Early reviews have gone live for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, the sequel to 2019’s Fallen Order. Developed by Respawn Entertainment, Jedi: Survivor once again stars Jedi Knight Cal Kestis as he encounters new enemies and explores a hostile galaxy.

Building on the foundation of the previous game, Respawn’s work has produced a game that’s bigger and better than its predecessor according to some critics, while others have noted that technical issues, a lack of polish, and open-world bloat do hold it back from gaining the rank of Jedi Master. Overall, critics say that Jedi: Survivor is everything that a Star Wars fan could want, but be prepared for a game with some very rough technical edges to an otherwise well-written adventure.

“Exhilarating lightsaber combat and physics-defying platforming puzzle challenges remain the best part of Respawn’s latest Star Wars game, but Survivor also makes big swings with its story this time around,” Jordan Ramée wrote in GameSpot’s Star Wars Jedi: Survivor review. “Cal’s quest takes him to new corners of the galaxy, but the most compelling journey he makes is an introspective one. Survivor is a very well-written tale about overcoming fear, and it’s the Jedi story I’ve wanted for a long time.”

On Metacritic, Jedi: Survivor currently has an aggregate score of 86 from 59 reviews. For a more detailed breakdown of what critics have to say, you can check out the reviews below gathered from several outlets.

• Game: Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
• Platforms: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S
• Developer: Respawn Entertainment
• Release Date: April 28
• Price: $70

GameSpot – 8/10

“Survivor builds on Fallen Order in several meaningful ways, tightening up the combat mechanics, expanding the variety of lightsaber styles, alleviating the frustration of platforming and puzzles, and digging into less-mainstream Star Wars lore to tell a fantastic story about a Jedi trying to defeat a tyrannical evil at all costs and coming to the realization that you can’t just fight for good–you have to fight for good in the right way. It’s a superb Star Wars game that gets into the nitty-gritty of the struggle of what it takes for a Jedi Knight to begin the journey toward the rank of Master.” — Jordan Ramée [Full review]

NME – 5/5

“The best action adventure released in 2023 so far, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor has a confidence to its world and the play that it totally manages to back up by how fun it is. A must-play, perhaps the best action game of the generation so far.” — Jake Tucker [Full review]

VGC – 5/5

“Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is Star Wars at its very best. A thrilling adventure with a stellar cast tied together with smart, expansive combat, and huge new worlds to explore. Performance issues aside, it’s easily one of the best Star Wars games ever made and only makes us wants more tales from the adventures of Cal Kestis and BD-1.” — Jordan Middler [Full review]

Game Informers – 9.25/10

“Developer Respawn Entertainment clearly took a measured and thoughtful approach to analyze what worked and what didn’t in its last Star Wars game, and Jedi: Survivor feels like a worthy attempt at evolution. It captures the magic of Star Wars as well as anything in the current canon, and it’s a stellar adventure in its own right. Still, nailing the fantasy of being a Jedi? Doesn’t hurt.” — Matt Miller [Full review]

IGN – 9/10

“With a new set of larger, more diverse, and densely packed worlds to explore and a memorable cast of returning characters, Survivor tells a story that may be predictable but is still fun and at times emotional to watch play out. Launch performance issues aside, it’s a sequel that does virtually everything better than the original – which was already an exceptional Star Wars game. If Respawn makes one more like this it’ll complete the best Star Wars trilogy in 30 years, hands down.” — Dan Stapleton [Full review]

Destructoid – 9/10

“I only platinum a few games a year, but I’m considering going the distance for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor–that’s how much I liked it, and I would have scored it higher if the technical concerns weren’t in play. After finishing up Jedi Survivor and immediately cleaning up what I had missed for fun, I found myself wishing for a world where Respawn Entertainment focused all of its energy on single-player games from here on out.” — Chris Carter [Full review]

PCGamesN – 8/10

“Survivor is exactly the type of game I assumed it was. A sequel that aspires to be bigger in almost every way, its commitment to this goal both makes it worth playing and inadvertently holds it back in a few key ways. That said, if you love Star Wars or enjoyed Fallen Order, you’ll have a blast when the Star Wars Jedi Survivor release date rolls around, however much of it you decide to engage with.” — Will Nelson [Full review]

TheGamer – 3.5/5

“Star Wars Jedi: Survivor has everything a Star Wars fan will want – it’s an excellent story, and uses classic Star Wars tropes, musical cues, and narrative moments. But if you’re not enamored by a John Williams horn reprise, what you have is a decent adventure game with a vibrant but often annoying open world that you keep being sent back to, that rarely lets you think for yourself and often just doesn’t quite work properly. For a story so sharp, it’s a shame the game gets in its own way so often.” — Stacey Henley [Full review]