Star Wars Jedi: Survivor dev confirms one fan's terrifying instant-death encounter is not a glitch

An utterly horrifying clip from Star Wars Jedi: Survivor has made the rounds on social media - one so upsetting that fans immediately suspected it was a glitch. But folks, the truth is far worse. This was intentional.

The planet Koboh is Jedi: Survivor's main hub area - a location you return to again and again as the story progresses. Over the course of the game, enemy patrols gradually become stronger, keeping things challenging even as you get more powerful. But seeing stronger enemies appear doesn't necessarily prepare you for an unseen boss creature's instant-death grab attack to suddenly come sailing in from offscreen while you're just fighting normal guys.

WHAT IN THE EVER LOVING ACTUAL F*** JUST HAPPENED?! WAS THIS A GLITCH?! from r/FallenOrder

Yes, everyone, that's a Rancor. They appear several times in Jedi: Survivor through various sidequests, which I guess do establish that Rancors are wandering the wilds of Koboh - but knowing that monsters exist in the lore is very different to encountering one in the wild. There's a solid mix of responses in the comments on that Reddit post, ranging from 'is that a glitch?' to 'oh yeah that totally happened to me.'

It turns out that there's an intentional, "very small chance" that a Star Wars Jedi Survivor Rancor will appear in random Koboh encounters, according to senior encounter designer Patrick Wren.

I loved the dynamic patrols that Lee did for #StarWarsJediSurvivor. The Valley on Koboh feels so much more alive and changes as you progress the story. Of course, there is a very small chance of what happens below too. 😈https://t.co/clyKOQN2kBMay 8, 2023

Given Jedi: Survivor's technical issues, it's no surprise to see some fans suspect that this was a glitch, but no such luck here. Don't expect the next Jedi: Survivor patch to save you from random death in the jaws of a Rancor.

If you need help our Star Wars Jedi Survivor walkthrough will help you navigate the game's huge galaxy.

Dustin Bailey joined the GamesRadar team as a Staff Writer in May 2022, and is currently based in Missouri. He's been covering games (with occasional dalliances in the worlds of anime and pro wrestling) since 2015, first as a freelancer, then as a news writer at PCGamesN for nearly five years. His love for games was sparked somewhere between Metal Gear Solid 2 and Knights of the Old Republic, and these days you can usually find him splitting his entertainment time between retro gaming, the latest big action-adventure title, or a long haul in American Truck Simulator.