Star Wars Jedi: Survivoris one of the darkest entries the galaxy far, far away has seen. Cal’s latest adventure puts him through the death of his loved ones, betrayal by his closest allies, and the constant, overwhelming burden of being one of the last of his kind. As he struggles through this, he has to rise above any negative emotions to avoid succumbing to the dark side. All Jedi face this battle, but we see the weight of it wear harder on Cal than we have on most of our storied heroes.
Despite the overwhelming burden of one Jedi carrying a whole order’s legacy on his shoulders during the galaxy’s darkest hours, Jedi: Survivor is also one of the funniest adventures in the Star Wars universe, balancing Cal’s difficult journey as a Jedi Knight with in-jokes and references to the first game,whacky side characters like Turgle and Skoova Stev, and memorable combat encounters thatsubvert expectations like Rick the Door Technician. Senior game writer Pete Stewart says there wasn’t a determined effort to be funnier than the first game, but that it was a deliberate choice to contrast the darkness.
Related:I’m Already Obsessed With Star Wars Outlaws' Little Pet
“One thing we were clear on from the start was that, although the story was going to take Cal and our characters to a darker place, the game itself was going to be filled with moments of joy: that’s the nature of Star Wars,” Stewart tells me. “If there isn’t at least a certain focus on comedy, or at least general happiness, then I think the drive of the plot wouldn’t be as strong. Which was, essentially: do these people make you happy? Do they make you laugh? Yes? Then it’s definitely worth fighting through the darkness for a future with them.”
Just like a Jedi finding balance in the Force, it wasn’t an easy task forRespawnto counter these contrasting tones. Stewart notes that the hardest part was finding when to add moments of levity and humour, and when to focus fully on the darker, more dramatic notes so as to not give players tonal whiplash.
One key example that Stewart mentions is the game’s final act, which starts with a notable betrayal on Jedha and continues all the way to a climactic showdown on Tanalorr. Respawn left this section devoid of comedic moments to highlight the character’s emotions, opting for moments of hope and lightness instead of jokes to cut through the darkness and keep players from experiencing “ceaseless misery”.
“We talk about this all the time in our writer’s room,” lead writer Danny Homan says. “Jedi: Survivor takes place during an incredibly dark time in the galaxy. There’s no avoiding the brutality of the Empire as it asserts its will. That said, we map the tone of Cal’s adventure to ensure that levity has an intention. Characters in Pyloon’s Saloon, for example, will often recognize where Cal’s at emotionally, even if they don’t know the cause.”
Pyloon’s Saloon isn’t the only location in Jedi: Survivor that offers both you and Cal a breather from the dark side. Narrative designer Cole Swany notes that Rambler’s Reach offers a fresh tone, with it focusing more on puzzles and the residents of Koboh than the larger galactic threat. Swany says this allowed the darker moments space to breathe while also making sure Cal’s “whole universe wasn’t doom and gloom”.
And how could it be all misery when that universe features a character as loveable as Turgle? The strange space frog made a huge splash when Jedi: Survivor launched, and instantly became a favourite among fans for his gangly appearance and weird manner of speaking, in a way Star Wars famously failed before with Jar-Jar Binks.
“Characters like Turgle are a bit risky to write,” Homan admits. “I think audiences respect bold characters who feel untethered and distinct, but when you take risks, they don’t always work out. I’d give a lot of credit to our voice actor, Richard Horvitz, who deftly handles Turgle’s eccentric personality with a lot of nuance and charm. We also found some opportunities in echos and scans to explore the less boisterous side of Turgle’s character, which we felt made him more well-rounded.”
Stewart also credits a large part of Turgle’s success to Horvitz’s performance, but also notes that him being a “silly little guy” desperate to be friends with Cal, despite clearly having a criminal side and mostly being up to no good, sells him as an earnest and believable character.
As much impact as Horvitz had on Turgle being such a big hit, Homan notes that concept art is what kickstarted the character. One of the team’s key focuses when developing Turgle, who is described as a “classic black sheep character”, was making sure the player was surprised by whatever he had to say when Cal interacted with him. Homan says his lines were written with the mindset of “what’s he gonna say this time?”.
However, the most surprising comedic moment doesn’t come from Turgle at all. Towards the end of the game, after Cal has just survived a gauntlet of enemies and platforming challenges in Nova Garon, your health is at its lowest and you’re begging for a checkpoint. Suddenly, a lone stormtrooper arrives in the distance. That’s usually nothing to worry about, but the appearance of a big health bar and a boss title tells you to prepare for the worst. Then, one shot later, Rick the Door Technician is dead on the floor.
“In all honesty, Rick the Door Technician was a design-led initiative, so credit where credit is due,” Stewart tells me. “Even from the earliest versions of Prospector’s Folly (Koboh’s mountainous level), we had envisioned a small moment in the Imperial base, after the huge wave fight in the hangar bay, where a single trooper would charge at you, screaming, only to be put down.
“As the level began to flesh out and approach completion, however, it became more clear that the moment wasn’t popping in the way it should. The design team for the level had the idea then to play with the other tools we had at our disposal - our boss UI, music, etc - and to play with the players’ expectations of what that boss bar and music meant, then whip the rug out from under them.”
Another great meta moment comes from Cal’s strange love of ponchos, which were one of the main collectibles in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, much to the annoyance of fans. The community wasn’t as keen as Cal, but they eventually turned into an in-joke for fans. Cal’s actor, Cameron Monaghan,even wore one on-stage at Star Wars Celebrationand hounded game director Stig Asmussen with countless questions about whether they’d be returning.
Respawn was in on the joke too, turning the once-maligned fashion faux paus into another comedic moment. If you took the time to explore Koboh, you could stumble across one of the game’s hardest bosses, the Spawn of Oggdo Bogdo, a reference to a surprisingly tough boss from the first game. Overcoming this deadly encounter saw you rewarded with, you guessed it, Cal’s classic poncho.
“On the writing side, there’s a moment early on after you meet Zee,” Homan says. “She’s sussing out Cal – he’s using the Force but doesn’t seem like the Jedi of her day. When she inquires about why he’s not wearing the proper Jedi robes, he comments that he’s more of a poncho guy. While this started out as a joke amongst ourselves, it fits with Cal’s character. He deflects what would be a serious answer with a little comedy.”
Star Wars isn’t known for its deft mixing of humour and drama. Usually when it tries, we end up with Jar-Jar Binks, or some random CGI alien having a pratfall in the background of a heartfelt scene. But all of these in-jokes, comedic characters, and expectation-subverting gameplay mechanics allow Star Wars Jedi: Survivor to be both the darkest adventure in the series’ recent history, while also making sure you aren’t constantly subjected to the same grief and trauma that Cal is constantly bearing on his shoulders.
