Surprise! Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is out in like, two days, and some early impressions are starting to hit the web as the game's embargo is lifted. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, we didn't get access to the game early enough for a pre-release review here at Pure Xbox, but various other critics are on hand to bring some early impressions.
Here are some review summaries for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, which seems to be hugely impressing players so far:
NME (10/10)
"The best action adventure released in 2023 so far, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor has a confidence to its world and the play that it totally manages to back up by how fun it is. A must-play, perhaps the best action game of the generation so far."
VGC (5/5)
"Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is Star Wars at its very best. A thrilling adventure with a stellar cast tied together with smart, expansive combat, and huge new worlds to explore. Performance issues aside, it's easily one of the best Star Wars games ever made and only makes us wants more tales from the adventures of Cal Kestis and BD-1."
PlayStation Universe (9.5/10)
"Respawn Entertainment solidifies itself as the best Star Wars developer around. Crafting a big galaxy to explore with an epic story that borrows and explores past Star Wars lore. Jedi Survivor improves on its predecessor and surpasses it in every way."
Game Informer (9.3/10)
"Developer Respawn Entertainment clearly took a measured and thoughtful approach to analyze what worked and what didn’t in its last Star Wars game, and Jedi: Survivor feels like a worthy attempt at evolution. It captures the magic of Star Wars as well as anything in the current canon, and it’s a stellar adventure in its own right."
Push Square (9/10)
"Star Wars Jedi: Survivor does what any successful sequel should do: it expands on the foundations of the first game and does everything better. Combat is just as enjoyable and offers more options, exploration is on a whole other level, and the Metroidvania elements make for engaging puzzles and satisfying rewards. Easily one of the best Star Wars games ever made, it hands 2023 yet another crowning highlight."
IGN (9/10)
"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. Rather than taking us back to square one to begin Cal’s journey as a Padawan again, we’re trusted with control of a full-fledged Jedi Knight who we can grow into a master of superhuman mobility and fantastic and challenging combat."
GamesRadar (9/10)
"Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is an excellent sequel that sometimes struggles to reign in its ambition, but takes everything great about Fallen Order and builds on it. Cal's new adventure is a mature, twisting narrative that establishes a new group of heroes and challenges what a modern Star Wars story can be."
COGConnected (8.5/10)
"Jedi Survivor is the definitive Jedi video game experience. As a Star Wars fan, I love it. I imagine it was a lot of fun to develop, and the Jedi Team at Respawn are absolute rockstars for what they've achieved. I'm confident the performance hiccups on PS5 will be resolved. Apart from that, I can't get enough of the game. I'm actively finishing my initial playthrough and am stoked to jump into new game plus."
GameSpot (8/10)
"Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is 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."
GameReactor (8/10)
"Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is a great continuation of this series. It's overflowing with references and other minor beats that each paint a wonderful and thorough picture of A Galaxy Far, Far Away, and the gameplay is simply an improvement of Fallen Order's outstanding formula."
Digital Trends (8/10)
"Star Wars Jedi: Survivor doesn’t reinvent the formula of Fallen Order and still suffers from some pacing and technical issues like that game did. Still, it’s one of the best single-player Star Wars experiences that I've ever played. The Empire may not be defeated by the end of Survivor, but I enjoyed exploring this beautiful galaxy and watching Cal open up along the way."
TheGamer (7/10)
"Star Wars Jedi: Survivor has everything a Star Wars fan will want - it's an excellent story, and uses classic Star Wars tropes, musical cues, and narrative moments. But if you're not enamoured by a John Williams horn reprise, what you have is a decent adventure game with a vibrant but often annoying open world that you keep being sent back to, that rarely lets you think for yourself and often just doesn't quite work properly. For a story so sharp, it's a shame the game gets in its own way so often."
At the time of writing, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is sitting at a super impressive 86 on Metacritic - Star Wars fans, you're in for a treat with Respawn Entertainment's new galaxy-spanning adventure.