I must have been around 10 years old when my elder brother recounted tales of a movie he just watched. He spoke about spaceships, laser swords and a big bad guy with an awesome cape and scary voice. Of course, with a premise like that, I was mesmerised. It took me another few years before I finally watched Star Wars: A New Hope on Star Movies, after which, I became a devotee.
Fast forward 25+ years since then, and the series is one of the biggest franchises in the world. However, things are not going too well. The most recent movies drew mixed reactions, while TV shows based on it are doing poorly.
As such, Lucasfilms and Ubisoft have a lot riding on Star Wars: Outlaws. A game where you get to play as a roguish outlaw in massive open-world environments. Let’s be real – you pretty much play Han Solo in everything but the name. So, as a Star Wars fan, I was excited to revisit the galaxy far, far away. But was the experience good? Read on to know more.
Story and game world
Well, this is the big one, isn’t it? Well, don’t expect to carry around a lightsaber everywhere. In this game, you are not a Jedi. The game is set between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, and there weren’t many Jedi around at the time. You play as Kay Vess, a thief who, through sheer luck, finds herself with a stolen ship that happens to be a pretty capable vessel. However, this comes at the cost of a massive bounty placed on her head. So, she is out to clear her name while also making a whole lot of Galactic Credits along the way. To do that, she has to assemble a team to pull off a heist of a lifetime. Thankfully, Kay is not alone, as she always has her trusty companion, Nix, by her side. Nix is a ‘merqaal’ a creature that looks like a cross between an axolotl and a dachshund.
In order to assemble this team, Kay will have to travel to different worlds, speak to different people and complete quests. As to travelling around, she will meet various characters from the many different races that players might recognise from the series, such as the Mon Calamari, Twi’leks and more. Kay can pick up side quests from various characters which can reward her with upgrades, cosmetic items or credits. These quests are spread across the map, requiring exploration with the possibility of platforming.
There are also four different criminal syndicates in the game. The Crimson Dawn, The Pyke Syndicate, The Hutt Cartel, and The Ashiga Clan. Each mission/quest you complete will affect every other syndicate in terms of reputation. A good reputation means that you will be able to explore their respective controlled areas without the need to sneak about. Certain merchants will also offer more wares to purchase. Conversely, a bad reputation could lead to the player being hunted.
Everyone knows that the world of Star Wars also tells its own story, and thankfully, the developers understand this well. There are also four distinct worlds to explore in the game. There is Canto Bight, Kay’s hometown, which is pretty much a giant casino. Then, there is Toshara, a moon with windswept plans and impressive sandstone hills. Kijimi is covered in snow, while Akiva is a lush forest. Finally, there is Tatooine, which is a desert planet.
Of course, it should be noted that this is a third-person open-world action-adventure made by Ubisoft. This is both a blessing and a curse. The good is that the publisher tends to nail its game world down perfectly. The cities are bustling with people and it feels like a place that is lived in. Each of the worlds has its own distinct architecture, complete with things to do to take your mind off things. So Kay can bet on races, visit vendors, or even play some arcade games. Outside cities, you can discover settlements and camps with Credits or items hidden away, requiring the player to think outside the box in order to get them.
The drawback is that as players progress through the game, the map will slowly change. But surely starts getting filled up with icons. This can make finding what you want a little tricky. Someone at Ubisoft needs to learn how to make more legible maps. There is also the problem of most of the world being huge, but with very little to do outside of main cities.
Gameplay
Star Wars: Outlaws has lots of things that players can do. For starters, players can choose to either sneak their way through a level or go in all guns blazing. They have an assortment of things to help them out. But the two most important are Kay’s Blaster and Nix. Besides being a standard weapon that fires plasma, the blaster can be upgraded to improve damage and fire rate. Kay can also attach modules and can quickly switch between them on the fly. Additional modules include an ion bolt that can be used to power generators and deal with extensive damage to droids and shields. Finally, there is the power module that can deal extensive damage and can be used to destroy obstacles. There is also a stun option that can be used to put weaker enemies to sleep. But that is pretty much useless.
Kay also has access to a Speeder Bike and her ship, The Trailblazer. These are mostly used for travelling from point A to point B. I wish there was more that these vehicles could do, especially the ship. Combat on the speeder is very limited, while there are some extensive ship-to-ship combat missions on the Trailblazer. However, these were quite run-of-the-mill. Both of these can be upgraded via merchants.
The most useful tool in Kay’s arsenal is Nix. Not only can Nix be used to detect nearby objects and enemies, but it can also be directed to distract/attack enemies, steal/fetch items, and interact with objects in the world. Further, Nix is pretty much invisible to enemies.
Kay can also scramble over obstacles, shimmy across ledges, and climb walls. Platforming is vital during missions as it allows Kay to get into areas and locations or bypass dangerous sections.
However, platforming is also where I had the biggest issue with the game. In many games focusing on platforming, such as the latest Tomb Raider trilogy, interactable world environments are clearly marked to ensure clarity. That’s not exactly the case with Star Wars Outlaws. Many times I found myself slightly clueless as to where to go. Only later I realised that these objects have a slight yellow colour to them, but with the bleak world around them, they tend to blend in extremely well.
Of course, you could just choose to go in all guns blazing, but the game doesn’t seem to encourage that. It’s very easy to be overwhelmed by enemies, leading to a swift death. Further, the gunplay isn’t very satisfying. Switching between modules can be cumbersome, and while you can pick up powerful enemy weapons, they are only good enough for a few bursts before running out of ammo.
So you tend to approach all missions with a stealth mindset, which limits your gameplay options. In fact, a lot of missions tend to immediately fail if the player is detected. Speaking of stealth, it is not very good. Sometimes, enemies will detect you out of nowhere, while other times, you could sneak by from right next to them, and they would be clueless. The Stun option on Kay’s blaster can put enemies to sleep. But it has an agonisingly long recharge time, and it can also be detected by nearby enemies. So I tend to sneak up on players to just knock them out. Not very sci-fi if you ask me.
Graphics
Star Wars Outlaws may not look as good as some of the newer games like Black Myth: Wukong, but that does not mean that it is ugly. It looks good, especially the world that has been created. There have been moments while playing when I took a few moments to appreciate the world itself. This could be the remains of a derelict spaceship or the twin suns of Tatooine. The developers of the game did a fantastic job of focusing on the details.
That being said, there are plenty of bugs in the game, at least at launch. There have been moments where the walls of a house just didn’t load, game crashes and many more. This game definitely needed a little more time in the oven.
Verdict
Star Wars Outlaws isn’t a great game and nor will it win many Game of the Year awards. However, it’s not a terrible game, and Star Wars fans should have some fun catching all the references while taking in the beautiful scenery. However, the gameplay is marred with poor gunplay and clunky stealth, and the bugs and glitches do not help. Overall, it’s an average game that feels like a bit of a missed opportunity that could have been something much grander.
Those hoping for a more ‘Jedi-esq’ experience might wish to try out Star Wars Jedi: Survivor or Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. If space combat with some Star Wars flair is more your jam, then maybe consider Star Wars: Rouge Squadron. When it comes to tight, linear action, then the single-player missions of Star Wars: Battlefront II might be just what the doctor ordered.
Editor’s rating: 7.5 / 10
Pros
- Very immersive worlds
- Beautiful locations
- Lots of things to do
- Plenty of colourful characters
Cons
- Buggy
- Average gunplay with over-reliance on stealth
- Confusing platforming
- Slightly boring open-world
More
Developer: Massive Entertainment
Publisher: Ubisoft
Platforms: Xbox Series X/S. PS5, PC
We played a review copy of Star Wars Outlaws on an Xbox Series X
