the idea of the Jedi and the Sith or the Rebellion and the Empire or just the nature of the force, allows for stories that speak to the morality of humanity, of people and of the human condition. Star Wars thrives when it focuses on these elements because at the heart of the magic and fantasy and sci-fi are very real stories that uncover things about us as a people. Cal’s journey is one that so many have faced and will face in the future and the way it’s portrayed as so authentic, so earnest and so vulnerable are things we rarely see in Star Wars, a true grapple with a darker side of yourself that feels so hard to beat, a trauma that moulds who you are without consulting you first, and inner demons you have to beat at all costs. This is why despite the pacing issues and plot being pretty incidental, I think the game shines, because the character themes are impeccable and this is where we come back around to Dark-Souls… The direct themes of Jedi Survivor are inline with the gameplay loop and mechanics of the souls-like model. Cal is fighting, a futile fight but refuses to give up and that’s true of his battle against the empire on the surface and his battle against the dark side within himself. He lost his master, he lost cordova, he lost Cere, Cal keeps losing but he gets back up and he tries again, he does fail like Dagan, he doesn’t give in like Rayvis and he doesn’t throw away his family like Bode, Jedi Survivor, as an extension of Jedi Fallen Order is a direct examination of the futility one must fight on the battlefield and in the mind and the that is one of the most incredible uses of the souls formula, it’s paying homage to the game it’s taking inspiration from but it’s don’t in a way that stays true to Star Wars and to Cal Kestis and this is why I can’t help but overlook so many of the flaws. Sure the extrinsic events happening and guiding our character journey could and should be better, there is plenty I’d change on that front, but it’s what the game has to say that is just fantastic, I shed a tear in that final cutscene because I just felt so strongly and I empathised with Cal Kestis on such a deep level that it had an emotional effect on me and part of that comes from the marrying of gameplay and narrative themes. This game’s strength is in how it uses the great character work of our supporting cast, the set ups and backstory of the first game, the tiny little character moments sprinkled throughout survivor and the mirroring of each major antagonist, culminating in a finale that focussed so heavily on who Cal Kestis is at his core. I cannot wait to see what they do in the 3rd game and I hope they give us a satisfying conclusion to the character arc Cal has been on, and if it’s anything like this, then The Star Wars Jedi trilogy is going to be one of the best Star Wars trilogies ever made.