These days, “New Game Plus” is practically a standard feature in modern blockbuster single-player games. The idea is to give you a new way to enjoy the game after you’ve seen the credits roll, usually taking your powered-up character and their endgame equipment back to the start and relishing being overpowered.
2019’s Fallen Order launched without New Game Plus, though it eventually arrived in a patch six months after launch. The hotly anticipated sequel, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is out on Friday so does it feature this option at launch?
The answer is yes and then some. On reaching the end of Survivor, you can return to the open world to mop up any side missions (and discover some new postgame lore), but also get a pop-up explaining how New Game Plus works. This allows you to carry “all stances, earned skill points, and cosmetics from previous playthroughs” through to a new game (and also get some new lightsaber colors).
But there are also three awesome new “perks” that radically change how the game plays.
Purity
First is the very interesting-sounding “Purity” mode. This “grants a massive increase in weapon damage for both friends and foes”. Star Wars games have historically had a tricky time making lightsaber combat feel as lethal as it is in the movies, as the weapon should slice through enemies like a hot knife through butter. Survivor‘s neat dismemberment system does a neat job of making it feel dangerous, but inevitably lightsaber damage is very much toned down from what it should be.
Purity mode addresses that, though also makes enemy attacks like blaster bolts and melee swipes kill Cal in “1-3 hits”. This high-risk/high-reward “glass cannon” mode sounds like it’s for expert players only, though we can’t wait to see top-level players carving a smoking path through the game as they show off their skills.
Warrior
The “Warrior” mode is also fairly unique, billing itself as replacing “standard enemies with new, more difficult combat encounters”. Presumably, this will ditch the scrub Stormtroopers in favor of more powerful late-game enemies, providing a truly tough test for experienced players. The flip side is that these enemies also provide more experience, letting you max out Cal’s various skill trees much more quickly.
Trendsetter
Fallen Order lets you dress up Cal in various ponchos, though let’s face it, they’re not exactly the most exciting fashion accessory. Survivor goes way beyond that, letting you fully customize your Jedi hero (and his adorable droid buddy BD-1) in multiple outfits, hairstyles, and beard options. There’s also a dizzyingly deep lightsaber customization menu to make your very own hilt, with a ridiculous amount of options within.
“Trendsetter” mode leans into this, completely randomizing all your cosmetic options upon death. This is clearly more of a comedy option than anything else but we’re morbidly curious to see what fashion disasters will result from it.
So get out there and slice up some Imperials, but don’t put the controller down once the credits roll, as there’s much more to do in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.