‘Star Wars Jedi: Survivor’ Gets Final Gameplay Trailer at SWCE 2023
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is almost upon us with one more gameplay trailer
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, the sequel to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, comes out later this month and I am anxiously awaiting its release. Respawn Entertainment has been working on the sequel for a while after it was the biggest success of the EA Games Star Wars years. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor takes place 5 years after Cal Kestis survived his adventure for a secret Jedi Holocron that brought him face to face with the Empire’s forces and Jedi Hunters.
We have been getting info about the game, ranging from rideable mounts to story trailers and some really fun customization options for Cal Kestis. Seems Respawn Entertainment has one last trailer to show off before the game’s launch trailer.
Cal vs the Galaxy
Respawn Entertainment released a final gameplay trailer at Star Wars Celebration Europe 2023 where all things Star Wars were celebrated with eager fans awaiting news on what is next for the Galaxy Far, Far Away. Respawn’s Stig Asmussen sat down with StarWars.com to go over the latest gameplay trailer and discuss just what to expect from Cal Kestis’ next adventure. The trailer has a voice-over by Cere Junda, played by the great Debra Wilson, who is very proud of how far Cal Kestis has come as a Jedi Knight. Since meeting 5 years ago, it seems she mentored him to make their bond stronger. Asmussen had this to say about their relationship and her role in the trailer:
“…the relationship is really important. It’s critical. That’s why we decided to see it through the lens of Cere’s narration, her perspective. And we’re kind of giving a hint, a sense of how the relationship has shifted and grown over the five-year gap. Clearly, she’s proud of what Cal’s become since the beginning of Jedi: Fallen Order. There’s this parent level of concern, though, that she has. It’s still there. She’s always going to look out for Cal, but there’s only so much she can do to protect him, right? These are dark times. The galaxy’s full of danger and Cal is constantly being hunted, so she’s keeping an eye out for him, but she knows that she can’t ultimately always protect him.”
The trailer shows more of the companion gameplay with Bode and Merrin helping Cal fight the Empire shown off on the story trailer. Asmussen is incredibly excited for people to experience this new feature of the game:
“It’s a huge step in the evolution of the game. We always are looking for new ways to tell story, and we wanted to make sure that we could carry some of these companions into gameplay. That’s why we came up with a system called ‘Characters in Gameplay,’….. It’s really about experiencing how Cal and his companions — like Bode Akuna, like Merrin — fight side by side together, how they solve puzzles, and negotiate the different planets that they’re traveling to…..there’s also assist mechanisms that the player can use to kind of call upon their friends in the heat of battle with a button tap, and these unleash special attacks. We’ve got it limited with a cool down, but using these types of buddy tools will help the players negotiate tricky scenarios in combat.”
Advertisement
via EA Star Wars
We also got to see more of the Gen’Dai from past trailers in a boss fight that looks to be a hell of a challenge for Cal Kestis since that species is very dangerous in the Star Wars universe. Stig Asmussen was very happy with this choice since it brings a more unique foe than in the last game:
“We’ve got the Gen’Dai, found in the trailer, which gave us a great opportunity. We know this is a long-lived species, incredibly strong. On top of that, they can regenerate limbs. These are honestly great ingredients for challenging combat. And the fact that the way Rayvis approaches combat in such a structured discipline, refinement, this sense of chivalry, it just makes it a standout moment when he and Cal square off.”
The last thing in the trailer we knew about is still being kept secret by Respawn at the same time teasing it further. The man in the Old Republic robes is using the Force against Cal over a device, so it confirms they are a Jedi. What role they have to play though is very much for gamers to find out once it releases.
New Old Enemies
The trailer had plenty of surprises including the return of some foes Star Wars fans are very familiar with. The trailer includes Cal fighting a couple of Droideka battle droids from The Phantom Menace with their famous shields and blasters. This makes some sense since past trailers and info explained some of the old droid tech used in the Clone Wars would be used against Kestis in his adventure. The coolest enemy not in the last game is a fan-favorite, the Rancor.
via StarWars.com
Rancors are a favorite for boss fights for developers since Super Star Wars: Return of the Jedi in 1994. Seems Asmussen’s team is no exception:
“I mean, talk about things that we’ve wanted since the first game! We’ve been talking about rancors for a long time. Everybody was super happy about that, and I’m sure there’s going to be a lot of chatter about it from what we’re showing in the trailer.
It’s one of the most iconic moments from the original trilogy. And it’s something that we’ve been, like I said, talking about bringing to life for years and now it’s reality. So it’s kind of an exciting addition. The beat unfolds in the game in an unexpected way, too. But it does feel natural and we hope that players respond to it the same way that we have on our team.”
via StarWars.com
The other things in the very exciting trailer were this amazing speeder-bike sequence with Cal throwing a stormtrooper into a Tie-Fighter; new ways of defeating an AT-ST; and some quick footage of the rideable mounts. If the game pulls off everything the way it seems, this game could be one of the best Star Wars games of the 2020s.
Things Not in the Trailer
Respawn’s Stig Asmussen is very proud of the work the team has done and the new tools they have now then they had before. Specifically, ray tracing is now doable with the power of the PS5 and Xbox Series X.
“I think it’s allowed us to really dial in, and get very, very quick results, because it’s all real time. It’s allowed us to dial in and author our lighting setups with a level of precision that we didn’t have in the past…. with ray tracing…. turnaround time is a whole lot faster and the level of quality that we’re seeing is even better than we had in the past…. I think a year ago we were still kind of sinking our teeth into it, trying to understand how to leverage it, and I’m really happy with the results and how our lighting team has pulled it off.”
via StarWars.com
When asked what they hope the game reception will be from fans, Asmussen joyfully said:
“Primarily, what I always say is, I want to put a smile on the players’ faces. I want people to really enjoy their time with it and have fun. This honor that we have as developers and working on this franchise, we can never take that for granted. If people have fun, that’s what I always say — it’s all about fun. If people have fun and we took them on an experience that got them away from their day-to-day, then we’re doing our jobs.”
Advertisement
The passion of the team is infectious and seeing what the Respawn team has come up with for the sequel has been a great joy. I can’t wait to play this one and hope their work shines through in the most enjoyable ways possible.
Star Wars Jedi Survivor releases on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on April 28th
May the Force Be with You
