Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is less than a week away, and we’ve curated the quintessential experiences to prepare for Cal Kestis’ new journey.
One of the biggest games on our radar this spring is Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, sequel to 2019’s inspired Jedi: Fallen Order and the first truly next-gen game set in Lucasfilm’s galaxy far, far away. We’re eager to see how Respawn Entertainment builds upon one of the best single-player Star Wars games to date and thankfully, there are plenty of other tales to help us catch up on the story and prepare for the ride.
With Jedi: Survivor set 9 years BBY (Before the Battle of Yavin, or rather, where Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope takes place), we’ve curated a list of other adventures that either tie directly into the game, its time period, or its themes—tales of the Jedi, the burgeoning Rebellion, and the fallout of Order 66.
So without further ado, “grab some seat” and check out these five stories to prepare for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor:
Jedi Fallen Order – Dark Temple
Around the release of the original game, Marvel Comics produced a five-issue prequel miniseries focused on Cere Junda, the former Jedi who takes Cal Kestis under her wing. Cere needs Cal to follow the trail of her former master, Eno Cordova—and that’s exactly what this miniseries does as well.
With a frame narrative set around the first game, Jedi Fallen Order – Dark Temple flashes back to Cere’s padawan days, as she accompanies Cordova on a mission to excavate a mysterious Jedi temple. Seeing Cere in her youth, some 30 years before the events of Respawn’s Jedi games, adds a lot to her crisis of faith in Fallen Order, and should also flesh out her ongoing development in Jedi: Survivor.
Jedi: Fallen Order
Well, of course it makes sense to revisit the prior game before a sequel comes out. Jedi: Fallen Order is a great game to return to today, whether you’ve played it before or want to see the start of the series for yourself.
If you fall into the former camp, you can dust off a cleared save file and start a New Journey+, retaining the customization options you unlocked before, as well as a new Inquisitor-inspired wardrobe for those who prefer the Dark Side. There’s also a free next-gen upgrade (and a fresh slate of trophies for next-gen consoles),
If you’ve never played Fallen Order before and perhaps picked it up as part of PS Plus’ monthly offerings or on a steep Steam Sale discount, there’s still time to embark on the journey and see Cal’s unique beginnings. Fallen Order put a unique stamp on the usual Order 66 tales, along with Cal’s particular Force talents, and while you could jump into Jedi: Survivor without that background, it will surely be a richer journey if you experience the first leg for yourself.
Jedi: Battle Scars
Like Dark Temple, Jedi: Battle Scars is a brand new prequel that provides some enriching background for Survivor. Written by Canada’s own Sam Maggs (whose other writing credits include Critical Role: The Mighty Nein Origins, Call of Duty: Vanguard, and Marvel’s Spider-Man), the novel literally bridges the 5-year gap between games.
The crew of the Stinger Mantis embarks on a mission to retrieve a Jedi artifact, imparted by a potentially untrustworthy source. Without spoiling anything, the dynamics between Cal and his allies—Cere, Greez, and the Nightsister Merrin—evolve in meaningful ways, some scars are imparted (true to the book’s name), and the fledgling team finds their alliance tested. Having played some of the opening hours of Jedi: Survivor and seeing a taste of where these tensions lead, I can definitely recommend this one for fellow voracious Star Wars readers who relish such connections between stories.
The High Republic – Light of the Jedi
The Jedi Order has fallen by the time Luke and Leia are born, but since 2021, the talented writers of Lucasfilm Publishing have been taking us to a brighter era in their history, well over 230 years before the events of Jedi: Survivor. The High Republic project spans multiple novels and comics, starting with Light of the Jedi by Charles Soule.
A mysterious figure seen in Jedi: Survivor‘s trailers—who scolds Cal for allowing “the Republic to fall to this unworthy machine of an Empire,” as though he had been more at the time than a child who lost his only parental figure—has sparked intense speculation about the possible involvement of High Republic elements in the game. It’s exciting to think that this new era of storytelling could be weaving into the most familiar time period of Star Wars stories, so relatively close to its debut.
But speculation aside, the High Republic books are a fascinating look at a Golden Age of the Jedi. We’ve seen glimpses of their past in BioWare’s Old Republic games, or certain retconned Expanded Universe tales, but this time period has never been explored before. Seeing how high the Jedi Order once soared (within Yoda’s 900-year lifespan, even) makes the story of their fall in Order 66 all the more devastating, and they’re worth checking out, even if they don’t directly connect to Jedi: Survivor.
Star Wars Rebels
After the Prequel Trilogy, it seemed like Yoda and Obi-Wan were the only Jedi to walk away after Order 66, but over time their exclusive club has continued to grow—not only introducing Ahsoka Tano, Grogu, and Cal Kestis, but also Kanan Jarrus of Star Wars Rebels. Technically this 4-season animated series picks up a few years after Jedi: Survivor and leads into the Original Trilogy, but Kanan’s journey is an interesting parallel to Cal’s.
We see Kanan’s perspective of Order 66 in the premiere of The Bad Batch, and he also received a Marvel Comics miniseries to flesh out his backstory. Like Cal, Kanan tried to eke out a more mundane living before realizing he couldn’t run from his Jedi training forever. When we meet him at the start of Rebels, Kanan has found his own ragtag group of allies, and like Cere, he also finds a padawan to pass on what he has learned.
The way both characters deal with the fallout of the Jedi’s eradication and stop running from the Empire builds brilliantly upon one of Star Wars‘ most shocking tragedies. The Rebellion is only a few sparks during the Jedi games, mostly consisting of radicals like Saw Gerrera’s band, but if Jedi: Survivor gets a follow-up some day, these two orphaned padawans could theoretically cross paths, and that’s an exhilarating prospect.
(Plus, if nothing else, Rebels is an outstanding project that bridges a multitude of plot threads across the current canon, with the live-action Ahsoka series poised to serve as its sequel. So if you’re also hungry for more after The Mandalorian or Andor, Kanan and friends have plenty to offer you between seasons.)
We hope that these suggestions boost your excitement for Jedi: Survivor like an invigorating stim shot from BD-1. Stay tuned to CGMagazine for our review of the game this week, before stepping into Cal’s boots for yourself on PlayStation 5, PC, or Xbox Series X|S April 28.
