Jedi: Survivor Lightsaber Stances Sound A Lot Like Ghost Of Tsushima’s

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor‘s gameplay reveal at The Game Awards 2022 revealed a lot of new information, including new lightsaber stances reminiscent of the different sword styles seen in Ghost of Tsushima. The trailer gave fans a look at what the hotly anticipated sequel will contain, including new enemies as well as new allies as Cal Kestis continues his fight against the Galactic Empire. Story teases were kept to a minimum, however, with the bulk of the trailer showcasing new gameplay mechanics.

Set in the year 9, BBY Star Wars Jedi: Survivor will take place five years after the events of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. Little is known about the plot of the sequel other than it will involve a mysterious figure found in a bacta tank along with a sinister-looking Pau’an senator. Jedi: Survivor looks set to expand on the action-adventure gameplay of Jedi: Fallen Order, which took a hefty deal of inspiration from FromSoftware’s Dark Souls series.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Features Multiple Lightsaber Stances For Cal

In an interview with Game Informer, game director Stig Asmussen spoke about some of the new gameplay mechanics players can expect to see in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. Asmussen explained that players will be able to use “five fully realized stances” in the game and that each will provide unique advantages in particular circumstances and against certain enemy types. This type of gameplay will be immediately familiar to those who played 2020’s Ghost of Tsushima, where protagonist Jin Sakai would need to switch between stances to get the edge over different opponents.

How Lightsaber Stances Will Work In Star Wars Jedi: Survivor

In the interview, Asmussen detailed the five stances and how which the player uses will depend a lot on which enemy Cal is facing. These include the default single-blade familiar to Jedi: Fallen Order players, the double-bladed form also seen in that game, a crossguard lightsaber, dual lightsabers, and a lightsaber stance that incorporates Cal’s new blaster. This type of gameplay requires more thought on the part of the player, as enemies will not be defeated by simple button mashing. Players will need to analyze and understand Star Wars Jedi: Survivor‘s new enemies to figure out which stance is best to use in a given moment, similiar to Ghost of Tsushima.

Ghost of Tsushima had four basic stances for Jin Sakai to learn: stone, water, wind, and moon. However, the PlayStation-exclusive title is not the first game to implement different fighting styles for its character. Another example comes from the Witcher games, which also allowed players to change how Geralt fought with three fighting styles: strong, fast, and group. In any case, Ghost of Tsushima feels like the most appropriate comparison, given it was also more action-oriented like Jedi: Fallen Order.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is not the first Star Wars game to have different lightsaber stances, as Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy also had this feature. If only one lightsaber was equipped, players could shift between light, medium, or heavy attacks, with each providing different benefits. However, the stances in Jedi Academy were limited, with players who chose a double-bladed lightsaber unable to also dual-wield them, and vice versa. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor sounds like it will provide a more fluid gameplay experience along the lines of Ghost of Tsushima, with Cal having to use all of his lightsaber knowledge to defeat the sequel’s new enemies.

Sources: Game Informer, EA Star Wars/YouTube