Summary
- Star Wars Outlaws challenges Starfield in innovative ways, with seamless travel and manageable planet sizes.
- Starfield's vast planets feel empty and underwhelming, while Outlaws promises a more engaging experience.
- Outlaws' open world may be smaller, but without loading screens, players can stay immersed in the game world.
Star Wars Outlaws may be making waves as the first true open-world Star Wars game ever made, but that hasn't stopped fans from making it the target of some often extreme skepticism ahead of its launch. Even so, it is already showing signs of succeeding in areas that other games have fallen short in, based on what developer Massive Entertainment has revealed about it so far. Specifically, Star Wars Outlaws appears to rise above Bethesda's sci-fi adventure Starfield in one of the biggest ways.
While Star Wars Outlaws and Starfield are two entirely different games, they have been seen as competitors over the last year or so. Both games rely on space exploration as a major gameplay feature (although they certainly approach it differently) and Star Wars Outlaws was already being talked about at the time of Starfield's release. Some comparisons between the two aren't at all warranted, as Star Wars Outlaws isn't necessarily trying to be a big RPG like Starfield. Other comparisons, however, make perfect sense, like the fact that Star Wars Outlaws has seamless travel from ground to space whereas Starfield has countless loading screens between zones. Star Wars Outlaws may have a one-up in another area that Starfield fell massively short in, based on some gameplay details recently disclosed by Massive.
Star Wars Outlaws' Economy Needs to Burn a Hole in Kay's Pocket
Star Wars Outlaws needs to do everything in its power to avoid a common economic pitfall in games that focus on acquiring massive wealth.
Star Wars Outlaws Planets May Have a Big One-Up on Starfield's
Starfield's Planets Often Feel Empty and Overwhelming
Starfield was intentionally marketed by Bethesda as a big experience, with nearly 1,700 planets to explore, each of which has a unique environment with a distinct combination of flora and fauna on its surface. However, if No Man's Sky's developmental journey has proven anything, it's that quality is much more important than quantity. Starfield may host a gigantic world full of unique planets to explore, but those planets tend to feel empty and unrewarding.
Using some brilliant mathematics, Starfield players have determined that each of the game's planets is about 5% the size of a real planet, depending on which real planet they are based on. When considering the size of a real planet, 5% of a planet's surface area is still a significant amount of space. Put that into a game, and players have quite a journey ahead of them if they want to fully explore one of Starfield's planets. Unfortunately, while this sounds like it could be an epic adventure, most of Starfield's planets are composed of a sea of negative space between small outposts and cities. This ultimately leads to each planet's surface area being largely wasted, as players can simply fly their ship from one point of interest to the other, and even then, those points of interest can prove to be largely uninteresting.
Star Wars Outlaws Planets Are Large But Manageable
Star Wars Outlaws is making some big promises about its open world, but apparently, they aren't as big as they initially seemed. More specifically, rather than taking the Starfield approach and having hundreds of planets that are all too big to enjoy, Star Wars Outlaws features only a few planets, each of which is roughly the size of two or three Assassin's Creed Odyssey map zones combined and can be crossed in around five minutes on a speeder. What this means is that even if Star Wars Outlaws' planets end up being just as empty as Starfield's, at least they won't feel as empty on account of their smaller size.
Whether the smaller scale of Star Wars Outlaws' planets ultimately benefits the game as a whole remains to be seen, but at least it likely won't feel as big of a shortcoming if it ultimately fails. In any case, at least there are no loading screens in Star Wars Outlaws, so players can stay immersed in its world without that immersion being broken between zones.
Star Wars Outlaws
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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
