‘Star Wars Jedi: Survivor’ Adds Slow Mode “To Ease The Challenge Of Both Combat And Platforming”

Tyler Valle |

Apr 28, 2023

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (2023), Respawn

The release of Star Wars: Jedi Survivor is here and EA provided a new blogpost detailing some of the ways they are seeking to make the game as accessible to players as possible.

In their recent blogpost, EA detailed some of the new options available in the game to help out players, as well as expanding on features that have become more common within modern games.

Features such as closed captioning, control customization, and visual HUD adjustments are going to be available in the game.

It also includes several difficulties to choose from including story mode for those who want to simply experience the story of Star War Jedi: Survivor. Other difficulties include Jedi Padawan, Jedi Knight, Jedi Master, and Jedi Grand Master.

EA explains the different modes with Jedi Padawan being “more of a challenge than Story Mode but genlter than Jedi Knight. Parry times are still somewhat generous though enemies deal a fair amount more damage than they do in Story Mode.”

Jedi Knight is described as “challenging adventure. Players will need to hone their reflexes to overcome enemies.” While Jedi Master “Offers even more of a challenge than Jedi Knight, with enemy aggressiveness dialed up to keep you on your toes.”

Finally, Jedi Grand Master is “the most difficult option. Parry windows are small and enemies are merciless. This difficulty setting will test your mettle.”

But on top of those options comes something new, a SLOW MODE. As the name entails, slow mode will allow the player to slow down the game and allow themselves some new breathing room.

Initially a tool for combat, the team behind Star Wars Jedi: Survivor has expanded this feature to all aspects of the game. The post notes this mode “allows players to slow down the action of the world in order to ease the challenge of both combat and platforming.”

Jonas Lundqvist, Senior Director of Development explained, “The Slow mode has been a particularly exciting feature to work on because of its versatility. It primarily started out as a feature that we thought would be helpful in combat, but quickly realized that it could be beneficial for anything that had a timing component.”

EA also promised they plan to add in other accessibility features after the game launches “including a high contrast mode and menu narration.”

EA’s Program Lead for Accessibility Morgan Baker detailed, “At Electronic Arts, we strive to reduce and eliminate unnecessary accessibility barriers so that everyone can enjoy our games. Respawn showcases a true dedication to our accessibility commitments in Jedi: Survivor by considering accessibility from the start, making it a core part of their design process, and listening to the community.”

Baker added, “The game offers accessibility not just through options, but also by conscious design choices. For example, artists were mindful of their color palette for certain experiences, and key elements within the map are dual-coded to visually convey the same information in several ways.”

Baker concluded, “We are far from being finished, but these types of design choices Respawn made are illustrative of how we want to approach making games for all our players.”

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor released on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S on April 28, 2023.

The official description states, “The story of Cal Kestis continues in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor™, a third person galaxy-spanning action-adventure game from Respawn Entertainment, developed in collaboration with Lucasfilm Games. This narratively-driven, single player title picks up five years after the events of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order™ and follows Cal’s increasingly desperate fight as the galaxy descends further into darkness. Pushed to the edges of the galaxy by the Empire, Cal will find himself surrounded by threats new and familiar. As one of the last surviving Jedi Knights, Cal is driven to make a stand during the galaxy’s darkest times – but how far is he willing to go to protect himself, his crew, and the legacy of the Jedi Order?”