Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Features Massive Changes to Combat and Lightsabers

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor will feature a bunch of new gameplay mechanics that help deepen the combat and introduce a layer of strategy. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order was released in 2019 and was an immediate hit. Not only was it a commercial success, but it was received strongly by fans and critics alike. It was the first single-player-driven Star Wars game fans had seen in nearly a decade and was enhanced by really satisfying gameplay that felt both fresh and immersive. It was the perfect storm, especially after EA hadn't released a ton of Star Wars games and had particularly ignored the single-player genre with the IP.

Following all of the success, it looks like Respawn Entertainment is looking to inject a lot of new ideas into the sequel, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. As part of a preview seen by Game Informer, a bunch of new information was revealed about the sequel including the new stances. Stances will play a pivotal role in combat and will change how you fight. There are five stances in the game and it will be up to the player to determine what stance to use based on the enemy they're fighting. One will allow Cal Kestis to use a dual-sided blade, another will see Cal wielding a blaster in one hand and his lightsaber in the other, and there's even a heavy stance with a crossguard lightsaber, a la Kylo Ren. Game director Stig Asmussen told Game Informer how this was both important to gameplay and story.

"It really speaks to where we find Cal in this part of the story," Asmussen says. "It's five years since the first game, and the dark times are still in full swing. He's an unconventional Jedi, and he has to do unconventional things. So, something that would be frowned upon during the height of the Jedi Order? Cal's finding he's going to do whatever it takes."

As of right now, we have no idea what the other two stances are. However, it sounds like this will be one way to make combat feel varied. You won't be able to just block or swing wildly to make it through a combat scenario, you'll have to really analyze the situation to find out what works best.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor will release on March 17th, 2023 for Xbox Series X|S, PS5, and PC. Are you excited for the game? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @Cade_Onder.