The initial pitch for Star Wars Outlaws was simple: open world scoundrel. Developer Massive Entertainment wanted to eschew the usual Star Wars storylines that favor the Jedi/Sith and Empire/Rebel conflicts in favor of a story that dealt with the morally gray worlds that exist on the periphery of the brand. With protagonist Kay Vess simply fighting to survive, her aims aren’t as clean cut, making the Star Wars Outlaws experience feel fresh and new.
In prior trailers and our hands-on preview of Star Wars Outlaws, Massive highlighted the core gameplay loops of the title. One can best describe the game as Star Wars by way of Uncharted and Grand Theft Auto, but with a lot more nuance to that reductive description. What the studio wasn’t ready to show much of at that time, however, was the open world. Now, in a follow-up preview, The Best War Games has played roughly four hours of Star Wars Outlaws and experienced a lot more of what this open world scoundrel story has to offer.
Star Wars Outlaws Combat is Made Better With Nix
Blaster combat is at the core of Star Wars Outlaws, with Kay Vess able to swap to a few different firing modes based on the current threat. The basic firing mode is great for dealing damage to all manner of foes, but some enemies will require a little more strategy. With a pulse firing mode, Kay’s blaster can disable shields, incapacitate robots for a few seconds, or stun basic enemies. She can toss out a grenade if the enemies get too close together, or in a pinch can send out smoke to get to safety.
Given Massive Entertainment’s prior pedigree with The Division, one might think that Star Wars Outlaws is a cover shooter, but its similarities to Ubisoft’s other franchises are minimal. Kay can duck behind cover, but she’s not as resilient as a Division agent. Just a few blaster bolts are enough to whittle her health down and require the use of a Bacta Vial to get back to 100%. Versatility is key when it comes to getting out of a blaster fight and for Kay that means using every tool in her arsenal. One of her best tools is Nix.
The cute alien creature that makes up the other half of Star Wars Outlaws’ iconic duo, Nix an essential part of the gameplay. He will distract enemies when Kay needs to sneak past, activate panels to open doors so Nix can progress, or, when things get intense, attack enemies so that Kay can prioritize another target. Admittedly, when we first played Star Wars Outlaws, the combat took some getting used to. But this second time around we better understood the interplay between all of Kay’s weapons and tools, and how Nix can further expand that player choice, which made the combat come alive.
When Kay isn’t trying to escape a conflict with blaster fire, Star Wars Outlaws mixes stealth and traversal in a way that’s familiar but with a Star Wars twist. Kay’s blaster will create opportunities to progress, while her grappling hook allows her to scale larger terrain or cross massive chasms. There’s also light puzzle solving in the Splice and Hack mini-games. Uncharted is a good comparison for the mixture of combat and traversal in the game, and much like Naughty Dog’s franchise, Outlaws has a lot of bombastic moments of crumbling starships and epic escape sequences.
Zooming Around Star Wars Outlaws Worlds is Impressive
But while we were able to get a taste for the gunplay and traversal in our Ubisoft Forward hands-on time in June, that opportunity didn’t detail how the open world would work in Star Wars Outlaws. Massive Entertainment have nailed the freedom of exploration with Outlaws and the open world is easily what makes the game stand out. Being able to hop on Kay’s speeder, zoom through the landscape of Toshara, get into the cockpit of the Trailblazer, and head into space is exactly the type of fantasy that Star Wars fans are going to love.
Although Outlaws is a Ubisoft game, the approach to its open world is less focused on uncovering a map of icons. As Kay explores the towns and open areas of a planet, question marks will pop on the HUD and map to let her know a point of interest may be close by. There are no towers or sync points; everything appears based on the information available to Kay in that moment. As a result, it becomes more enticing to veer off a given path and see what might be around a corner or off in the distance. Sometimes that question mark is only a vendor, but oftentimes there are side stories to uncover that can vary in scope. For example, one small quest had us talking to a few NPCs to get the password to allow a black market vendor to let Kay peruse his wares.
There are larger side quests as well, like a lengthy adventure that saw Kay looking for parts to upgrade her speeder with a boost ability. In the grand scheme of things, this could have been a really simple, one-off quest but it actually sent us into a cool explorable area with some unique traversal and puzzle mechanics, and a very cool pay-off at the end.
Sabacc is going to be the next card game obsession. It's simple but there are plenty of opportunities for strategy.
Open worlds take on many different shapes and sizes and Star Wars Outlaws is not entirely different from what you might imagine of a game within this universe. Getting to traverse the landscape in a speeder is satisfying and there were always things to do popping up along the way to a major story mission. But what makes Outlaws really stand out is the transition from open world planet exploration to open world space exploration.
There’s always something instantly gratifying about space dogfights in the Star Wars universe. Outlaws offers plenty of opportunities to get into trouble and the ship combat, while familiar, is plenty of fun. You can even choose to start a little deep space chaos by firing on an unsuspecting ship and raising Kay’s wanted level. It’s here that the game feels the most like Grand Theft Auto, offering players the freedom to decide whether the Trailblazer will obey the laws of space or play fast and loose with the rules.
What Type of Star Wars Outlaw Do You Want to Be?
Deciding what Kay you want to be is a large part of Star Wars Outlaws and is most evident with the reputation system. While Kay will work for various syndicates of scum and villainy within the Star Wars universe, she will have to make decisions that will influence how those groups feel about her. She can play two syndicates against each other or strengthen her relationship with one at the cost of angering another. It’s unclear how far-reaching the roots of the reputation system are, but in the preview, Kay’s standing with the Pyke Syndicate, for example, influenced what areas she could freely walk into. If she was in “Good” standing with them, she could walk directly into an area and get to the meat of a mission. If she was in “Poor” standing, however, she would need to first infiltrate the area and likely access that mission via stealthier means.
After playing Star Wars Outlaws in two separate sessions, first seeing the gameplay and now the open world, it’s clear that Massive Entertainment is not playing it safe. They are taking advantage of the opportunity to play around in Lucasfilm’s sandbox and giving players the type of experience they have always dreamed of. There are elements of the game that might take some getting used to, but there’s something instantly exciting about exploring a planet on Kay’s speeder or causing a little chaos in outer space.
And on top of all that, we still don’t know much about the heist story that’s at the center of Star Wars Outlaws. In talking to the devs, they seem very proud of what they were able to pull off there, but secrecy abounds in the Star Wars universe and that is true of Outlaws. Sticking only to what we played and the promises of the systems on display, Star Wars Outlaws has the potential to be a massive hit for Ubisoft and a different (but still exciting) slice of this universe to get lost in. It puts the stars back into Star Wars.
Star Wars Outlaws
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 75 /100 Critics Rec: 68%
- Released
- August 30, 2024
- ESRB
- T For Teen // Violence, Simulated Gambling, Mild Language
- Developer(s)
- Massive Entertainment
- Publisher(s)
- Ubisoft, Lucasfilm Games
- Engine
- Snowdrop
- Franchise
- Star Wars
WHERE TO PLAY
Experience the first-ever open world Star Wars game and explore distinct planets across the galaxy, both iconic and new. Risk it all as Kay Vess, an emerging scoundrel seeking freedom and the means to start a new life. Fight, steal, & outwit your way through the galaxy’s crime syndicates as you join the galaxy’s most wanted. If you’re willing to take the risk, the galaxy is full of opportunity.
DISCOVER A GALAXY OF OPPORTUNITY
Explore distinct planets with bustling cities and cantinas before racing across sprawling outdoor landscapes on your speeder. Each planet brings new adventures, unique challenges, and enticing rewards if you’re willing to take the risk.
EXPERIENCE AN ORIGINAL SCOUNDREL STORY
Live the high-stakes lifestyle of an outlaw. With Nix by your side, turn any situation to your advantage: fight with your blaster, overcome enemies with stealth and gadgets, or find the right moments to distract enemies and gain the upper hand.
EMBARK ON HIGH-STAKES MISSIONS
Take on high-risk, high-reward missions from the galaxy’s crime syndicates. Steal valuable goods, infiltrate secret locations, and outwit enemies as one of the galaxy’s most wanted. Every choice you make influences your ever-changing reputation.
JUMP INTO THE PILOT SEAT
Pilot your ship, The Trailblazer, as you engage in thrilling dogfights with The Empire and other foes, finding the right opportunities to chase, evade, and attack to get the upper hand.
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- Genre(s)
- Open-World, Action-Adventure
Star Wars Outlaws releases August 30, 2024 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. The Best War Games was provided travel accommodations for this preview.