Performance woes aside, we really enjoyed Jedi: Survivor, a new swashbuckling Star Wars tale starring fan favorite Punished "Venom" Cal Kestis. One delightful surprise has been how much Respawn's leaned into Cal Kustomization, with all kinds of lootable beards and hairstyles leading to personalized variations like "indie sleaze" Cal Kestis, "this town ain't big enough for the two of us" Cal Kestis, "Roinks, Raggy!" Cal Kestis, or even the ultra-rare, bemulleted "Eastbound and Down" Cal Kestis.

Perhaps of greater note of those who aren't Cal Kestis superfans like me, Jedi: Survivor has some intensely granular lightsaber customization options. You can swap out every chunk of Cal's lethal cylinder with over a dozen cylindrical stylings, plus loads of paint finishes, a slider u31 to make it dirtier, and adjustable crossguard angles to get your Kylo Ren-alike just right. The Fallen Order series subreddit is currently like, 30% people showing off their pretty sabers (with easily another 20% being "peep my custom Cal"). Here are a few standouts I really dig:

This is my lightsaber how about you guys? I went for the u31 com full edge hawk look with the party saber crystal from r/FallenOrder

Love the white and red from Asda6996 here, pristine, but also slightly sinister. This is a lightsaber that says "I'm kinda sithy with it, but also a groovy guy with a fastidious sensibility."

Seeing all the u31.com เข้าสู่ระบบ​ Awesome creations people have made has inspired me to share my own. from r/FallenOrder

Here from Skilfulpie we have more of a grungy, primal saber with a tusk coming out the bottom. This is the sort of thing Wrex from Mass Effect would make if he were a Jedi⁠—you know how aliens in sci-fi always have ships and weapons that look like themselves for some reason. As for Jedi Wrex, this is actually a thought provoking what-if scenario you can explore in my 36-part fanfiction on AO3.

Beskar Saber from r/FallenOrder

An absolutely creamy saber from No_Salt 3274. Another skillful deployment of the white and red color scheme, this time with a coppery, almost chocolatey center grip. A saber with refinement.

Rather fancy, for a Jedi from r/FallenOrder

This copper and grey-blue ensemble from Tiguu is an excellent palate cleanser, much more understated than others on this list, but still very elegant. Perhaps the setup I could most see myself using in-game.

Thought i’d post my Saber, i’m very proud of it from r/FallenOrder

I'll end on this heater from Crowlavix, black and silver with a pure silver, Corran Horn-style blade. This one oozes class and luxury, and I'm particularly a fan of how it looks in the crossguard configuration (one of my favorite new additions Survivor's made to the series).

Really though, it's just infectious to see all this enthusiasm. It reminds me of first booting up Jedi Academy in 2003 and building my own lightsaber in that game. It left me spoiled for a long time⁠—I was always disappointed by how your sabers in Knights of the Old Republic were just these chunky, low-poly flashlights. Maybe this is finally the kick I need to actually play Fallen Order and Jedi: Survivor. That's right, despite my ardent Cal Kestis fandom over the years, I have never even once stepped into his shoes.