With almost 50 years of movies, TV shows, animated spinoffs, video games, comics, and novels under its belt, the Star Wars universe is a vast one, and over the decades, its seen its fair share of world-building. While George Lucas' original trilogy does a phenomenal job of fleshing out the Star Wars universe, using subtle details like starship designs to show the Rebels' limited funds, a lot of Star Wars' wider universe owes its initial creation to expanded materials like books and video games, and one such concept finally sees its on-screen debut in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.
A game filled with Easter eggs and references to the wider universe, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor provides fan-service at every turn. But unlike some pieces of Star Wars media, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor's references all have an express purpose, whether it's gameplay or narrative. And there's one rather subtle reference in particular that long-time Star Wars fans are going to appreciate massively.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Features the First On-Screen Appearance of Bleeding a Kyber Crystal
The current Star Wars universe is split into two distinct categories: Legends, and canon. Star Wars Legends covers the vast majority of games, novels, and comics that came before the Disney acquisition and aren't considered officially canon to the current Star Wars timeline. That being said, there are a few concepts that have slowly made their way into the canon Star Wars universe, and one of those is the notion of "Bleeding" a lightsaber's Kyber crystal to change it from its original color to red.
Initially called "Cleansing" in Star Wars Legends, "Bleeding" was first mentioned in the canon timeline in the 2016 novel Ahsoka, and it made its first on-page appearance in the excellent 2017 Darth Vader comic run. The act of Bleeding a lightsaber's Kyber crystal is achieved when a Dark Side Force user channels all of their hatred and suffering into the crystal, imbuing it with Dark Side energy. A Bled Kyber crystal will often appear a little cracked and unstable, and it will give the lightsaber blade a red hue.
While the concept of Bleeding a Kyber crystal has been canon for almost seven years now, it's been mostly relegated to the pages of comic books and novels. Avid Star Wars readers will have already learned about Kylo Ren/Ben Solo Bleeding his own Kyber crystal, along with Darth Vader himself, who needs to fight visions of a Light Side life he could have had in order to corrupt the crystal. But with the release of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, fans have their very first on-screen portrayal of a Kyber crystal Bleeding.
After a few hours of playtime, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor will task players with searching out a mysterious Forest Array, seemingly created by a High Republic Jedi who died hundreds of years ago. At the top of the Array, Cal Kestis finds a man floating in a Bacta Tank, and upon using his Force Echo ability, Cal discovers that his name is Dagan Gera and he was once a Jedi in the High Republic-era. After establishing a Force connection with Dagan, Cal agrees to let him out of the tank and desperately pleads with him to join the fight against the Empire. But upon hearing that the Jedi Order is no more, Dagan takes his old lightsaber from Cal, dismantles it with the Force, and proceeds to channel his hatred into his lightsaber's Kyber crystal, turning it from its original yellow color to a deep red and signifying his turn to the Dark Side.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is available now on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S