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About a month ago, Ubisoft invited us to a Star Wars Outlaws digital preview event. We got to play four hours worth of supervised gameplay, getting a nice vertical cut of the game. Here are our Star Wars Outlaws first impressions from this preview event.
But first, some housekeeping. We didn't get to play Star Wars Outlaws from the start, as we were provided specific save states to play through. We were allowed to play through a couple of disjointed sections, which exposed us to a few of the game's worlds, but also meant we didn't get a good grasp of the overarching plot of the game.
With that being said, let's talk about what we enjoyed about the game.
A Fresh New Setting and Story
We all know about the Galaxy far far away, set in a time from long long ago. While this new game from Ubisoft's Massive Entertainment is still set within the same time period (Star Wars Outlaws is set between The Empire Strikes Back and The Return of the Jedi), our setting takes us far from the struggle between the rebel alliance and the galactic empire to the underbelly of the Outer Rim.
The conflicts we see in Star Wars Outlaws are not the usual stories we see in mainstream media of the series. We're used to seeing lightsabers wielded by Jedi and large vehicles commandeered by clones, stormtroopers, rebels, and droids. But now, we're experiencing a story of a lowly nobody who rises to the top in a setting that is still familiar to Star Wars fans.
In Star Wars Outlaws, we get an original character named Kay Vess, a ruffian who only wants to get her big break so that she'll be set for life, away from her rogueish lifestyle. She is accompanied by, first, her pet merqaal Nix, who not only accompanies her everywhere, but also helps her in combat, stealth, and traversal.
We know that Kay would later be accompanied by other companions, including Waka, who serves as the ship's engineer, and a droid named ND-5 who appears to be their ship's pilot. We get to see how Kay first crossed paths with Waka, but in the section of the game we played, ND-5 was already part of the crew, so we didn't get to see how Kay and ND-5 first met.
There are also the crime syndicates that Kay interacts with in her adventures, some new, some familiar. You have the Hutts, for example, who serve the infamous Jabba the Hutt. Kay's decision-making on who she sides with on her missions will affect some gameplay and story beats, and trying to scurry up favor and playing each syndicate against each other is a fun component of Star Wars Outlaws.
You'd still see the occasional stormtrooper here and there, but they aren't always heavily involved in the game. Star Wars Outlaws gives players a fresh new take on the Galaxy fans know and love without drifting too far away from the source material.
It's great to see developers take bold directions like this, not having to rely on tried and tested characters for maximum appeal, as it introduces us players to new characters and worlds, and exposes us to creativity that would otherwise be hundred by using more established settings.
Fidgety PC Controls
We were given the option to use a gamepad for our preview session, but I opted to use mouse and keyboard controls so I could gauge the game's responsiveness to this control scheme.
Probably as a combination of bad factors, including keyboard controls not really being the ideal control scheme for an adventure game like this, or the fact that we were playing with a streamed version of the game rather than a locally saved one on our own PCs, the game felt fidgety and unresponsive.
There have been times when I got caught by an enemy just because Kay didn't respond the way I wished her to while sneaking around hostile territory. Targeting enemies was easier with a mouse for sure, so combat was okay. But melee just felt stiff and uncomfortable.
The worst offender was the game's vehicle controls on the mouse and keyboard. We had the chance to ride a speeder bike early into the game, and it just felt floaty and slow to turn.
Flying The Trailblazer, Kay's ship in the game, was a blast, though. We don't usually get to fly large ships like the one that Kay has in video games. We're used to using fighter or bomber ships and engaging in intense dogfights. The Trailblazer, although larger than your usual video game space ship, was easy to control in space. Dogfighting felt good with this bulky fellow.
Hopefully, when we get to play the launch version of the game there will be no more of this unresponsiveness. We'll also probably try the game with a gamepad moving forward, which should help with these woes. But one thing's for sure: we don't recommend playing Star Wars Outlaws without a gamepad.
Some Mandatory Stealth Sections
Early on in the marketing cycle for Star Wars Outlaws, Ubisoft Massive already informed players that the game would have equal parts action and stealth. Thankfully, you can exercise either action or stealth in most sections of the game, but we experienced two sections that required players to completely avoid enemies. Failure to do so leads to a game over screen that takes players back to the start of the segment.
These sections could become frustrating. Granted, the whole point of stealth is not getting caught and successfully fulfilling your mission without sounding the alarms. But most stealth games nowadays provide players with a sandbox to allow them multiple paths to completion. Star Wars Outlaws isn't as flexible in its win states, although level design does provide multiple literal paths.
For example, in one early section of the game, Kay and Nix have a linear path to their destination. They're supposed to infiltrate a gang hideout without getting detected by its goons. The section starts with Kay and Nix entering the premises through a vent, and the player's only option in going forward is to follow a singular available path without getting caught.
In one way, this simplifies the stealth sections in that they are straightforward and don't require a lot of skill to complete. One only requires patience to get past enemies. The players can also sneak behind enemies to do a stealth takedown or order Nix to attack them or distract them.
It's weird that although having the pedigree to do so much better with stealth, Ubisoft clearly wasn't able to flesh out this system in Star Wars Outlaws. The animations for the stealth takedowns are one symptom of this. Years of animating cool stealth takedowns in Assassin's Creed should have given Massive a lot of source material to draw inspiration from. Instead, what we get in Star Wars Outlaws lacks a thud and therefore not as satisfying. Heck, they even have Splinter Cell to draw from, but ultimately did not.
Massive did draw some inspiration still from Assassin's Creed, although it's not a good thing. In a galaxy far far away, we somehow still have tall grassy areas where Kay and Nix can hide in. It's not unbelievable but somehow feels very uninspired. I just know that Massive could have done better.
One element that shines in Star Wars Outlaws, though, is its lockpicking system. It's a rhythm-based mini-game that requires players to press a button in time to a repeating beat. It requires players to focus on it.
Unlike other stealth-based games, lockpicking happens in real-time, so if Kay gets caught in the act, enemies could start firing at her. Players then have the choice to either react by leaving the lockpicking later or just absorb the damage until they finally unlock the door. To aid this, players can sneak some glances to their left and right while lockpicking, which adds immersion to the act.
There's also a hacking minigame that players engage in when hacking into doors or safes. It's based on a simple version of Mastermind, but later on in the game we saw that new mechanics are added to the puzzle to make it more challenging. There are also tools that Kay could acquire to make the hacking sections easier.
In some way, these compulsory stealth sections could completely kill a player's momentum, especially if they would rather just go ahead with blasters blazing. So, if you're playing Star Wars Outlaws, be aware of this component. Setting your expectations will help you enjoy the game better, especially if you're not usually fond of stealth. Some patience will go a long way in getting past these sections.
Firefight for your Life
That's not to say that there's not enough action to go around in Star Wars Outlaws. On the contrary, the game provides players with a lot of opportunities to just shoot their way out of messy situations.
Combat in Star Wars Outlaws is primarily a cover-based shooter. Armed with her trusty blaster pistol, players alternate between hiding behind obstacles and shooting at enemies. It's as simple as it gets, and I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. Kay also has access to grenades and can temporarily pick up rifles enemies drop, but you can't keep these guns with you.
When you get up close and personal, you can have Nix attack the opponent, which opens them up for a melee takedown. As mentioned above, melee lacks the oompf. Ubisoft Massive may have felt the need to downgrade Kay's melee capabilities to make players rely on it less, but as a result melee takedowns never have the same satisfaction you'd usually get in other games.
Meanwhile, Kay can learn new abilities through Star Wars Outlaws' unique progression system. Throughout the story, players will encounter characters that serve as mentor to Kay. In our preview session, we gained access to a few of them, although players will start with one right off the bat.
These mentors give Kay access to a couple of practical challenges, like performing melee takedowns or eliminating enemies with stealth kills. These challenges require Kay to accomplish these a certain number of times. Successfully doing so will unlock a new ability for Kay to use on the field.
Zooming out a bit to outer space, we also get to do some dogfighting in space. I already mentioned earlier that I enjoyed this part – although we only really got to do one dogfighting sequence in our preview session. Dogfighting doesn't feel as sharp and snappy as you'd get with an X-Wing, but The Trailblazer's arsenal just makes up for it. Taking down enemy fighters with its gunshots felt so satisfying.
Star Wars Outlaws Has an Interesting Underdog Story
Star Wars Outlaws' main draw would always be its story. As mentioned above, Star Wars Outlaws lets us explore a completely new layer of the Star Wars Universe. The Underbelly of the Outer Rim has been referenced every now and then in mainstream Star Wars media, but it has never been the focal point of any of the stories we've seen before.
Now, Star Wars Outlaws lets us live the life of one of these scoundrels. It's a true underdog story in that Kay Vess starts from the bottom of the food chain, ending up messing with the wrong kind of people, making enemies out of a rising underground syndicate, and going on a run for her life that makes her a wanted person in the entire galaxy.
The player then has to rise to the top by taking on jobs from the different crime syndicates in the game, making a name for themself until they gain enough power and influence to go up against Zerek Besh, the crime syndicate rising to power that's set to rule over the others in the game. There's nothing that could be more satisfying than winning an underdog and taking down an entire crime syndicate in the process, so this compelling story hook will keep a lot of players playing until the end.
This is a two-edged sword, however, as this also means that a lot of players will not be playing Star Wars Outlaws simply because there isn't enough familiar ground. There are no Jedi super heroes in this game, for example, which is arguably the fantasy role many fans would like to fill in. Not all Star Wars fans would want to be a scoundrel, and that severely limits Outlaws' audience base.
Still, for those who are deeply invested in the Star Wars Universe, this is a great game to sink their teeth into. It expands on the Universe while remaining faithful to the source material, and a lot of love and care came into the creation of this game's worlds and planets.
From its densely populated city centers to its more sparse farmlands, the worlds in Star Wars Outlaws feel inhabited and lively. It feels like whether or not you're playing the game, the world around you still functions, and the NPCs will go by their day-to-day lives as normal.
It may not have the same level of detail as you would see in games like Grand Theft Auto or Red Dead Redemption, but we've never seen alien settlements with this level of liveliness before.
Star Wars Outlaws is coming out on PC through the Ubisoft Store, as well as on the PS5 and the Xbox Series X on August 30, 2024.
