Star Wars Jedi: Survivor will see Cal Kestis take on the Galactic Empire with several new elegant skills at his disposal, as well as a less civilized long-range option. The lightsaber is still Kestis’ primary weapon for dealing with Stormtroopers and bounty hunters, and now features a crossguard upgrade similar to Kylo Ren’s design. Kestis can also switch to a blaster stance this time, which encourages ranged attacks.
Speaking to Play Magazine (via GamesRadar), director Stig Asmussen explained that the crossguard blade will offer a “heavy yet measured and purposeful approach” when equipped and is useful “for when you really need to bring a measured, hard-hitting approach” to a fight.
For the blaster stance, Asmussen said that it’s there “to encourage ranged attacks” alongside regular lightsaber strikes. The blaster’s inclusion in Jedi Survivor is particularly notable, as Fallen Order focused purely on lightsaber and Force combat.
In the wider Star Wars canon, Jedi shun blasters, and it’s rare to see them use those weapons, save for a few other Order 66 survivors such as Kanan Jarrus from Star Wars Rebels. It’s even rarer to see a Jedi use both a lightsaber and a blaster at the same time, but there have been some exceptions to this rule over the years.
In case you missed it, developer Respawn released a nine-minute chunk of Jedi Survivor gameplay this week. Other quality-of-life improvements coming in Jedi Survivor include fast travel and rideable creatures, but the game has been hit with a six-week delay.
Originally scheduled to launch on March 17 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor will release on April 28 so that Respawn can spend more time focusing on bug fixes, stability, performance, and improving the player experience.
