By George & Josh Bate
From classics like Knights of the Old Republic to recent hits like Jedi: Survivor, Star Wars has a rich history in the world of video games. But, despite this rich history, recent years have seen the quantity and breadth of Star Wars decline markedly. Until 2023, Electronic Arts (EA) had exclusive rights to create and release new Star Wars games, which, while gifting fans with Cal Kestis and Merrin, meant that the era of a multitude of great Star Wars games releasing all the time had ceased. Now, things have changed though. With EA’s deal concluded, Star Wars video games venture into a new era, one which kicks off with Ubisoft’s Star Wars Outlaws, an engaging yet flawed adventure.
Star Wars Outlaws comes from Massive Entertainment, the developers of Tom Clancy’s The Division and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, and proudly proclaims its title of the first ever open-world Star Wars video game. The game takes place in between the events of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi as the Empire continues to battle the Rebel Alliance, while the criminal underworld of a galaxy far, far away thrives. The story follows Kay Vess (played by Humberly González), a scoundrel who finds herself in the middle of various warring criminal syndicates. When Kay Vess participates in a heist of valuable property of the syndicate Zerek Besh, she and her companion Nix (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker) find themselves in a precarious situation.
A promising story and the prospect of an open-world Star Wars game mean that Star Wars Outlaws has been one of the most anticipated Star Wars projects in development. But does it live up to expectations…?
Gameplay
The gameplay of Star Wars Outlaws excels in some areas, while falling short in others. Above all else, Outlaws plays like an immersive experience into the Star Wars universe akin to that of Knights of the Old Republic. The player genuinely feels as if they are a piece in the grand narrative of the Star Wars universe and are playing a role in the events that unfold.
Much of this has to do with how the game situates Kay Vess (and, in turn, the player) into the criminal underworld. The likes of the comic series War of the Bounty Hunters and the show The Book of Boba Fett have explored the underworld of the Star Wars universe, but it has never been done with such depth and nuance as it is in Outlaws. The canceled video game Star Wars 1313 promised to similarly explore what it is like to navigate the seedy underworld first hand, but, having never seen the light of day, fans have been clamoring for such an experience ever since. And, rest assured, Outlaws is certainly that experience.
The game sees the scoundrel Kay Vess try to survive and thrive amidst various warring criminal syndicates – the Pykes, Hutt Cartel, Crimson Dawn, and Ashiga Clan, in addition to Zerek Besh, the crime family she steals from at the beginning of the game. The player’s decisions in the game influence Kay’s reputation with each syndicate. A good reputation with a syndicate grants the player access to cool accessories, specific side-missions, and locations, while a bad reputation sees Kay become a target. Adding fuel to the fire is the overarching presence of the Empire, who serve a role similar to the police do in the Grand Theft Auto games. Collectively, these forces make for a game in which the player is always on their toes. Each and every decision (whether it be bribing an enemy or choosing a response from a dialogue tree) influences the world’s perception of Kay Vess and, as a result, change the way in which the game is played.
For instance, during our playthrough of the game, we found ourselves gaining a good reputation with Crimson Dawn. Although this reputation afforded all sorts of benefits, it came at the expense of our reputation with the Pyke Syndicate. As such, venturing into Pyke territory or coming across Pyke mercenaries became treacherous. But, nothing is set in stone in Outlaws. Reputations among the different syndicates fluctuate throughout, meaning the player can always change their experience of the game depending on which syndicate they are currently aligning with. From a gameplay perspective, the immersion into the criminal underworld is ultimately the crowning achievement of Star Wars Outlaws, and is reason alone to play the game. It is one thing to read or watch stories about warring criminal syndicates; it is entirely different to actually find oneself part of this conflict and actively capable of influencing the course of events in the underworld, and Outlaws does just that.
Where the game falters, relatively speaking, is in its conventional and, at times, clunky stealth mechanics. Outlaws is a far cry away from the nuances of stealth gameplay that the likes of the Hitman and Assassin’s Creed series achieve. Without a formal cover system, stealth merely involves the player crouching to avoid detection. Enemies are often unrealistically and inconsistently unaware of sounds, unconscious bodies, and Kay’s actions, while stealth takedowns feel one-note and robotic. A blaster set to stun adds a bit of flavor to the otherwise conventional stealth work here. Ultimately, this all means that Outlaws never reaches the immersion of stealth gameplay seen in other franchises.
Similar issues exist with combat gameplay, with serviceable, and yet unremarkable, shooting mechanics. The combat lacks the robustness and realism of other third-person shooters, instead playing more like a game from a previous generation. Coupled with the issues in stealth gameplay, Outlaws ends up being an experience that proves least fun when engaged in combat or stealth, and most fun when the player is exploring and navigating the ins and outs of the criminal underworld.
Much of the talk ahead of Star Wars Outlaws was regarding its status as the first ever Star Wars open-world game. The prospect of having a Grand Theft Auto or Skyrim-eseque experience in the Star Wars universe was so exciting, although the final results in Outlaws leave a bit to be desired. The open worlds are varied and feature plenty for the player to do beyond main quests, but the game often feels too linear. Traversing worlds like Canto Bight or Kijimi is a lot of fun, although the game often plays like a linear, non-open world game. The scale seen in GTA or Skyrim is lacking here, although Outlaws makes up for it in the variety and visual spectacle of its variety of well-realized worlds.
Speaking of which, Star Wars Outlaws has a great balance of previously seen and brand new planets, each of which is a visual marvel. The game starts on Cantonica, in the city of Canto Bight, which was a location introduced in The Last Jedi. Sequel trilogy representation continues with prominent events of the game taking place on Kijimi. Graphical depictions of Canto Bight and Kijimi feel like they have been seamlessly lifted from the sequel trilogy films they originate from and are so cool to explore around. Akiva, the planet Chuck Wendig’s Aftermath novel is set on, also features in the game. Seeing the planet lifted from the page and visually brought to life is remarkable, and fans of Wendig’s novel will enjoy finally being able to picture what this planet looks like. And, of course, there’s Tatooine. Although some have claimed Tatooine has been overused in recent Star Wars stories, its inclusion in Outlaws makes sense given the presence of the Hutt Cartel, Kay’s role as a scoundrel, and the direction the story heads in.
Story
The story of Star Wars Outlaws follows the pattern of many open world games. That is to say, the main narrative progresses in a rather stop-and-start manner, as key quests are surrounded by side quests that have less consequence to the plot. This unfolding of the narrative contrasts that of recent Star Wars games like Jedi: Fallen Order and Jedi: Survivor, in which everything feels as if it is in service of the main plot. But for both an open world game and Star Wars game, what Outlaws does in regards to its narrative structure just feels right. Think back to the Tatooine parts of The Phantom Menace or the entirety of Chapter 2 of The Mandalorian – Star Wars stories that hit pause on the main plot in favor of a more localized, do-A-to-get-B kind of story. Outlaws plenty of such stories, while also never losing grip on its main narrative.
The story follows Kay Vess as she rubs shoulders with some of the Star Wars galaxy’s most dangerous criminals. Without an opening crawl to set the stage for the story, the game begins with crime lord Sliro of the syndicate Serek Besh having representatives of Crimson Dawn, the Pykes, and the Hutts over for a meal. This introduction not only establishes Sliro as a solid antagonist for the game, but it also paints a picture of this slice of the Star Wars timeline. The Empire relentlessly battle the Rebel Alliance, so much so that their eyes are off the criminal syndicates of the galaxy. As a result, Outlaws is set in a golden-age of the underworld in which crime syndicates grow in prominence, largely independent of Imperial intervention.
The fact that the game takes place in between the events of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi is never explicitly defined, although dialogue further into the game clues players into exactly when this story is set. For those who are more up-to-date on Star Wars stories beyond film and television, Outlaws will provide plenty of fun nods and connections to other stories, in particular the recently concluded comic runs of Bounty Hunters and Doctor Aphra and the mini-series War of the Bounty Hunters.
Players assume control of Kay Vess, a likable protagonist to lead the story of Outlaws. Kay feels like a mix of Han Solo and Doctor Aphra. She always has a pointed remark to make and doesn’t take things quite as seriously as she should, but she’s cunning and deceptively intelligent. Humberly González voiced the character and performed in motion-capture to bring Kay to life. Relative to the rather stoic Cal Kestis, Kay Vess represents an entirely different main character of a Star Wars video game, one who is admittedly more fun and engaging.
VERDICT: 8/10
Star Wars Outlaws is a thoroughly entertaining, albeit flawed game. Issues with basic and outdated combat and stealth mechanics are balanced out by an immersive story and reputation system that allow the player to feel like they are truly embedded in the Star Wars underworld, carrying on the legacy of the canceled Star Wars 1313 game. As the first ever open-world Star Wars video game, Outlaws may come short in playing too linearly at times, but the various worlds are visually stunning and so much fun to explore. A mix between Han Solo and Doctor Aphra, Kay Vess proves to be a likable and engaging protagonist in a strong story that features all sorts of interesting deep-cut connections to Star Wars comics. Issues with gameplay may drag down the experience, although there has never been such a visceral and engaging opportunity to immerse oneself in the Star Wars underworld like this before.
Star Wars Outlaws is out August 30, 2024 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Windows.