Star Wars Jedi: Survivor’s Most Interesting Lore Development Can’t Be for Nothing

Highlights

• Star Wars Jedi: Survivor bridges the gap between the original trilogy and the High Republic era, offering a unique narrative experience.
• The game introduces players to the High Republic gradually, allowing them to explore the era alongside protagonist Cal Kestis.
• The potential sequel to Jedi: Survivor should further expand on the High Republic lore, as it could lead to new gameplay mechanics and story elements.

Star Wars, rather infamously, has some pretty expansive, complex lore. While the original Star Wars trilogy’s excellent world-building hinted at major in-universe events like the Clone Wars and an ancient Jedi-Sith war, its own plot stayed relatively straightforward, focusing primarily on the fight between the Rebellion and the Empire though the lens of just a handful of main characters. But over the last few decades, the Star Wars universe has continued to grow, and it’s all thanks to projects like Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.

Over the last four plus decades, the Star Wars franchise has continued to receive countless books, comics, TV shows, movies, and video games, and each one adds its own heap of lore to the universe. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is no different. A story set nine years before A New Hope, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor builds off many other Star Wars stories, and there’s one lore development in particular that it shouldn’t leave behind in the sequel.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor’s High Republic Connection Can’t Be One-And-Done

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Acted as a Great Jumping-On Point for The High Republic

Officially launching in 2021, the Star Wars High Republic era is still in its infancy, especially when compared to other Star Wars eras, but it’s already been at the forefront of many novels and comics, while also finding its way into a handful of TV shows, and more recently, video games. Set around 500-100 years before A New Hope, Star Wars‘ High Republic era sees the Galactic Republic at the height of its power, and sees the Jedi Order stretching across the entire galaxy. Though it still has a lot of gaps left to fill, the High Republic era is home to some of the best pieces of recent Star Wars media, and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor acted as the perfect introduction to the time period for those uninitiated.

While the vast majority of Star Wars Jedi:Survivor takes place nearly a decade before the start of the original trilogy, Cal Kestis’ second video game journey sees him cross paths with the High Republic era a few times. The game’s primary antagonist, Dagan Gera, was a High Republic Jedi kept in stasis for hundreds of years, and his plot to reach the hidden planet of Tanalorr acts as the crux of Jedi: Survivor‘s story. Along the way, players receive several flashbacks that take them back to the High Republic era, where they’re gradually given a bit more information on the era, such as the status of the Jedi Order at the time, and teases of major threats like the Nihil marauders.

Though the game’s central plot revolves around a High Republic character, information about the era itself is mainly surface-level, with players learning about the era at the same time as protagonist Cal Kestis, and thus being introduced to the time period gradually. This light crossover with the High Republic era allowed Star Wars Jedi: Survivor to get pretty creative with its narrative, environments, and enemy types, while still mostly taking place in the familiar Reign of the Empire setting.

How The High Republic Could Return in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor’s Sequel

Though it doesn’t dive too deep into the era’s lore, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor still laid a lot of groundwork for the High Republic era for new fans, and tied it in nicely with the game’s core cast and story. It would be a real shame to see that get dropped completely in Jedi: Survivor‘s potential sequel. Thankfully, there are a few ways that the next Star Wars Jedi game could bring the High Republic back.

Now residing on Tanalorr, an ancient Jedi temple and training ground for High Republic-era students, Cal Kestis could use his Force Echo ability to see glimpses of the past. This could impact both the sequel’s narrative and gameplay, with Cal being able to learn new techniques and abilities from long-dead High Republic Jedi Masters, such as new lightsaber stances and Force powers.