11 Games To Play After Star Wars Jedi: Survivor

I actually don’t recommend you play Jedi: Survivor first if you have any intention or desire to play its predecessor, Fallen Order. However, things happen. I get it. So if you recently finished Respawn’s latest Jedi game and are curious about the first one, it’s time to fix that. The origin of Cal Kestis and his loveable band of misfits is worth experiencing even if you’re coming to it late. George Lucas told his Star Wars saga out of order, so it’s not that weird to play the first game second. Probably.

If you’re looking for a third-person action game with tight and tricky combat and Dark Souls-like gameplay, you should check out FromSoftware’s Sekiro. It’s clear Respawn was inspired by FromSoftware’s beloved (and challenging) games. But of all of FromSoftware’s hits, newcomers to the games might consider trying Sekiro after wrapping Survivor thanks to its similar combat and exploration.

Before Disney bought Star Wars, the franchise’s canon was a wild and out-of-control mess that sometimes produced greatness and sometimes produced awful crap. The Force Unleashed lands squarely in the middle, with a really odd story about Darth Vader’s secret super-powerful apprentice that even back then felt like weird fan fiction. But the combat was a blast and it looked great for the time. If you need some more Jedi action after Survivor, you could do worse.… For example, you could play the shorter, wackier, and not as good The Force Unleashed 2. At least the lightsaber action in it is still fun.

While 1995’s original Star Wars: Dark Forces is a fantastic shooter that should be played, its sequels are likely more interesting to folks fresh off Survivor and hungry for more lightsaber action. And specifically, I think Jedi Outcast might be the best of the bunch, as its lightsaber combat feels wonderful and satisfying. Chopping off the arms of stormtroopers has never been more fun! Plus, it tells a very Star Wars-y story chronicling Kyle Katarn’s journey to reconnect with the Force. But if you prefer more Jedi shenanigans and customization…

Jedi: Survivor owes a huge debt to Super Metroid, and it knows it. In fact, early on in Survivor, you encounter a situation that serves as a direct reference and homage to Nintendo’s masterpiece. However, the real reason to play Super Metroid after Jedi: Survivor is that, like Survivor’s Cal, playing as Samus just feels great, and like Survivor’s smooth, rewarding progression, Super Metroid doles out a steady stream of new items and abilities that give you access to more and more of its atmospheric, sci-fi world. Of course, today it feels like there are a million games that do this, but very, very few do it as well as Survivor. Super Metroid is absolutely one of them. — Carolyn Petit

Jedi Academy is the follow-up to Jedi Knight and uses the same engine and tech. However, this time you take on the role of a young Jedi Padawan learning the ways of the Force from Jedi Knight protag Kyle Katarn. Jedi Academy let you create your own Jedi warrior and lightsaber for the first time in the series. But what really makes this game so good (and why it’s still played and modded in 2023) is that the lightsaber combat was even better than the already fantastic combat in Outcast. I can vouch for that, as I spent far too many hours in my youth bashing laser swords together in Academy’s multiplayer.

Perhaps what you loved most about Jedi: Survivor wasn’t being a Jedi or all the Star Wars elements, but the exploration and puzzle-solving mixed with light RPG mechanics and combat. Why not step outside that galaxy from far, far away and check out what might be the best game in the Tomb Raider series: Rise of the Tomb Raider. This has the same Metroidvania-like puzzles and exploration as Survivor but with a focus on gunplay and stealth. It also runs like a charm on most platforms and still looks great in 2023.

I won’t pretend that PS2/Xbox-era Revenge of the Sith is some incredible video game that changed the medium or resonated with millions of people. However, I will tell you that it is one of my favorite Star Wars games because it’s just classic God of War re-skinned with Star Wars characters and lightsabers. If that sounds good to you, then you should check out Revenge of the Sith. Oh and definitely check out its wacky (in a good way) alternate ending.

When Jedi: Fallen Order came out, the reductive (but not wholly inaccurate) description I most often saw was “Uncharted meets Dark Souls.” In Survivor, the DNA of Nathan Drake remains as apparent as ever in all of Cal’s perilous, cinematic climbing, punctuated on rare occasions by handholds giving way as he clings to them. (He’s not nearly as unlucky as Drake in this regard.) But the other thing Naughty Dog’s series did, arguably best of all in its second entry, was take the pacing and character development of third-person adventure games to stunning new heights. Like Jedi: Survivor, Among Thieves is packed with incredible set-pieces and with its own engaging, found-family story, so if you want more outstanding cinematic adventure and don’t mind trading in hopping around the galaxy for jet-setting around the globe, you should definitely give Nathan Drake’s second outing a look. — Carolyn Petit

Nowadays, most people don’t remember or care about Star Wars: Obi-Wan, an original Xbox exclusive third-person action game developed by Lucasarts. And that’s probably for the best as it’s not a great game. However, there aren’t as many third-person action-adventure games starring Jedi as you might think and while Obi-Wan isn’t close to being as good as Survivor, it is interesting as a piece of old Star Wars media that, while no longer canon, is fun to poke at. Sadly, you’ll likely need to emulate it or drag out an Xbox console to enjoy this title. And it may not be worth all that hassle.

It’s 2023 and we still don’t have my dream Star Wars game: an open-world action-adventure game that looks like Jedi: Survivor starring a customizable Jedi who can visit dozens of planets and complete quests along the way. But, Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is pretty dang close to that, offering a massive open world to explore filled with more content than I can easily describe. It also plays wonderfully and looks amazing, mixing Lego bricks with realistic graphics. This is one of my favorite games ever and one of the best Star Wars games around.