Jedi: Survivor Critique - Balance in the Force

QUICK DISCLAIMER

During the Metroidvania section I talk about how BD-1’s electric shock can’t be used in combat. Turns out I just ran into a very consistent bug where shooting the shock at droids didn’t do anything to them, but a few of you have had very different experiences where it DOES hack droids. Which is awesome!

I truly hope they stick the landing on this trilogy, Survivor is without a doubt my favourite Star Wars game probably ever. I love the story, love the gameplay, love the environments, love the performances, and it may have launched with a bunch of technical issues but the game is a flawless masterpiece in my eyes.

Blaster Stance, and particularly charged shots, has the potential to do tremendous guard damage. It deals health damage to major enemies from a distance, allowing you to use your counterattack to refill ammo for charge shots. It also has a tight-window parry in the Point Blank shot, as well as a multi-target charged shot. It’s the stance I’ve had the most success with, and the kind of Gray Jedi combat I’ve waited decades to experience.

Another tremendous critique, Monty!! I really appreciate the warmth of your analysis and the clarity of your writing - you help me think more deeply about the games I love, and that's a wonderful gift. Also, I have no idea how you manage to put out such high-effort, high-quality videos so frequently... hope you're getting enough sleep lol

I agree that they laid it on a little thick with Bode at the start. I immediately thought, "oh, okay, this guy is either gonna die or betray me." What I find especially interesting, though, is how that didn’t diminish the emotional impact of his betrayal or his eventual death for me.

He was constantly balancing in the book because he wasn't a human anymore, but a SUPERHUMAN.
I will not explain. If you know, you know.

I always looked at the first level as simply an introduction back into the universe. The ninth sister died in a cutscene because the game wasn’t about her. Her death symbolizes the end of the first game and the colder story you’re about to embark on. It wasn’t that the player was meant to kill her, it was the developers saying they already did.

Idk for me it was so obvious that Bode was going to turn. All he explained about was his daughter and he basically goes his own way for half the story. I didn’t think they were subtle with that at all. I’m actually surprised people were genuinely shocked at the twist. I guess him being a Jedi was an alright twist.

I feel like I’ve learned my lesson because after the dissatisfaction with kingdom hearts 3 I never got a game on release again

When you started talking about how the theme for Bode didn't fit, my first thought was, "...this fight needs some pling pling plong."

I feel like in a potential sequel the blaster could be used the same way duel wielding was in the first game, not its own style but something that modifies how other styles work

A detail I thought was neat in the game that I don’t think was in the video
Spoilers:


The Lightsaber Bode uses isn’t actually his. It’s Dagan’s. The the encyclopedia thing mentions it if you look at his character profile after his betrayal and there is actually a point after the Dagan fight where Bode has Cal go ahead of him where he could’ve snatched the saber. It makes sense that he wouldn’t carry one since he’s keeping that part of him hidden but it also shows that he was getting ready to sever his ties with the Empire.

Bode’s claim to fatherhood being his motivation is also false, as no parent would place the burden of their actions on their child’s shoulders. He’s not trying to protect Kata, he’s trying to keep her. Keep her under glass, keep her his, keep her from truly living. The fight for her safety was lost the moment he handed her over to the ISB, making her a literal hostage for his good behavior.
And in the final confrontation with him, he realized everything he thought he had done had been for nothing, every betrayal in vain, every sacrifice meaningless. So he snapped.
He’s the textbook example of why the Jedi (wrongly) forbid their members from having families. He’s treating Kata not like his daughter, but like his possession.

That bode twist was crazy

I disagree with your assessment of the Bode fight. I remember I had a really hard time with it. Not nearly as hard as with Vader, but probably the second hardest fight for me. If your job is to play games for a living certainly some mechanics would seem trivial. But it was absolutely a challenge and a memorable combat sequence for me.

Hmmm... I clearly need to play this game again 👍

Another great video , quick question will you tackle a essey video for Spiderman 2, I think it would be perfect game for you to review it

I started the game in March and dropped it twice during the time due to other games released with more interesting stories. First playing Jedi in March the buggy and shit performance was a turn off for me until the 60fps hit on ps5. Even then going back the story felt dragging so much 20 plus hours in still and the actual map that you use in the game is just as bad as the first game. The customizable items I feel aren't worth it besides the handle since that's the only thing you can see in cutscenes/gameplay kinda. Being able to change the type of metal on the lightsaber I feel is useless since you can't even see it during live gameplay

TBH when the Video started I was like is he talking about EP5 or KotOR2 😂

Took me 3h and probably 50 reloads to get past Rick The Door Technician.

this game is so bad, complete wast of time

The worse thing about this game is, it has an incompetent publisher that was to lazy to print two disc. Instead they have 50 gigs floating around in the ether which makes the physical useless.🤦

to bad there wasn't a ballance to Jedi: survivor's dev and bug team as the game was just as unstable n buggy as its predecessor.....hence why the game failed as it did on the sales front.

sure the story might be good but a bad release will always be tainted by its day one state and the fealing of being cheated out of 70 bucks n upwards.

When you look at the boss fight with Bode through the lens of a father, you can understand the more primal aspects of it. He did everything he deemed necessary to save his daughter and he was still found by his newly made enemies not once, but twice. When your child is in danger or puts themselves in what you think is a dangerous situation, adrenaline kicks in. It can lead you to not thinking straight. Not to mention that Bode is still carrying the guilt of damning his friend, he’s not thinking, just reacting; hence the “lost the plot.”

A common phrase that is said by parents is, “I will die for my son, but kill for my daughter.” Bode delivers on that but by fueling his anger at Cal with the dark side, he accidentally harms Kata the same way Anakin harmed Padme in ROTS. A better score can drill that point home, but the intensity and ferocity of the fight is well deserved. At least from my point of view.

monty zander is an adherent of the potentium heresy~

I have been binging your content lately. It's just too good lol

Brilliant video.

I regret that I missed a good deal of the side stories when I played as I was more or less treating Jedi Survivor as a holdover game waiting for Phantom Liberty to release.

After watching this I'm going to do another playthrough and give the side characters and Pyloon's Saloon the time it deserves.

Ha Cal looks like a ginger Jason Mamoa... But hate the fact Merrin and Cal broke up...

I think the gameplay is a good upgrade from Fallen Order, but I didn't enjoy Survivor as much as I did Fallen Order. I like the characters more in the first. I wasn't hooked by Bode, Dagan, or the cantina people. Dagan's story at least made sense. As you pointed out the Bode fight, and in essence his arc, were poorly handled. To me the first game was a fast yacht, where everywhere you turned you could catch the scenery, wherein the second was a plane ride. You can still see stuff out the window, but you're not really seeing anything. It was a fine game, but I replayed Fallen Order multiple times, and I don't see myself replaying Survivor.

Cameron confirmed that the third game is being written

Always greatvideos my man/dude

This was definitely one of the best things from star wars in the last decade. Lets hope game 3 elevates even further

The parallel at the very end about being the heart of a trilogy I believe could also apply to mass effect 2 as well. Nearly everything that game did crested the legend of that series and just like empire holds the title as the best in the trilogy. It's going to be extremely interesting to see how this series is looked back on when we can look at it as a whole.

1 small correction I have for this video is that cere is definitely stronger than cal. Shes permanently as strong as his temporary rage ability with only a couple changes. You certainly wouldn't have an easier time fighting vader as cal (well you might due to having a more familiar and varied moveset but it'd take SIGNIFICANTLY more hits to win)

Oh it didn’t just release in that state it’s almost the same way they fixed some of it but not all of it which is disappointing but I love the game nonetheless

Bode's betrayal would have hit harder if he were introduced in the first game. Dagan should have survived.

I straight up didnt like Bode not his characterization but i just knew what the twist was the moment hes like i got a dead wife and a Daughter id do Anything for. I was like nice try respawn but thats the oldest trick in the book especially since he just came out swinging throwing his personal info out there

Oh no I'm late

Swapping Jedi Survivor for Spiderman 2 even though he hasn't played it 😂😂😂 Well i have! I have.platinum'd it, and i have beaten Jedi Survivor too! I from someone who has played and beaten both, whilst plating one of them! I can say with confidence that Spiderman 2 shits all over Jedi Survivor in my opinion! An opinion that has experienced both games! Jedi Survivor was a good game! Spiderman 2 was a phenomenal game! This dude man😂😂 He hasn't played Baldurs Gate 3 either! But he thinks that definitely deserves a place because other people think it does😂😂😂😂 I know its your opinion! But in my opinion it is nothing but a fanboy opinion! Cos u think it beats out games u haven't even played 🤔🤯 I am playing Alan Wake 2 now and its great and deserves it! But if Alan Wake 2 deserves it then Spiderman 2 definitely deserves to be there! To have an.opinion on something, specially when u want your subscribers to take your opinions serious, then in, my opinion, and my common sense says u really should of experienced the things u say should be swapped for another thing that is in your opinion! At the end of the day why u or anybody else takes TGA serious is beyond me anyways! People who are voting, well i would bet that 99.99% of them haven't played every game in every nomination! So all it becomes is people voting for the product they fanboy most of the time! So a bunch of strangers telling me what game is game of the yr, it means absolutely nothing to me! Also Spideemans side missions are qay better than Spidey 2018! I also platinum'd that too! Spiderman 2 is better than Spiderman 2018 in every way! But u wouldn't know this cos u haven't played it😂

10/10 stuff right here. Great exploration of a great game with all the thought I've come to expect from your videos.

Great game. Its a real upgrade over the 1st game and Cal is a very likeable protagonist now. Hope the 3rd game isnt going to be half a decade away.

I loved the first one but I just didn’t have that much fun playing survivor. The game played felt too floaty and the world too open for my liking in this game.

The whole bounty hunters quest didn't open for me because of a bug, so it's nice to see what I missed (a cameo by Boba Fett!). Maybe I'll duck back into the game to see if it's resolved without having to start a new game...

But even without the bounty hunters, Survivor is one of my favorite games this year. Simply a superb Star Wars piece of media. Maybe even the only superb Star Wars media...

I had a rough day at work today. Came home to find out a new Monty video was up and felt all my stress melt away as he waxes about video games. Love you Monty keep up the excellent work.

Hey Monty, I hope you have a great holiday and I'm glad to have had this latest video to enjoy before moving on to the year's end. These long form vids are always a treat. Thanks for taking us through another journey in a galaxy far far away! Take care, we love you.

Cross guard was my main with dual sabers & blaster stance being my back ups. It wouldve been goated if cross guard didn't have to be slow like Kylo wasnt swinging it like its 40lbs of light in his hands 😂 so we shouldn't either. Or have a game option to have fun mode & developer vision mode so we can all be on fun mode 😂.

U become a parry god using CG the whole game u have to.

I appreciate the more serious Rouge One tones and i definitely enjoyed this more than the first game but the third act felt so damn rushed and ham-fisted.

I have alot of criticisms but they seemed to just toss Vader in as they do with everything, leave a bunch of shit open or unanswered and still try to keep it relegated to a side story. It was such an abrupt ending and bare bones story overall.

I would consider this game my choice for game of the year 2023. I think it has a fun single player campaign and I can see there was a lot of care and effort into creating the game and by patching it after it was released. I would consider this more of a solid contender for game of the year than Mario Wonder or Baldurs Gate or Robocop:Rogue City. I had an enjoyable time playing through the campaign.

Loved the review, but I need you to realize you can't casually mention the fact that we're halfway through the current console generation without preparing me. I had to pause and take that in for a good 5 minutes after.