The Adventures of Cal Kestis (Cameron Monaghan) are one of the most beloved parts of modern Star Wars projects. The first game, in which he was the main character of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, attracted more than 20 million players, which is a lot in the game industry. Another game announced in May 2022 titled Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is expected to drop next March.
That announcement generated a large wave of hype for the game. This came as no surprise to anyone who knows how Star Wars fans love the character Cal Kestis and his stories. The biggest question at the moment is what can we expect from the latest game from Respawn Entertainment, and what we could see at The Game Awards 2022? I’ll do my best to provide some answers here.
[Warning: Spoilers from Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order are below!]
A lot of things changed for Cal Kestis in the last 5 years
The story of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor picks 5 years after the events of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. That ended with Cal and the entire crew of the Stinger Mantis deciding to destroy the Jedi Holocron rather than restore the Jedi Order in order to keep Force-sensitive children safe from the Empire. If you want to know where it is in the Star Wars timeline, it takes place around the same time as the Obi-Wan Kenobi series, and it’s nine years before the first Battle of Yavin.
In the previous game, Cal was a Jedi in hiding who led a normal life, away from the eyes of the Empire. When he rescued his friend, he had to flee the planet Bracca and help Cere Junda (Debra Wilson) restore the Jedi Order. In the course of the game, Cal recalls his training and regains the ability to use the Force in different ways.
While searching for the Holocron, he fights the Second and Ninth Sisters, Taron Malicos, several bounty hunters, and, of course, the iconic Darth Vader. Cal’s journey has led him to believe that he must trust only the force and his close friends, and not rely on other people who may betray him or exploit him for their own gain. Throughout the story, we saw many flashbacks that showed us why the current versions of the characters are more mentally broken, less confident and so easily triggered by the slightest mention of their past.
Now the story of Cal Kestis will take us to the farthest reaches of the galaxy, and we will get to explore many planets, and meet many new characters who are important to both the story and Cal. He is no longer a Padawan, but a powerful and legitimate Jedi Knight. It will be a story with a dark tone that will show us an even worse side of the galaxy, where every human being is fighting for life.
Although he’ll carry the memories of how the Jedi Order functioned and what their purpose was, he’ll try to meet the expectations that we players, as well as Cere, have for him. Its story is expected to show many unexpected twists and turns, different battle outcomes, and complicated moral decisions, but it will be a much bigger game than its predecessor.
On his way to defeat the Empire, Cal will meet Bode Akuna, who will help him in many meaningful ways, from showing him around places, and uncovering secrets, to confronting him by giving him more “manpower.” The storyline will be longer than Jedi: Fallen Order. I personally go in with the assumption that Respawn Entertainment will give us a powerful story with plenty of excitement, drama, action, and true science-fiction moments familiar to the Star Wars universe.
Mix of old and new mechanics in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
One of the most important things when playing Star Wars games is lightsaber combat (if available) which is supposed to let the player experience what it means to be a true Jedi Knight. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order gave us an excellent opportunity to experience this, as we can easily wield the lightsaber that Cal received from Jaro Tapal, his Jedi Master.
In Fallen Order, we felt the true power of the lightsaber as we fought stormtroopers, Zabrak villagers, animals, large trolls and even terrifying monstrous creatures. As we progressed through the story, we unlocked more lightsaber combos to help us like heavy attacks, double saber blade, and even the iconic Force Push/Pull ability.
In Jedi: Survivor, the mechanics/gameplay will be somewhat similar to the classic games in the Jedi Knight series, where we could choose our own style of play, be it defensive, balanced or offensive. We will also be able to choose whether we want to play with just one lightsaber, double lightsabers, two lightsabers, or even the cross sword which was introduced in the Force Awakens movie.
Undoubtedly, this is the biggest addition to the gameplay, because immersion in the game is something that every player wants. With this, we will not only get the opportunity to choose our own style going through the game and defeating enemies, but each player’s style will be different.
Also newly added to the gameplay is a blaster, which will be wielded by Cal. For now, we don’t know if it will be possible to use it whenever we want or at specific times. The last thing we were shown was improved Force abilities. This will be very useful in defeating various enemies, as some of them may require a different approach than the rest, and may also be resistant to lightsabers.
There’s also a lot of customization options that’ll surely be revealed closer to the premiere of the game. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is certainly a title that every big Star Wars fan is waiting for. I’d really like to see big updates and a longer story because the longer it takes to beat a game like this, the longer we’ll enjoy it, and the longer it’ll stay in our minds.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor will premiere on March 17, 2023, and will be available on Xbox Series S/X, Playstation 5, and PC. Are you hyped for it? Let us know on Twitter, The Cosmi Circus Discord, or our other social media.
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