Star Wars lore goes deeper than what you see in the movies and TV shows — some of the best characters in the Star Wars universe don’t even show up in them at all! One of my favorite stories is the journey of Cal Kestis, a Jedi Knight on his own journey to fight the Empire and rebuild the Jedi Order. While we don’t have a film or TV series about Kestis yet (hopefully it is on its way), you can explore his story in the Star Wars Jedi video game series.
While you should certainly start by playing Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, the first installment of the series, the sequel has a lot more action and higher stakes. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor takes place five years after its predecessor — Kestis has become a capable Jedi Knight in his adventures and is seeking a place for a new Jedi Order to hide from the Empire. You can dive into this rich story right now at a deep discount: It’s only $20 at Best Buy right now for Cyber Monday.
“Star Wars Jedi: Survivor doesn’t reinvent the formula of Fallen Order and still suffers from some pacing and technical issues as that game did. Still, it’s one of the best single-player Star Wars experiences that I’ve ever played,” wrote Gaming Staff Writer Tomas Franzese in his 4 out of 5 star review of the game. “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.”
For those who have played the first game in the series and haven’t jumped into the sequel yet, a warning: Survivor is much darker. The game is ripe with overwhelming sense of dread is a hallmark of Star Wars sequels, especially the second chapters of its trilogies. The Empire Strikes Back set the tone with its iconic opening on Hoth, marking one of the first blockbusters where the heroes faced a decisive loss by the end. Similarly, The Last Jedi heightened the tension, portraying the First Order and the Dark Side as nearly insurmountable forces, leaving Rey and the Resistance with daunting odds to overcome.
Actor Cameron Monaghan, who plays the role of Kestis, was very vocal about the tonal shift before the game’s launch.
“In the first game, he had a naivete and a wide-eyed nature that I love about Cal,” Monaghan told Digital Trends. “But I think that situationally, if you’re in such a desperate place for so many years and fighting and being a soldier and a tool for resistance, at some point, it’s going to start to change the way you see the world around you.”