Star Wars Outlaws Already Excels in One Form of Diversity

Summary

Star Wars Outlaws is the first fully open-world Star Wars game, with diverse companions adding depth to the story.
Nix and ND-5 are examples of the game's character diversity, showcasing a blend of species seen in the Star Wars universe.
The diversity of companions in Star Wars Outlaws hints at a larger, interconnected world that players will experience upon release, which is phenomenal for the franchise's representational world-building.

Ubisoft and Massive Entertainment's upcoming Star Wars adventure, Star Wars Outlaws, has already made waves in the gaming community ahead of its release, most notably on account of it being the first fully open-world Star Wars game. Additionally, the action-adventure game has also captured attention with the various companions that will be traveling alongside Star Wars Outlaws' protagonist, Kay Vess, as she navigates the criminal underworld in an attempt to pull off one of the biggest heists the Outer Rim has ever seen.

It is becoming more normal for games, especially those in the adventure and role-playing genres, to feature companion characters that players can get to know and often build meaningful relationships with via branching dialogue and affinity mechanics. For Ubisoft and Massive Entertainment, however, companion characters are a new feature, as the developers' past games have not included them. That's why it may come as quite a surprise that Star Wars Outlaws is already excelling in one form of diversity, and it happens to show itself most in the game's companions.

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By Josh Cotts

Star Wars Outlaws Is Already Excelling in Character Diversity

Two of Star Wars Outlaws' Confirmed Companions Are Refreshingly Diverse

Arguably, one of the greatest things about the Star Wars universe is not only that it is filled with compelling human characters, but also that it is filled with a diverse array of intriguing non-human characters viewed as individuals deserving of the acknowledgment and respect that any human person might normally receive. In the world of Star Wars, non-humans and humans are portrayed as co-existing individuals, with species from droids to Wookiees and Twi’leks to Hutts all contributing to the galaxy’s complex society of interwoven cultures and worldviews.

This is what makes the diversity already being displayed in Star Wars Outlaws' companions so important, as it's showing the first signs of staying true to the Star Wars universe's normalization of interspecies interactions.

Nix is perhaps Kay's most recognizable companion revealed so far, simply due to his adorable demeanor and prioritized appearance in the trailers and gameplay showcases for the game. Nix is a small alien creature with a mysterious backstory, and, much like Star Wars Jedi's BD-1 is to Cal Kestis, he is attached to Kay at the hip and a faithful companion through thick and thin. ND-5, on the other hand, is Kay's BX-series droid companion with a history that dates back to the Clone Wars.

Despite originally being built as a war droid, ND-5 has evolved beyond its programming to become a useful companion to Kay in more ways than one and almost acts more human than droid. Nix and ND-5 are undoubtedly two great examples of the diversity of Star Wars Outlaws' vast world.

Star Wars Outlaws' Companions May Be a Sign of the Game's Larger World

Though not much of the world of Star Wars Outlaws has been revealed, the diversity of Kay's companions could very well be a sign of the larger world around her that players will also be experiencing once the game launches. If that turns out to be the case, it will be refreshing to see the Star Wars universe honored in Outlaws' portrayal of interconnected species. Gameplay footage for Star Wars Outlaws has already shown Kay interacting with a variety of species, but it remains to be seen to what extent Ubisoft and Massive have gone in this form of worldbuilding.

Most Star Wars games already feature plenty of interesting human characters for players to encounter, so the hope is that Star Wars Outlaws will be different and feature plenty of diverse species occupying its world. Thankfully, it is already showing signs of that in its companions, but whether that's true of Star Wars Outlaws' seemingly "deeply immersive" open world will hopefully be revealed sooner rather than later.

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