After extensive video presentations over the last year and an apprehensive hands-on event during Ubisoft Forward 2024 a month ago, we have finally had a chance to have a long sit down with Ubisoft’s latest foray into open-world action adventures. Our extended Star Wars Outlaws preview session left us impressed and filled with optimism about Kay Vess and her journey across that very famous galaxy from a long time ago, far, far away.
Ever since it was initially released, it’s been pretty easy to shrug Outlaws off as “another” Ubisoft open-world game. With all of the various Far Cry, Assassin’s Creed, and even newer titles such as Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, I can see how you can make that assumption. But nothing is ever as simple as it seems on the surface, and even the various Far Cry and Assassin’s Creed games can vary greatly in the experiences they offer and how those worlds are presented. Star Wars Outlaws takes a pretty different approach compared to its contemporaries, and the focus on high-quality story moments and role-playing as a scoundrel across the star systems separates it from the pack.
Keep Your Blaster Close
Unlike that other big Jedi focused Star Wars title, by now, everybody should know that Outlaws places you in control of a scoundrel named Kay Vess. She and her furry companion Nix (no cute droid this time) must go out and immerse themselves in the seedier side of Star Wars, sans a lightsaber and the Force. Her lack of midi-chlorians, notwithstanding, being free of that set of powers forces (see what I did there) her to get creative when it comes to getting what she wants. Instead of Jedi mind tricks, she has to resort to bribing, stealing, and a good ole double cross or two. No Lightsaber means a greater emphasis on stealth since she is vulnerable and can’t just laser sword 10 Stormtroopers with ease.
What Kay Vess lacks in Force power ingenuity, she makes up for with gadgets, the world’s most nonlethal right hand ever, and Nix. Careful use of vision cones, takedowns, and using your companion to disable laser grids, distract guards, or straight-up attack people will get the job done, even if it doesn’t revolutionize the stealth genre. None of it on its own is something we haven’t done or seen done with more style or depth in other games. However, it all feels good to do. It works well, the rules for stealth are consistent, and the set pieces and locales for said stealth missions are unique and engaging. As easy as it can be to sit and nitpick on various aspects, it’s also just as easy to slip into the world and end up engrossed in the day-to-day life of a hustler in the Star Wars universe.
Leaning into the thief life, the skill system and gear also differentiate themselves from just about every Star Wars experience we’ve played before. There isn’t some long, winding skill tree where each level is either one point to Force Cure or two points dumped into Force Lightning for my Palpatine freaks out there. Instead, skills and upgrades are gameplay and skill-driven. Unlocking specific abilities comes from training under different masters of the craft, and earning them comes from achieving goals by using the various systems Outlaws gives you. It certainly feels better to gain a new skill due to your creativity and skillful execution rather than farming womp rats on Tatooine for 10xp a pop until you level up and drop a skill point into it. This also helps alleviate open-world RPG fatigue since we don’t have useless skills like 3% more ammo or 5% less damage bloating a mundane skill tree.
A Day in the Life
I don’t want to get too into story specifics. We still have our review to come, and even with four hours of playtime, what we can say about our limited time is that it’s all very well done. Character work and writing are solid, and at times, it’s easy to forget you are playing in a massive open world and not a linear cinematic third-person action adventure. Instead, we want to close this out by discussing the real appeal of Outlaws, which in our opinion, is the Scoundrel Simulator-esque feeling the moment-to-moment gameplay provides.
Now, Star Wars Outlaws has a story thread that you will follow to its end, no doubt. It will have its set pieces, big escapes, epic betrayals, and everything you want from a Star Wars story. What it does beyond that, though, struck me in the extended preview session. The feeling of being a rogue and living out a day in the life in a more laid-back and immersive open world. Now, the depth of that world is yet to be fully seen, but in our playtime, it was pretty easy to lose yourself in the small moments the world provides. Hanging out in town and watching traffic go by since the local area is owned by a syndicate that doesn’t trust you. Instead, you hang out at a bar and overhear chatter about a score stashed away in a cave somewhere.
Then you leave and decide to play your hand at Fathier (horse) races. Boom! You get lucky and win some credits. Now, you can afford that new holster for your blaster to complete your armor set. Now, we call out the hoverbike and take it for a spin. After evading some rogue pirates trying to take us out with some smooth 360 slow-motion blaster action, we hang out and watch as the Empire lays siege to a pirate outpost. We don’t participate; we just watch from afar as we venture out to the coordinates where that loot might be stashed. We grab it, but not before catching the eyes of some more pirates hoping to take us out. We then make a run for our ship and take off into space. We loot some abandoned ships, then Hyperspace jump to Kijimi City, home of the Ashiga Clan Syndicate. They like us, so it’s a pretty relaxing time in the snow-covered streets, safe from our pursuers as we look for our next big score.
This is the part of Star Wars Outlaws that is hard to sell in a trailer, or even small bits of hands-on time, as it requires you to get comfortable and immersed with the world, its characters, and rules. Again, nothing here is revolutionary or groundbreaking, but what’s here is very well put together, quite pretty, and technically polished, even in this preview stage. Kijimi was a standout, as the Snowdrop engine and developer Massive Entertainment clearly channeled their best Division snow-covered NYC streets love, and it’s represented in this icy city and is gorgeous to walk around in.
We look forward to spending a lot more time with Kay Vess and her crew of misfits, and it’s only a few short weeks away until we all get that opportunity. Until then, keep your blaster warm. Outlaw season is nearly upon us.
Star Wars Outlaws will be released on August 30th for PC, Xbox Series S|X, and PlayStation 5.
