Star Wars Jedi: Survivor just dropped a new story trailer, and on top of showing new gameplay sequences, locations, and characters (Greez is back!), it also confirmed that Merrin, one of the members of the Stinger Mantis crew from Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, will be one of the AI companions that will occasionally adventure and fight enemies alongside Cal.
Via prior trailers, developer Respawn Entertainment had already shown off one companion called Bode Akuna. It had first seemed as though Bode was going to fully encompass this new companion gameplay element, but, in an interview with IGN a few weeks ago, Narrative Technical Designer Joanna Robb hinted at the possibility of there being more companions by calling Bode the first. We now know that is indeed the case.
Toward the end of the trailer above, we get a quick shot of Bode and Cal doing a combo against a droid, and only a few seconds later, we see Cal and Merrin engaging in a similar joint attack against a strormtrooper. We still don't know for sure if any other members of the Stinger Mantis crew, like Cere and Greez, will get their chance to be companions as well in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.
It's also unclear how much of a choice players will have regarding when they're accompanied and by whom. In the previously mentioned interview, Robb had confirmed Cal won't always be accompanied by someone, which we'd known due to past gameplay trailers and previews. It would be a neat feature if players, at some point, got the chance to pick who would be their battle partner, but it seems like that won't be the case.
Game designer for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Jason Zhu, had stated that the idea for these companions spawned from having NPCs functioning as guides for certain levels, and while developing that concept, they thought of making them able to fight as well.
Robb explained that the prevalence of these characters "is really driven by the story" and that they will work to bolster the game's pacing and rhythm. "When the plot is reaching a peak," Robb stated, "the companion will give extra momentum to both the narrative and gameplay.”