Most successful computer games receive sequels. For most gamers this is a treat: to be able to play one of their favorite games again. These sequels also become exciting when a game has a fantastic score and the original composers are returning for the sequel. It has happened many times in recent years, with the music for Ori, A Plague Tale and God of War as perfect examples. If you have read my review of the music for Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, you can imagine that I was looking forward to the music for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor quite a bit. The soundtrack for the second game in the Star Wars Jedi universe, which continues the story of young Jedi Cal Kestis and friends, is again composed by Stephen Barton and Gordy Haab. Especially seeing Barton’s name again is thrilling to me, since he recently made even more of a name for himself by writing the stunning music for the other space adventure universe: Star Trek: Picard.
As with its predecessor, there is a lot of music to digest on the soundtrack album for Survivor. Where Fallen Order ‘only’ had over three hours of music, Survivor even surpasses that with almost four hours. Many characters from the first game return in the sequel, as do their themes. Unfortunately, I did not find any tracks on this album that were purely dedicated to new or existing themes, like on Fallen Order, making it difficult to investigate the new themes thoroughly. That does not mean that these themes are not present, because that is definitely not the case. Especially in the first half of the score, you can hear hints of the splendid Cal Kestis theme in almost every track.
Not only themes for Kestis are present, I can hear hints of other themes as well, but they are like needles in a haystack in a four-hour score of orchestral delight. Thoroughly analyzing more than 15 hours of gameplay is also an impossibility with the time that I have. There is one additional theme that I have to mention, which is meant for the powerful Nightsister Merrin, who also plays a significant role in this sequel. In one scene of the game, she shows off her potential while she and Kestis are fighting a giant machine, and her theme is glorious and powerful during that specific sequence. You can hear the music in “Flight,” which is definitely one of the highlights of the score.
The music for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is another fantastic score for a Star Wars franchise. It has some musical vibes from the well-known movies, with powerful bursts in the brass section and sometimes with beautiful, emotional melodies, but you can also hear the originality from two great composers. There is a small caveat, though. While the majority of music fits in the game perfectly, it is not an easy listening experience, with all the different musical patterns and bursts from the brass playing into each other. Especially when you have four hours of score to listen to, that can be quite a challenge. If the music had been downsized to a more condensed package with more of the highlights, it would have helped. The soundtrack is perfect for such a fast-paced game, but I will probably listen to more tracks on their own from the predecessor than from Survivor. Except for the track “Flight,” of course, because that one is just pure gold.
Listen or buy
- Buy this soundtrack digitally from Amazon.com or Apple Music
- Listen to this soundtrack on Spotify
Tracklist
The highlights are in bold.
- Dark Times (5:54)
- The Undercity (8:45)
- Crash Landing (5:22)
- A Frontier Welcome (3:15)
- The Bedlam Raiders (5:10)
- Where the Nekkos Roam (5:01)
- Beast’s Maw (2:26)
- Phon’Qi Caverns (2:06)
- Rambler’s Reach (3:56)
- Gen’Dai (1:13)
- Beneath the Cantina (7:49)
- The Forest’s Secret (7:06)
- Basalt Scars (2:27)
- Garrison (3:31)
- Haven (5:54)
- Release Me (4:24)
- Desert Ruins (4:59)
- The Ancients (3:52)
- Into the Storm (5:22)
- Fields of Dusk (Orchestral Version) by TARTAN (4:41)
- Campfire (3:13)
- The Narkis Anchorites (4:04)
- Unforgiving Sands (8:02)
- Pilgrim’s Path (4:40)
- The Sacred Mesa (8:57)
- Trident (6:05)
- Flight (3:25)
- Relics of War (8:38)
- To the Rescue (2:31)
- Shattered Moon (9:50)
- Course Collider (5:54)
- Warrior’s Code (7:08)
- Mogu in the Mist (6:14)
- Above the Clouds (6:36)
- Grand Oculus (7:12)
- A Step Too Far (10:05)
- Siege (3:07)
- The Visitor (10:08)
- Nova Garon (4:01)
- Rage (5:27)
- The Abyss (4:36)
- Brothers (5:17)
- Through Darkness (5:35)
- Cold Dawn (3:32)
Total length: 3 hours and 57 minutes
Walt Disney Records (2023)
