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A Mixed Bag of Epic Adventures
Review Summary
Star Wars Outlaws offers a rich open-world experience that successfully captures the essence of the Star Wars universe. However, it falls short in certain areas, particularly with its forgettable characters, inconsistent AI, and repetitive main missions. While the narrative and character development aren’t particularly strong, the game’s open-world design, varied planets, and engaging side quests shine. The game is worth playing for Star Wars fans and newcomers alike, but it may leave some players wanting more depth in its core gameplay mechanics.
Overall
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Sound - 8/10
8/10
-
Graphics - 8/10
8/10
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Story - 6.6/10
6.6/10
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Gameplay - 7/10
7/10
Pros
- Open-world exploration is organic and rewarding
- Space combat is exhilarating and satisfying
- The syndicate allegiance system works well
Cons
- Enemy AI is often inconsistent
- Main story missions follow a basic and repetitive structure
- Most characters are forgettable and rarely stand out
The Star Wars franchise is no stranger to gaming. Whether it be the power fantasy of wielding destructive abilities as Darth Vader’s protege in The Force Unleashed games or pushing back against the Empire in Respawn’s Star Wars Jedi series, the IP has seldom disappointed when it comes to gaming adaptations.
However, for all the feats that various studios have accomplished with this license, no single developer has produced a definitive open-world Star Wars experience yet. This is where Massive Entertainment comes in, bringing years of open-world expertise to the table.
Following last year’s well-rounded Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, the team is delivering a similarly authentic adaptation with Star Wars Outlaws. Promising the first open-world this franchise has ever delivered, Massive Entertainment aims to cover all the bases of a thrilling, emotionally impactful, and adventurous experience.
However, was the team able to successfully balance Star Wars’ narrative elements and the grandiose nature of its stories? Is Star Wars Outlaws more than just another Ubisoft open-world experience? Read on to find out.
Key Takeaways
- Star Wars Outlaws does a good job pulling off its vision of setting players loose in a massive open-world sandbox. The experience suffers due to a weak narrative, but most of the gameplay works well.
- You should go for the Star Wars Outlaws if you love the franchise and want to try out a new game.
- You should not buy the Star Wars Outlaws if you are not a fan of stealth gameplay.
Story
From the get-go, Star Wars Outlaws takes a different approach than most adaptations. Where past games have focused on the greater conflict involving the Jedi and Sith, Massive Entertainment puts players in the shoes of Kay Vess, a scoundrel looking to survive and thrive in the crime-ridden underworld of the galaxy.
Kay Vess’ journey begins with a simple premise—land the score of a lifetime. Together with her trusty partner, Nix, she can, more often than not, use her wits and ambitions to work her way out of almost every situation.
However, as is the case with most Star Wars stories, things are rarely as straightforward as they seem. Following a small prologue section, Kay Vess finds herself stranded on the planet Toshara with a shiny new ship, the Trailblazer.
At this point, the game introduces many of its broader narrative elements. The power struggle between various crime syndicates, the Empire’s hold over the galaxy, and the core loop of gathering intel or finding jobs.
The Characters Disappoint
In my first few hours with the story, Star Wars Outlaws made a strong first impression. Having landed on Toshara without much of a plan, I ran into several interesting characters, found myself being betrayed, formed unexpected alliances, and narrowly escaped life-and-death situations.
Following these twists and turns, Star Wars Outlaws introduces Jaylen and ND-5, two central characters who accompany Kay on her quest to pull off one of the galaxy’s greatest heists. A task of this magnitude requires an appropriate crew, so Kay must bring together the right group of people for the job.
This quest becomes the driving force behind Massive Entertainment’s carefully curated main story, and by the end, players are introduced to a huge cast of characters.
However, I was never too impressed by the cast. A character like Jaylen is charismatic and reliable, Sliro is shown to be tyrannical and unforgiving, and ND-5 is a trusty droid companion. Various recruits also have their own stories that unfold throughout the main missions.
Despite an effort to flesh out such characters, members of the crew hardly shine beyond their specific role in the heist. Even major antagonists like Sliro barely stand out against the rich cast of characters this series is already famous for.
Experts also play an important role in the ever-evolving world of Star Wars Outlaws, helping Kay Vess obtain various upgrades and abilities throughout her journey. Unfortunately, these characters were largely forgettable.
The Greater Galaxy
Where the characters disappoint, Star Wars Outlaws’ open world picks up the slack. Throughout the game, Kay finds herself constantly moving between different planets and cities as she interacts with the natives, crime syndicates, and expert characters.
The game presents four main planets to explore. As the story progresses, these backdrops, often defined by distinct traits, such as inhabiting creatures and atmospheric conditions, become an important part of the experience.
Visit the desolate landscape of Tatooine, and you’ll find travellers struggling to adapt to the scorching hot desert. Head over to the lush forests of Akiva, and you’ll see life thriving in the middle of a chaotic galactic war. Wherever your destination may lie, Star Wars Outlaws puts its open world at the forefront of the experience.
Gameplay
Massive Entertainment has packed a lot in Star Wars Outlaws. From heart-pumping space battles to stealthy infiltrations across imperial bases, Kay can engage in a variety of different activities.
The core gameplay, however, is more limited than one may initially expect. Kay’s arsenal is limited to her trusty pet Nix, a reliable blaster, and tools that complement this kit.
In terms of traversal, Kay can also climb specific walls and use a grappling hook to swing and close large gaps. The is immediately reminiscent of traversal from a game like Uncharted, but Star Wars Outlaws rarely does anything with its parkour system that hasn’t already been done before.
Better Call Nix
Combining their forces, Nix and Kay are able to outsmart the most formidable of foes. Nix is more handy than most gaming companions since he practically fits into every facet of the core gameplay. Stuck on a puzzle without an obvious solution? Nix can probably find a switch somewhere to activate. Looking to grab a stronger weapon during an all-out firefight? Nix can also fetch blasters from afar.
There is a lot Kay’s companion can do that makes him more than just a cute pet. Nix even brings his equivalent of Assassin’s Creed’s eagle vision to the table, briefly highlighting enemies through walls. This particular ability almost becomes a crutch later on, especially since Kay often finds herself surrounded by enemies.
Stealth is The Way To Go
Because Kay isn’t a Jedi, she can’t fight her way through waves of enemies at once. The best solution during combat, then, is often to avoid confrontation entirely. However, for a game with such a huge stealth focus, I found the mechanics fairly rudimentary.
Kay can whistle to attract enemies, hide behind carefully laid out pieces of cover, sabotage alarms, and hack into security cameras. Nix comes in handy here, and one of my favorite combinations early on was to stun one enemy with my blaster while Nix attacked another.
This handy albeit basic combo made it easy to deal with groups of two. Nix can also activate explosives and distract enemies, so there is fun to be had with the basic stealth gameplay. However, the combat is held back by inconsistent AI. On various occasions, enemies completely ignored my actions, and I effectively took out multiple enemies who should have otherwise spotted me a long time ago.
At other times, enemies were seemingly able to spot me from a mile away, leading to more than a few frustrating encounters. Going in guns blazing isn’t always an option either since story missions often fail if Kay is spotted or an alarm is raised.
Repetitive Main Missions
Speaking of the story, I grew increasingly tired of the main missions as the game progressed. One way or another, story missions force Kay to infiltrate enemy bases, ranging from imperial strongholds to Jabba The Hutt’s mansion.
Once breached, these levels present narrow vents to crawl through, powerful enemies to avoid, and various terminals to hack. My biggest gripe here is that most story missions fail to play to the strengths of Star Wars Outlaws’ open world.
By the time I entered my 100th vent to hide from enemy forces, I found myself wishing I was engaging with Batman Arkham’s superior stealth sandbox. Instead of going on wild chases through open landscapes or partaking in intense dogfights, Kay is typically forced to go for basic stealth gameplay in enclosed spaces for most of the story.
This is not to say that there aren’t any missions that use the open world. However, the few times Kay takes to the skies or stays out in the open aren’t enough to make up for the repetitive mission structure.
The Open World Delivers
During my 40 hours exploring the galaxy, I frequently ran into random events that made the open world feel alive and reactive. This gave the open world a distinct identity, especially compared to the rest of Ubisoft’s offerings.
Random pieces of intel also revealed key details that helped me discover resources, and this information typically showed up organically. Kay can spy on NPC conversations, interact with smugglers, or speak directly with crime syndicate leaders to gather intel.
The game doesn’t always make it obvious what players will find when exploring these points of interest, so there is a sense of discovery in each interaction. For instance, during my first visit to Toshara, I found a random data pad that helped me make a quick buck through a bet on a fathier race.
Expert Missions Are Great
The major side quests in Star Wars Outlaws come in the form of expert missions for specific characters. Each expert can help Kay with upgrades, and I found these missions to be more interesting than the typical side quest from an average open-world game.
For instance, my first encounter with the iconic Lando Calrissian saw Kay engaging in a high-stakes game of Sabbac. After learning the ropes of Sabbac and successfully retrieving an important item for Lando, I ended up in the middle of a heated battle between the Empire and Rebels deep within a forest.
Similarly, a different expert mission involving Aila Bren sent me on a stealthy rescue mission in an imperial base. Afterwards, I was rewarded with a new slicer for more advanced hacking.
The Syndicate System Works Well
A rating shows whether Kay is on good terms with a syndicate, and healthy relations typically lead to perks like access to specific missions, discounts from merchants, and more.
I found interacting with this system quite enjoyable since it added extra depth to the open world. Siding with one syndicate often meant upsetting the other, but the system encouraged switching sides based on the situation.
At one point in my playthrough, I randomly spoke to a merchant who was then approached by stormtroopers demanding additional tax. Since this happened in a Pyke district, and I was on great terms with this syndicate at the time, I was able to intervene and use my connections to threaten the stormtroopers.
Such scenarios meant that I constantly considered my choices as I juggled my allegiances with the various factions in Star Wars Outlaws.
Taking To The Skies
Venturing into space leads to completely new types of adventures and opportunities in Star Wars Outlaws. The Trailblazer is equipped to fight off space pirates, imperial forces, and even rival syndicates.
Like the planets of Massive Entertainment’s Star Wars universe, space comes with its own set of loot and points of interest. Flying the Trailblazer is also satisfying on its own, and snappy controls make it a joy to take a break from on-foot exploration.
Graphics And Performance
Star Wars Outlaws uses Massive Entertainment’s in-house Snowdrop engine. After an excellent display with Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, this engine presents another strong showing here.
Whether it be the sun-soaked deserts of Tatooine or the lush jungles of Akiva, each location is captivating and beautifully rendered in Star Wars Outlaws. Moreover, well-lit interiors and vibrant colors mean that Massive Entertainment does a great job capturing the iconic Star Wars atmosphere.
However, the game falls short in a few areas. Character models stand out as a weak point, and facial animation often comes across as awkward and half-baked. In terms of performance, I found it hard to achieve a consistent 60FPS when testing with a GeForce RTX 3060 and Intel Core i5-12400 combo at 1080p medium settings and Quality DLSS.
Audio And Soundtrack
Taking inspiration from John William’s original score, Massive Entertainment’s soundtrack falls in line with what I wanted from a Star Wars adaptation. It hits all the right notes and captures the oomph of a massive galactic adventure.
The sound effects are also commendable. Blaster shots carry the same distinct punch that fans have come to love; boosting through open landscapes with the speeder leads to a satisfying burst, and the distinct languages of Star Wars’ many races are portrayed with great authenticity here.
Should You Buy It?
Buy It If
✅You love Star Wars: you are a Star Wars fan and long to create your own adventures in the galaxy.
Don’t Buy It If
❌You prefer a narrative storyline: You dislike stealth games and want memorable narrative experiences from Star Wars games.
My Thoughts
In conclusion, Star Wars Outlaws is greater than the sum of its parts. While inconsistent AI, rudimentary stealth, and inconsistent level design bring down the experience, Massive Entertainment’s rich open world makes for an experience that can stand tall as part of this IP.
The studio has created a game that is certainly worth picking up for existing fans. However, even for those without prior Star Wars experience, the world of Star Wars Outlaws is inviting and ripe for all kinds of adventures.
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[News Reporter]
Avinash is currently pursuing a Business degree in Australia. For more than three years, he has been working as a gaming journalist, utilizing his writing skills and love for gaming to report on the latest updates in the industry. Avinash loves to play action games like Devil May Cry and has also been mentioned on highly regarded websites, such as IGN, GamesRadar, GameRant, Dualshockers, CBR, and Gamespot.
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