Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Orderhad no issues wearing its influences proudly on its sleeve. While the game’s core concept borrowed a few details from pastStar Warsstories likeJedi Knight, its combat was inspired byDark Soulsand other FromSoftware titles, and its level design was influenced by the Metroidvania genre.Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Orderbrought all of these elements together to create a compelling AAAStar Warsvideo game fans had never seen before. And rather than run away from those influences,Star Wars Jedi: Survivorchooses to embrace them instead.
By all accounts,Star Wars Jedi: Survivoris a return to the classic sequel formula of old, where the next entry doesn’t try and reinvent the wheel, but instead chooses to improve upon all of the aspects that its predecessor did well in the first place. In that regard,Jedi: Survivorfeatures more fluid and responsive Soulslike combat, has a deeper and more rewardingMetroidvania level design, and takes fan expectations ofStar Warslore and character arcs and flips them on their head to produce an even more compelling story. But if there’s oneFallen Orderinfluence thatStar Wars Jedi: Survivorhas embraced even more than the rest, it’sUncharted.
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Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Continues to Double Down on its Uncharted Influences
One of the biggest points of comparison, whenStar Wars Jedi: Fallen Orderreleased, was between it andtheUnchartedfranchise, and it’s pretty easy to see why. A lot ofJedi: Fallen Order’s moment-to-moment gameplay involves the player climbing up various environments and obstacles, and leaping off to grab ledges on the other side of an abyss. Naturally, this both looks and feels veryUncharted-like, withFallen Orderusing similar climbing animations and climbing mechanics.
Another big example used in many fans' comparisons between the two games wasStar Wars Jedi: Fallen Order’s use of highly cinematic gameplay set pieces. WhileFallen Orderhad its fair share of compelling cinematics, thankfully the majority of its most exciting set pieces were saved for actual gameplay moments, and a lot of them felt right at home in anUnchartedgame. Most infamously,Jedi: Fallen Orderused a lot of long slides, requiring the player to leap off at the end while the camera panned around in slow-motion and everything blew up around them. A very similar sequence has appeared throughoutUncharted’s history, from the very first entry all the way up toUncharted Lost Legacy’s final train set piece.
But rather than try and tone down itsUnchartedinfluences,Star Wars Jedi: Survivorhas instead decided to embrace them fully, making the game feel even more likeUnchartedthan ever before, but in a good way.Jedi: Survivorfeatures much more platforming than was ever present inFallen Order, but rather than simple climbing, swinging, and jumping mechanics,Jedi: Survivoroffers a little more player freedom in how they approach these platforming challenges, with a lot more tools at their disposal as well. During the course of the game, players will unlock an Ascension Cable grappling hook that makesJedi: Survivor’s platforming feel immediately more rewarding than its predecessor’s, and paired with the Air Dash Force ability learned later on, it only gets better.
But by far the biggest wayStar Wars Jedi: Survivordoubles down on itsUnchartedinfluences is through the game’s settings and story. A good half ofStar Wars Jedi: Survivor’s story missionssee players exploring underground caves, tombs, and ancient High Republic structures, all in search of mysterious artifacts. Of course, the motivations behind Cal Kestis' journey differ wildly from Nathan Drake’s, but the general feel ofUncharted’s secret settings definitely seeps intoJedi: Survivor’s first half.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivorwas released on May 13, 2025, and is available on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X.
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