Developed by Massive Entertainment and published by Ubisoft, Star Wars Outlaws is the latest big-budget video game set in the familiar sci-fi universe of Hollywood acclaim. Unfortunately, the game hasn’t quite lived up to sales expectations, with only 1 million copies sold in the launch window. Many are attributing this to Star Wars fatigue and a waning interest in open-world games, but either way, the outcome is grim. In truth, the past few games from Ubisoft have been plagued with similar problems, be it design flaws, technical issues, or a mixture of the two. While Star Wars Outlaws is far from perfect in that regard, it’s a commendable step forward for open-world gaming, thanks to some standout features.
Explore the Galaxy
Star Wars Outlaws is set sometime between the beloved movies, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, but it pens an entirely new story rather than adapting the events of the films. In the game, you play as Kay Vess, an orphaned young woman living in the glitzy city of Canto Blight with her tiny creature companion, Nix. Housed in the attic of a bar, Kay and Nix spend their time pick-pocketing locals and committing petty theft, but they dream of leaving the planet and taking up the true outlaw life. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your perspective), that opportunity presents itself when Kay angers a local crime boss, forcing her to flee to the planet of Toshara. From there, Kay and Nix must learn the ropes of the criminal underworld if they want to survive.
One of the biggest complaints with modern Ubisoft releases is how much the games hold your hand, especially when it comes to open-world exploration. More often than not, you are tasked with climbing a tall structure that reveals parts of the map, following waypoints to quests, and then completing those quests by following linear steps. This is not the case in Star Wars Outlaws. Instead, players must seek out missions, merchants, and other points of interest by actually exploring the map. There are some helpful waypoints that will push you in the right direction, but for the most part, you have to engage with your surroundings by talking to civilians, searching through shops, and exploring with a curious mind.
This encouraging freedom to explore persists throughout the entire gameplay experience too, not just in uncovering the map. During missions, there are often several ways to find success, and it’s your choice on how you want to complete a given task. For instance, if you need to steal an item from a heavily guarded base, you can be stealthy and avoid confrontation, shoot your way through, or perhaps find a more unique form of infiltration. Mini-games, side quests, and all sorts of cool stuff are waiting to be discovered, but it’s up to you to find these activities at your own pace. Once you unlock space travel, there are also various planets to explore, and it’s entirely your choice on where you want to go first.
The Criminal Consequence
Another really cool feature in Star Wars Outlaws is the “reputation system”, which keeps track of what criminal syndicates like or dislike you. Across the galaxy, you’ll encounter several different criminal factions, including the Hutt Cartel, Crimson Dawn, and more. As you play the game, various actions will cause these factions to like you or dislike you, which has a big effect on the rest of the game. Stealing, fighting, or trespassing will quickly turn you into an adversary for any gang, but completing missions and selling valuable data will definitely increase your favor.
It’s very important to keep your reputation in mind, as this dynamically changes the difficulty of missions and your ability to explore at any given point. When factions like you, they will give you exclusive deals at specific merchants, allow you to travel through their territory at will, and you can sometimes use your connections to unlock special dialogue options. Unfortunately, if any of the factions dislike you, they will often shoot you on sight and you must sneak through their territories to avoid being spotted. Although it’s not very tough to manage your reputation and to stay in favor with all of the gangs, the reputation system is still very cool and adds notable consequences to your gameplay choices.
Overall, Star Wars Outlaws is an interesting game, especially coming from Ubisoft. All told, it’s actually one of the better Star Wars games, as it features a good story, unique design choices, and fun environments to explore. However, it’s also full of familiar problems, like glitchy graphics, weird gameplay problems, and clunky combat. Gamers who were already tired of the Ubisoft formula probably won’t love this game either, but Star Wars and stealth fans should find a lot to enjoy. Regardless, Star Wars Outlaws makes some effective changes to the Ubisoft formula and prioritizes player freedom, which is something that every gamer should be excited about.
Short author bio:
Matt Owen
As a lifelong gamer and overall media fiend, Matt gets his hands on every new game and watches an unhealthy amount of movies and TV: action, horror, mystery, and sci-fi in particular. When not bingeing on entertainment, he enjoys reading and writing short stories, cooking, and producing video and podcast content.