Update (5/2): A 1GB patch was released for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor today, and at first glance, it doesn’t seem to change much. Our day-one patch impressions and performance review remain as follows.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor hit shelves this past Friday, kicking off a gauntlet of 2023 gaming releases. Between Jedi: Survivor, Tears of the Kingdom, and Final Fantasy XVI (plus March’s stellar Resident Evil 4 remake), there’s no shortage of experiences to keep you busy during the spring and summer months.
With so much vying for your time, the bar is that much higher for 2023’s games to deliver the goods. So, it’s a shame when Star Wars Jedi: Survivor reviews went live, citing an array of technical issues. From frame-rate drops to pop-in, Cal Kestis’s sophomore adventure is off to a rocky start.
Accompanying the game’s launch is a massive day-one patch, which developer Respawn hopes will remedy some of the performance woes. While we’re still playing through our own press copy, we wanted to share our early Star Wars Jedi: Survivor day-one patch impressions, so you can decide whether to buy the game for yourself.
Note: We’re reviewing Jedi: Survivor on consoles. If you’re looking for PC Star Wars: Jedi Survivor day-one patch impressions, check out this PC Gamer piece.
How Does Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Perform on PS5 and Series X?
I’ve played the first seven hours of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (roughly 25% of the game). Without delving into spoilers, the game kicks off with a fairly linear section before setting players loose to explore an open-world planet.
While PC has received the brunt of the criticism regarding Jedi: Survivor’s performance issues, my experience on PlayStation 5 hasn’t exactly been perfect. In my playtime, I’ve encountered frequent screen tearing (there’s no VSync option), plus frame-rate dips when fighting larger groups of enemies. Fellow Punished Backlog writer Sam Martinelli, who’s playing through on Xbox Series X, reports similar findings.
It’s not ideal for a marquee sequel, much less one as anticipated as Jedi: Survivor. But there’s good news: These performance issues aren’t game-breaking. While noticeable, the frame-rate drops hardly derail the experience; if anything, they became less pronounced the more I played. (The non-linear planet I explored is far less “busy” visually than the intro sequence, which helps matters.) I haven’t noticed any pop-in myself, and while the screen tearing is disappointing, you can mitigate it by tweaking a few settings.
TL;DR: Provided you’re comfortable dealing with some visual hiccups, you can play and enjoy Star Wars Jedi: Survivor perfectly fine on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. If you’re a stickler for locked framerates and crisp camera panning, then it’s worth waiting to see if Respawn issues a follow-up patch.
Which Is Better in Jedi: Survivor: Performance or Quality Mode?
I typically prefer playing games at a higher frame rate, even when it comes at the expense of visual fidelity. However, with Star Wars: Jedi Survivor, I must recommend Quality Mode over Performance Mode.
I spent about five hours playing Jedi: Survivor in Performance Mode before I decided to jump ship. The game struggles to maintain a constant 60 FPS, which leads to frequent screen tearing. It’s not egregious, but it’s distracting at times. Disabling HDR helps matters slightly, but it wasn’t enough to sway my opinion.
Quality Mode fares better. The frame rate stays locked at 30 FPS the majority of the time, and screen tearing is far less frequent. Of course, this comes at the expense of smoothness, but it’s a small price to pay for the consistency it provides.
Is Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Worth Playing?
Now for perhaps the most interesting question: Is Star Wars Jedi: Survivor a good game?
I’ll hold off on my assessment until after I’ve completed the campaign. For now, though, I’ll say this: If you loved Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, you’ll love Jedi: Survivor. The game keeps what worked well with Fallen Order—strong level design, thrilling combat, BD-1—and polishes up the rougher edges. Navigation is smoother, the writing is tighter, and there’s far less backtracking.
There’s no question Jedi: Survivor is an improvement over the original. As for whether it does enough to stand out come GOTY season… well, I’ll have to report back.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is available now for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
How are your week-one experiences with Jedi: Survivor? Let us know in the comments below.
