Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Computing
  3. News

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is being review-bombed on Steam as a ‘total crap’ PC port

By

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is off to a bad start. The game launched to Mostly Negative reviews on Steam, with only 34% of the over 2,000 reviews being positive. That’s around the same level as the disastrous The Last of Us Part One PC port released in March, and it’s for the same reason: poor performance.

As pre-release footage showed, the game struggles to maintain a consistent frame rate even on a system equipped with an RTX 4090. Steam reviews claim frame rates around 30 frames per second (fps) at 1440p with an RTX 3090, and many are saying the game consumes upwards of 19GB of video memory with ray tracing turned on.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor reviews on Steam.
Digital Trends

Low performance, particularly with ray tracing turned on, seems to be the key issue in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. The game includes AMD’s FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) 2, but the high VRAM requirements seem to be leading to crashes and stutters regardless of the upscaling feature.

Get your weekly teardown of the tech behind PC gaming
Check your inbox!
Privacy Policy

Another common issue plaguing users is traversal stutter. Like the previous game, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Survivor is built with Unreal Engine 4. Going between areas, especially on a large planet like Koboh, results in a massive dip in frame rate while the game struggles to load in new assets.

In our Star Wars Jedi: Survivor review, we praised the game and the experience it offered on consoles, though noted the minor technical issues still present on the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 versions. The PC release only seems to amplify these problems.

We’ve been testing the early sections of the game with an RTX 4090 and Core i9-13900K and can confirm relatively low performance and consistent traversal stutter. We’ll need to continue testing the larger areas of the game to find out if the issues worsen as the game continues.

Developer Respawn promised a day-one patch to solve major issues, but it seems the team didn’t include some key optimizations. The developer is saying it plans to release patches that address bugs, improve performance, and add more accessibility features “in the weeks ahead.”

Cal’s newest journey in a galaxy far, far away has begun and we’re excited for you to experience it!

Our first patch will arrive on launch day across all platforms. In the weeks ahead, we’ll deploy patches that will:

– Fix bugs
– Improve performance
– Add more accessibility… pic.twitter.com/pUtyoGopP5

— EA Star Wars (@EAStarWars) April 26, 2023

Since the onslaught of negative reviews, Respawn as issued a statement saying it will look into the state of the PC port:

A note from the Jedi Team on the PC version of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor pic.twitter.com/C3bp78VICr

— EA Star Wars (@EAStarWars) April 28, 2023

Unfortunately, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor isn’t an isolated incident. It joins a long list of games that have experienced performance issues on PC that have released this year, including Hogwarts Legacy, Returnal, and Resident Evil 4 Remake. The common thread between them all is crashes and stuttering due to high VRAM requirements.

This new wave of games has pushed VRAM requirements far above what we expected in years past, with some titles consuming 16GB or more with ray tracing turned on. That leads even high-end graphics cards like the RTX 4080 to struggle to maintain a consistent frame rate.

Short of simply having more VRAM on tap, this issue mainly falls in the developer’s lap to find ways to save on VRAM requirements or wind down the scope of the game. As it stands now, it’s hard to trust that most major PC releases will launch in a playable state, even on the most expensive PC money can buy.

Editors’ Recommendations

Topics
Jacob Roach
Jacob Roach
Lead Reporter, PC Hardware
Jacob Roach is the lead reporter for PC hardware at Digital Trends. In addition to covering the latest PC components, from…
All lightsaber stances in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
Jedi Cal Kestis.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor takes place five years after its predecessor, and Cal Kestis has definitely gained some new Jedi tricks during the time that has passed. While there are some returning features that you're likely to recognize and appreciate, there are also a wide variety of new mechanics, skills, and more to check out in this highly anticipated follow-up. Among those new additions are an expanded set of lightsaber stances that allow you to decide what kind of fighter you want Cal to be. Whether you want to strike fast at the cost of defense, take things slower with bolstered protection, or find the middle ground between the two, you have five options that can ensure you'll find what works for you.
How to change stances
You can have two stances equipped at one time, and switching between them can be done on the fly, allowing you to weave together different elements of your two chosen kits. However, you can only change stances at a meditation point, so you'll need to be sure that you've thought things through pretty well before heading out into dangerous areas. To help you with your decision-making, here are all of the stances in Jedi Survivor and how they work.
Single Blade Stance

This stance is unlocked from the beginning of the game.

Read more
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor’s arachnophobia toggle removes all spiders
Cal Kestis with BD-1 droid on his shoulder.

From endless hordes of Empire goons to hulking Rancors that can crush you in one or two hits, there are no doubt a lot of things to be afraid of in EA's new action-adventure sequel Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. However, if one of your fears happens to be spiders, developer Respawn has got you covered with an arachnophobia toggle that completely removes spiders from the game.

Survivor's Arachnophobia Safe Mode ensures that players who aren't particularly fond of eight-legged creepy-crawlies will never have to engage with any spiders that might crawl their way on-screen partway through the campaign. It's an unexpected addition to a game that is otherwise filled to the brim with strange and unsettling creatures to observe and fight, but spiders no doubt have a special way of freaking some of us out. Many folks are certain to appreciate seeing a choice to avoid arachnids altogether when they find themselves scrolling through the game's suite of accessibility options.

Read more
The best skills to buy first in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
Jedi Cal Kestis.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor has improved upon the original game in almost every way, and that includes expanding main character Cal Kestis' wide selection of skills and abilities. Whether it's new stances to engage with or entirely new skill sets to acquire, you'll find plenty to unravel throughout the game's lengthy adventure. If you're just getting started, though, you may find that your limited skill points leave you wondering which skills are worth your investment. Don't fret, though, as we've got the best skills for you to buy first in this guide.

Before we get started, however, be aware that the decisions you make in your skill tree can be reversed by spending 1 skill point, giving you the option to try new builds as you play. Luckily, that shouldn't generally be necessary – especially if you're thorough with your exploration – as Jedi Survivor has no level cap. Because of this, you can continue to grind out infinite skill points whenever you wish. In other words, you can max out the entire skill tree by the end of the game. With that out of the way, here are the best skills to buy first.
Survival Skills

Read more