As is often the case with games based on on IP that fall firmly into the “geek” world we often boot them up with a sense of trepidation, is Star Wars outlaws worthy of the rank of master or does it live up to it’s name and belong outside of gaming society?
Star Wars Outlaws is brought from a galaxy far far way by Swedish develops Massive Entertainment whom you’re probably familiar with from the Divison games, while the game is published by Ubisoft (no shock there, they own Massive Entertainment).
So, describing myself as huge Star Wars fan would be an understatement (wanna see my SWC haul?) so I was excited by the promise of Star Wars Outlaws. A single player adventure from the gritty underbelly of the Star Wars universe, no Jedi codes to keep us on the straight and narrow and in fact, no Force at all, this had the potential to become one of my favourite Star Wars games ever.
Star Wars Outlaws introduces us to our protagonist Kay Vess (performed by Humberly González) and her adorable companion Nyx (performed by Dee Bradley Baker, yes, “The Gravemind” is now adorable) on Cantonica. You’ll remember Cantonica from The Last Jedi and in Canto Blight and Outlaws reinforces themes present therein.
At the start of Outlaws Kay’s criminal enterprise is rather non existent as she struggles to get by pulling small grift after small grift and the character seems likeable enough. To avoid spoilers I’ll say that events unfold and you need to raise some credits and this is where I hit my first bump with Kay. So Kay is a crook, a rogue, very much in the mould of Han Solo. So I’m not expecting her to be as innocent as a moisture farmer but theres one moment when you fleece a local merchant out of some credits and it made me dislike Kay. I find with a rogue stealing from the rich, screwing over a corporation or the empire (I’ve stolen a lot of credits from the Imps so far) but ripping off a local who isn’t all that much better off pushed Kay a little too far for my liking.
This is my first issue with Star Wars Outlaws and that is getting to know Kay, the game does eventually flush out who Kay is and her backstory but it does so at such a slow pace that for a good 18 or so hours I was playing as a protagonist whom I didn’t particularly like. In fact pacing is the biggest downfall Star Wars Outlaws. The game takes so longs to get going, so much of the marketing kept telling us that Outlaws was the first open world Star Wars game but you’re stuck in an enforced stealth section sneaking into Crimson Dawn base.
Not only are you stuck doing this, the game disables your weapons so you can’t shoot, and if you get spotted you have to restart. This is frustrating as the games stealth mechanics leave much to be desired, you don’t have anything to indicate that an enemy may be able to see you until it is too late while at the same time enemy AI is so incredibly dim. You can lure and distract enemies either by whistling or asking the adorable Nyx to play dead (which is so cute). Nothing really new here, but you’ll come across two enemies stood a few feet apart, your whistle will only lure one away allowing you to take them down. The fellow you left behind, they don’t find the disappearance of their comrade suspicious at all and wont come to investigate and will be lured by the exact same methods a moment later.
Eventually you’ll be liberated from enforced stealth and get out into that much hyped open world and oh boy did my mood change. Having said that stealth is still a big part of the majority of nearly every quest you undertake but as you’re choosing to do the job it is less frustrating. There are 4 crime syndicates in Outlaws, although only three are available on Cantonica. The Pykes, Crimson Dawn and The Hutts. As relations improve with one faction they may worsen with the others, if your relationship deteriorates too far that gang will send kill squads after you. It’s okay though as there are natural ways to improve your rep if the kill squads become to irritating.
Theres a lot to do in Star Wars Outlaws and you’ll spend hours earning credits and unlocking upgrades as you cruise around on your speeded bike (which is super fun to ride) and meet new characters along the way, a lot of what you do will come down to sneak in, steal and sometimes blast your way out, but it’s not terrible and there’s enough variety to keep you playing. Eventually you’ll make it off world and get to explore the void and other planets including Tatooine, the game features space combat and you’ll get to pilot your ship, but to be honest it’s clunky and slow and they ship has an awkward weight to it and really isn’t worth much of a mention. I’d just be waiting to get through it to land and discover more of the underworld. In stark contrast to my feelings about being among the starts, once place I never tired of was the Sabacc table, especially using Nyx to level the playing field (meaning getting him to peek at the other players hands). There are many variants of Sabacc played throughout star wars but never has it been so brilliantly realised. If Ubisoft released a standalone multiplayer Sabacc game, I’d lose many hours to it.
That underworld is brilliantly realised in Star Wars Outlaws, through the reputation you have with the gangs, the language and the visuals. I felt immersed in the Star Wars the entire time I was playing the game, even with the frustrations I had, it was still Star Wars and if I’m being honest, it’s this attention to detail and immersion that elevates Star Wars Outlaws from a disaster to something I’ll actually keep playing through the life of its season pass.
