenging with some of them (some of these bosses and enemies will test you to the limit) is exactly what I want in a single player adventure game like this. Not too big, yet not small in any way.

And of course, the customization aspects are back with colors and materials for your lightsaber, gun (fucking LOVE the gun) and BD-1, but this time, full on Cal Kestis customization that I absolutely adored. The amount of incredible jackets here for Cal I was over the moon for. Armor vests, leather jackets, denim, robes, it's exactly how I'd want my character to dress if I was in a Star Wars universe. My Cal had the long "windswept" hair style and full beard for 75% of my playthrough as it felt the most canon in terms of his natural physical progression, he's getting older and a bit more rugged, and it also might have something to do with it being similar to how I look in real life too :)

When the game ran great on PS5, which was a majority of the time for me, it looked stunning. 60 FPS smooth combat in breathtaking environments with gorgeous lighting and crazy little details everywhere really showing how talented Respawn are. They truly get Star Wars, from the characters and creatures everywhere you either chat with, help, or cut down, to the planets themselves loaded with buildings, infrastructure, plants and terrain. They loaded every nook and cranny with lore, secrets, collectibles and just plain awesome stuff to look at. Walking, running, or getting a ride from an animal buddy through these worlds is never not a joy to behold.

In terms of a Platinum trophy review, this felt like a Sony Platinum (something like Spider-Man, Ghost Of Tsushima, God Of War, etc.) where if you do a bunch of cool combat stuff, find collectibles, do a few random fun things and of course do all side and main missions, you'll get the Platinum. Nothing here was egregious or a slog to do, aside from getting all the Priorite shards to buy everything in a shop, but once you get the map upgrade to show where it is (and it's only on 2 planets), it's not that bad. Of course, some of the challenges may really test your patience and skill level, but the difficulty can also be changed if needed. But sticking with your guns and beating all of the bosses and challenges without doing that feels like a true feat when done.

I'll be remembering this one for a long time and it's absolutely worked its way up into one of my favorite Star Wars games, one of my favorite Star Wars stories (Cal is so good in this, seriously) and it truly made me feel something. It'll be one of my favorite games of 2023, no question.

Reviewed on May 16, 2023


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