I’m still pretty early into Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, and while I’ve not run into the game-breaking bugs PC players are dealing with on my PS5, I have run into one progress-halting issue: I can’t get back to playing the main story because I’m too busy dressing Cal Kestis in the cool (and not so cool) outfits I’m finding in Respawn’s galaxy far, far away.
Read More: Star Wars Jedi: Survivor: The Kotaku Review
Full disclosure: I don’t like Star Wars. I think the movies are mostly bad, the rigid worldbuilding structure of The Force and the Jedi is insufferable, and despite my respect for a lot of the games like Knights of the Old Republic, I haven’t really latched onto anything in this universe that has made it more than a thing I observe from afar. However, thanks to the TikTok algorithm’s insistence on showing me gay TV shows, I’m watching all of Shameless right now, and am entranced by its portrayal of a poor family trying to make it in Middle America.
That family includes Ian Gallagher, the gay son played by Cameron Monaghan, the same actor who portrays Cal Kestis in Jedi: Survivor. As my hyperfixation on Shameless grows, so, too, does my desire to play the space fantasy game. I’m digging the lightsaber swinging, the Uncharted-style set pieces, and the actors’ performances, but really, I’m just here to play the Ian Gallagher dress-up game.
Jedi: Survivor’s wardrobe is expansive and customizable
In general, character customization is enough to draw me into most games. Fashion and making new outfits was a huge part of why I enjoyed Cyberpunk 2077 a lot more the second time through. While I can’t create a character in Jedi: Survivor, the wealth of options already at my disposal gives me some ownership over my version of Cal. When it comes to video game fashion, I like putting together outfits that are ugly as sin. I like contrasting colors that are bright, flashy, and don’t match at all.
Not only does Jedi: Survivor let you mix and match shirts, jackets, and pants from different sets, but each comes with a selection of palette swaps that you can change on the fly. So if I like the Han Solo robes but brown isn’t my color, I can change them to a hideous mustard yellow and pair it with a red pants, looking like a whole cheese burger while merking dudes with my glowing space sword. I’m still incredibly early, but the breadth of choices Jedi: Survivor is giving me in the first few hours has me excited to explore its world more—with the sole drive of filling out Cal’s closet.
Oh, we’re flying to a new planet to do some serious space exploration and Jedi business? Okay, but only after I’ve scoured every inch of its surface to find new clothes. Serving the Jedi Order? I can’t, I’m too busy serving with this unsightly combination of fabrics and colors because I can’t be in a room unless my clothes make me the center of attention. Darth Vader or whoever the fuck I’m fighting is gonna see me coming light years away as my outfit is going to be so loud it astral projects across the galaxy.
While I’m here to assault the eyeballs of anyone who dares to look in Cal’s general direction, others are taking a different approach to character customization in Jedi: Survivor. Whether that be turning Cal into a redneck stereotype or into a hair metal frontman who got lost and ended up in space, somehow. There’s a lot of potential for silly looks, but there’s also some pretty stylish pieces to be found around the game to make something actually cool to look at.
And Jedi: Survivor has weapon customization options, too
Even outside of outfits, Jedi: Survivor is incredibly generous with its customization options. You can change Cal’s hairstyle to a mullet and join the legions of fans making jokes asking where he was on January 6. You can also change his beard from his usual stubble to clean shaven, or give him something horrible to look at like a goatee. It’s not just Cal’s looks, either. You can also change out pieces of your Lightsaber or your robot companion BD-1. In the first few hours I found a rainbow material for my weapons, and you know I’m gonna slap that shit on everything I can when I get back to a workbench because despite what Disney wants you to think, there are gays in space. I want the storm troopers to ask if Cal is “LGB because his gun pink.”
While the story of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor may play out the same way for everyone, it’s cool to think that no one’s Cal is exactly the same. I only have a handful of options so far, but despite my initial reservations to jump into a Star Wars game after reassuring myself multiple times that this franchise isn’t for me, I’m really jiving with Jedi: Survivor, and am ready to slash through storm troopers for the sake of fashion. Cameron Monaghan served his country as Ian Gallagher, but if I have any say in it, he’s going to serve lewks as Cal Kestis.