Star Wars Jedi: Fallen OrderandStar Wars Jedi: Survivorwear their Soulslike influences on their sleeve, and that has become one of its biggest boons as an action-adventure franchise. Soulslike games are hardly rare nowadays, but seeing such inspiration for gameplay in an IP as immense asStar Warsis truly exciting. It so happens that a Jedi’s abilities and lightsaber work well within that subgenre, especially with Metroidvania level design. However,oneStar Wars Jedi: Survivorstanceshares even more common ground with FromSoftware’sBloodborne.
There are five total lightsaber stances inStar Wars Jedi: Survivor, and depending on which planets players go to in sequence they can all be picked up fairly early. Indeed,Star Wars Jedi: Survivor’s tutorial levelon Coruscant starts players off with the single-blade, double-blade, and dual-blade stances before they reach Koboh, giving them a huge amount of combat fluidity in its first hours alone.Star Wars Jedi: Survivor’s blaster stance, though, is perfect forBloodbornefans after they have gone through its skill tree for one particular ability upgrade.
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Bloodborne’s Firearms Are Actually a Parry Feature
Bloodborneintroducing firearms into FromSoftware’s formula may have seemed odd at first, but their function in gameplay is not necessarily intended for direct damage dealt. Sure, players can rely upon Quicksilver Bullets to attack from a distance and whittle enemies down with minor chip damage, but that is not where firearms are most effectively utilized.
Instead, weapons such as the Hunter Pistol or the Evelyn are meant to be fired at a well-timed moment when an enemy is about to land a hit on the player. In essence, the firearm’s shots become a way to parry.Dark Soulsgames had their own parry feature that was much more straightforward, with players swiping at an enemy’s attack with their shield. Of course,Sekiro: Shadows Die Twicehas taken the cake in that regard, where parrying is crucial for its new Posture system.
Bloodborne’s parry mechanicis fundamentally identical, but with the addition of it posing as a long-range weapon. It is true that firearms such as the Cannon do intend to deal damage rather than parry, but most firearms in FromSoftware’s Gothic action RPG introduce a way to leave enemies in a stunned state. InStar Wars Jedi: Survivor, the blaster comes fairly close to emulating this mechanic.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor’s Blaster Becomes a Bloodborne Firearm with One Ability
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor’s blaster stanceis not inherently similar toBloodborne’s firearms. The blaster fires an upgradeable amount of bolt ammunition that replenishes when Cal strikes an enemy with melee, and shots can be charged for extra damage. The blaster stance is quite nimble and allows players to get hits in from a distance, but it pales in comparison to the damage output or crowd control that other lightsaber approaches possess. Thankfully, players have two stances equipped that they can swap between at any time.
Other abilities such as Quick Draw allow for multi-targeting in slow-motion, but one ability players can unlock with skill points in this stance’s tree gives it a parry likeBloodborne’s firearmsdo. Point Blank allows players to fire the blaster as an enemy’s attack is about to land, and in doing so it knocks them backward.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor’s Point Blank parry does not leave them open to a stun state riposte like inBloodborne, but it is a great way to pay homage to that feature regardless. In fact, some players may have no desire to use this ability because Cal Kestis’ lightsaber already comes with a parry mechanic, and blaster parries cost ammunition. Still, it is a great way to demonstrate more similarities with a beloved FromSoftware game.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivoris available now on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
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