Sandbox-y as Tatooine? Or as linear as a lightsaber?

By Ben Huxley

Published: Friday, 28 April 2023 at 12:00 am

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While Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order received rave reviews from fans and critics alike, there was one thing many thought was missing, and that’s an open world. Or, well, an open galaxy.

Of course, we weren’t expecting a Star Wars equivalent of No Man’s Sky. We saw from the trailers that it was a story-based game with set pieces aplenty. But us fans of Knights of the Old Republic had an itch for once again exploring George Lucas’s rich worlds.

So what about the sequel, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, which dropped today (Friday 28th April)? We discuss below whether or not the game has any open world qualities.

Is Star Wars Jedi: Survivor open world?

We’re sorry if you’re hoping for a yes or no answer, because the phrase we’re going to use is “sort of”. However, we’re happy to say that Survivor is significantly more open-world than Fallen Order.

It depends on which planet you’re on. For example, planets like Koboh and Jedha are big open worlds with a huge environment to explore. Koboh especially is a cool place to explore. It’s essentially a home hub world with many things to discover as the game goes on and Cal learns more abilities (but more on that later). We even have our own bedroom in the cantina, which is pretty cool.

That being said, there are a few long missions – especially towards the end – that are as linear as can be. But this is to be expected in a story based game.

How does exploration work in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor?

If you played Fallen Order, the exploration mechanics of Survivor won’t be too alien.

As you progress through the story, Cal picks up various new skills on his travels, like jumps and uses of the force. So, while we’re free to explore our home hub of Koboh right from the start, there will be a few areas that remain closed off to us – that is, until we’ve learned the skills to ‘open’ them.

You’ll notice a few gaps that are too big to jump at the start, for example. We enjoyed returning to these places after we’ve learned the skills, so Koboh is a gift that keeps giving.

While Star Wars Jedi: Survivor isn’t open world per se, there are open parts, and they’re a joy to explore.