Star Wars Jedi Survivor: review roundup, Metacritic score - and game release date and time on PS5, Xbox and PC

2023 is already shaping up to be a bumper year for gamers, with big hitters like the Dead Space remake and Hogwarts Legacy already taking up a lot of fans’ time, and more blockbusters like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom still to come.

One game that’s similarly much anticipated is the next Star Wars video game to be released. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is the follow-up to 2019’s Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, and is once again being created by the team at Respawn Entertainment.

It takes place five years after the events of the first game. But what exactly can fans of the galaxy far, far away expect from the sequel and - more importantly - when can we actually get our hands on it? Here is everything you need to know.

What is Star Wars Jedi: Survivor?

Released in 2019, Fallen Order was an action-adventure game set five years after Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith.

It followed Jedi Padawan Cal Kestis as he struggled to complete his training, make peace with his troubled past, and revive the shattered Jedi Order while becoming a target of the Galactic Empire and being hunted across the galaxy by Imperial Inquisitors.

The story of the sequel falls around the Obi-Wan Kenobi series in the Star Wars timeline, which was released in 2022 on Disney Plus. It once again centres on Kestis as he fights against the Galactic Empire for his life. As one of the few Jedi who survived Order 66, Kestis must do "whatever it takes to stay alive."

What is the gameplay like?

Many of the gameplay features that made the first title a hit will be retained and expanded upon for the sequel. Cal has developed into a strong Jedi Knight and is no longer a Padawan, so ”additional Force abilities” and “new lightsaber fighting styles” are just some of the gameplay additions confirmed in the listing.

With new lightsaber fighting techniques and Force powers, the cinematic combat system is back, allowing players to utilise all of their skills and weaponry in a strategic way to take on a larger group of enemies, assessing each one’s strengths and weaknesses and deftly outwitting them.

Kestis now has access to five "fully realised" stances in the game's lightsaber combat. The single blade and double blade lightsaber stances are carried over from Fallen Order, while the special dual-wield single blade attack (only a a special attack in the original game) has been expanded into its own fully playable stance.

There is also a brand-new, heavier crossguard lightsaber stance inspired by Kylo Ren, which requires more assurance to use because it has longer timing windows for deflecting enemy attacks.

The excellent Metroidvania-style exploration of the first game is back too, and players will be able to explore brand-new planets and locations in the Star Wars galaxy which are bigger, more expansive and filled with more NPCs than in the first game, and each come with their own challenges and enemies.

New techniques, tools and abilities improve exploration and movement, and players that explore beyond the beaten path of the game’s larger areas will find plenty of secrets.

Is it any good?

The review embargo for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor lifted a couple of days ahead of the game’s release, meaning critics have been able to share their opinions on just what the experience is like.

So far, the response has been overwhelmingly positive, and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor currently has a very respectable Metacritic score of around 85 (depending on the platform).

NME’S 10/10 review called Star Wars Jedi: Survivor “the best action adventure released in 2023 so far”, and even went so far as to suggest the game may “the best action game of the generation so far”, while IGN’s similarly gloving 9/10 write-up said “Star Wars Jedi: Survivor takes what Fallen Order achieved and wall-runs with it, then double-jumps and air-dashes straight into an epic lightsaber battle.”

GamesRadar said Survivor is “an excellent sequel” to the first game with “a mature, twisting narrative that establishes a new group of heroes and challenges what a modern Star Wars story can be”, while GameSpot called it “a superb Star Wars game that gets into the nitty-gritty of the struggle of what it takes for a Jedi Knight to begin the journey toward the rank of Master.”

When can I play it?

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor will be released on Friday 28 April 2023, and will be available on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S consoles. In the UK, the game will go live at 5am BST.

The decision to not develop a version of the game for the older PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles means the developers have been able to introduce some current-gen features, such as real-time ray tracing and reduced load times.

Where is the best place to pre-order it?

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor can be ordered from Game.co.uk, where the game is available for £64.99. A Deluxe Edition, which gives players access to a number of in-game cosmetic options for their character and equipment, is also available for £84.99.

Simply click on the relevant link below to be taken to the platform of your choice:

• PlayStation 5
• Playstation 5 [Deluxe Edition]
• Xbox Series X/S
• Xbox Series X/S [Deluxe Edition]

For PC players, the game can be purchased through Star Wars Jedi: Survivor’s Steam page, where the game costs £59.99, or £79.99 for the Deluxe Edition.