To really dive into the story of this game, I’m going to have to spoil it. You’ve been warned.

Back in early 2020, we wrote about how the best Star Wars narrative of the previous year wasn’t The Mandalorian or The Rise of Skywalker, but rather the video game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. Now that 2023 is coming to a close, we thought we’d carry on that tradition. This year saw the release of Ahsoka, season two of The Bad Batch, and the third season of The Mandalorian, as well as the sophomore release of Visions and the debut of Young Jedi Adventures, but none of these Disney+ originals could hold a candle to Respawn’s sequel, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor when it comes to story. Sure, it was mired with bugs and glitches upon release (note: I didn’t experience any on PS5), but from a purely narrative point of view, this one knocked it out of the park, not just for the year but once again as one of the best stories in the Disney-era to date. I won’t get too heavy into the gameplay in this article, this isn’t so much a game review as a story review, but I thought the gameplay was really fun and expanded upon the first game in fun and creative ways while the graphics ranged from a little rough (some character models) to stunning (Jedah landscape).

Five years after the events of Fallen Order, Jedi Knight in hiding Cal Kestis (Cameron Monaghan) fights the Empire through infiltration and hit-and-run tactics, all while trying to keep a low profile and find a base of operations for his team to hide out at. He’s far less like a Jedi at this point in his life and more like a resistance fighter or a mercenary without the payment aspect. Helping him on his latest mission is an actual mercenary hired by Saw Guerra, Bode Akuda, a jetpack sporting gunslinger with a heart of gold. Instant best-friend material kind of guy, plus he’s voiced by Noshir Dalal, who voiced Charles Smith in Red Dead Redemption II. The two escape the opening mission on Coruscant but suffer major damage to Cal’s ship The Mantis, and have to seek refuge on Koboh, a hub planet where most of the action takes place this time around.

Koboh is a fantastic playground to explore. It’s centered on an open-world section but branches off into more traditional linear areas as the story progresses. The map is large enough that mounting a local nekko creature is often encouraged and sometimes downright necessary. The whole planet has this frontier vibe to it, complete with a customizable saloon and bounties to track. It’s right up my alley. Cal does go off-planet though as the story progresses, from Jedha (from Rogue One) and new locations such as Nova Garon, Tanalorr, and a Shattered Moon.

But it’s on Koboh in search of parts for the Mantis that Cal meets up with Dagan, a Jedi from the High Republic era suspended in a Bacta Tank for hundreds of years. Believing this powerful Jedi in his prime could be a useful ally, Cal attempts to recruit him, only to learn that Dagan has fallen to the Dark Side due to his anger towards the Jedi Order and their views on the mythical and elusive planet, Tanalorr; a planet Cal believes could function as a hidden base for the Hidden Path. This naturally puts the two on a collision course as they race to find the location of the planet.

Dagan is a serviceable enough villain but he certainly lacks the same level of nuance and depth found in Jedi: Fallen Order’s Second Sister. The reason for that is because Dagan actually isn’t the main villain of the game, but rather it’s Bode, you’re new best friend. At first glance, Bode is a father working as a mercenary to provide for his daughter, Kata, in a galaxy at war. Bode’s wife and Kata’s mother died during the early days of the Empire, forcing Bode to live in desperate times. In reality, though, Bode is a former Jedi turned ISB spy, working with the Empire in exchange for keeping his daughter off Darth Vader and his Inquisitor’s trail. Suddenly, the motivations and reasons for finding Tanalorr have changed. Bode is looking for the planet to keep his daughter safe; Cal wants to invite those on the Path to keep them safe while using it as a base. Both have honourable intentions, but each’s reasoning for finding the planet makes the other’s dream impossible. A child can’t be hidden on a military base that’s being hunted by the Empire while Bode can’t keep running with his daughter in tow.

Naturally, Bode is the final boss and you must put an end to him to beat the game. Despite being a Jedi with awesome Force abilities taking down a red-sabred baddie, I didn’t feel good about this. I felt dirty and unheroic. It doesn’t help that Cal starts to fall to the Dark Side in this game after the betrayal, with all his anger towards Bode and the Empire opening up a rage mechanic to wipe the floor of those pesky Stormtroopers. You save the day as Cal and find the missing planet you’ve been searching for throughout the game, but at what cost? You’ve orphaned a child and she may not be any safer now that she’s housed in a military base. Cal has tapped into the Dark Side and we’re left feeling a bit hollow. I don’t say this as a negative, it was immensely refreshing to be so emotionally impacted by a Star Wars narrative. The Mandalorian and Ahsoka are fun to watch while Andor is gripping and sharply written, but those shows didn’t move me emotionally on a character level. But once again, the Star Wars Jedi series brought gamers along for a complex, nuanced, and layered character-driven experience and resulted in being the best story set in a galaxy far, far away in 2023 and one of the best stories since the Disney acquisition. Jedi Survivor may not be the Game of the Year, but it’s a narrative win for Star Wars nonetheless when looking at the stories being produced across all mediums.

Oh, and if you have finished the game, go back to the site where you fought Bode at the end and you’ll be treated to a haunting and sad Force Echo that’s the cherry on the top of the cake.