The Force is NOT strong with this one.
Prior to 2022, I had absolutely no interest in the behemoth of a franchise we know as Star Wars. I was not very open to science fiction for the majority of my life, and space just scares me – in the sense that the universe’s way of making me feel unsubstantial really sends me into an existential spiral. This was until I was living with a friend for a while, and their Mandalorian bobblehead was fun to playfully hide.
As an IP, Star Wars Outlaws certainly is not crashing and burning, but it is not exactly flying high, either. Playing the role, akin to that of a typical Han Solo-esque scoundrel, predominantly feels fascinating. The game does capture the vibe of the Star Wars setting with its solid open-world design. Nevertheless, a mountain of major problems obscures Star Wars Outlaws’ greatest qualities.
Considered as a whole, the game’s many faults—from technological hiccups and erratic writing to a few dated design decisions and more—make it difficult to forgive its frequent and often noticeable missteps. Perhaps this is not the Star Wars game you have wanted.
As I mentioned earlier, the writing here can sometimes be exceptionally mediocre. You control the utterly uninteresting and unremarkable Kay Vess in Star Wars Outlaws. It is a type of personality that gets pushed onto you far too often. Her lack of charisma, depth of feeling, and drive is palpable. Nix, her pet, and ND-5, your unexpected droid buddy, are her only positive qualities throughout the narrative.
Kay’s fondest ambition is to depart from the hectic planet and become a major player in the criminal web of the galaxy. There is not much standing in her way, save that she is not even considered a tiddler in the underworld.
No one else you brought on board for the heist was worth their salt in terms of writing, either. Truthfully, though, they rarely see many opportunities on the screen. Sliro, the villain, really gained my favor at the game’s conclusion. All he wanted to do was run his criminal enterprise. He did nothing to us other than act retaliatorily since we were the ones who had stolen from him.
In Star Wars Outlaws, Kay faces out against many criminal organizations, many of which are, unsurprisingly, at odds with one another. The quickest method to harvest reputation points is to take up contracts from them. Your ability to access gang-controlled areas and shops and gain fresh ensembles and blaster skins is directly proportional to your syndicate reputation.
Betraying one gang for another is an option and will affect your reputation score. I had no trouble getting a respectable reputation with any of the game’s criminal groups, and I could have easily maxed them all up with another ten hours of repetitive contracts. The reputation system just comes into its own, resulting in a system that contributes significantly to bringing the game’s thieving fantasy to life.
To make it known, I love open-world games—in fact, I often find myself enjoying the worst of them. However, I was not very satisfied with Star Wars Outlaws’ attempt at it. Ubisoft’s usual suspects are unoriginal puzzles, tedious copy-and-pasted missions, and a great deal of emptiness in feel.
There are a lot of rough animations, the movement is awkward, and the parkour and traversal are sluggish and stiff. A noticeable lack of technical polish makes even walking about as Kay seems unexpectedly uncomfortable. You cannot help but feel irritated when even the most basic controls fail to function properly when playing.
As for space travel, it was also somewhat dull. Most of the time, your only options will be to engage pirate ships or search for floating goods to steal from. Side missions may also be obtained by conversing with NPCs or listening in on conversations to get extra details. But most of the side materials were also pretty dull.
Somewhat surprising about Star Wars Outlaws is that it is mostly a stealth game with only a little action. And when it comes to stealth games, Star Wars Outlaws is up there with the worst of them. The missions are poorly designed and have lousy stealth mechanics.
Star Wars Outlaws’ unreliable opponent detection is the game’s primary and most annoying flaw. During quiet takedowns, adversaries may sometimes see you from across the field of play, or they may be able to see you as if they have eyes on the back of their heads. On the other hand, there are instances when you may run right past them, and they are unlikely to understand. Additionally, if an opponent spots you, every adversary on the level receives the same alert and knows just where you are.
The mission design has another major flaw. You have to complete half of the story objectives without ever being seen by an adversary or setting off an alarm. The only way to complete missions without being detected is to repeatedly replay portions until you discover the best strategy. Playing the game in this manner is very tiresome and unpleasant. Due to the nature of the missions, you will not have many opportunities to adopt a more action-oriented play style, although it is available.
To illustrate the point, consider a mission in which Kay is tasked with stealing a spacecraft from an imperial station. Despite the fact that you are unable to set off alarms while on the mission, you will find explosive barrels strewn over the floor. Of all the stealth mechanics, the one that stood out to me was Nix, your pet friend. Though you may utilize Nix to explode the barrels, doing so covertly will trigger an alert by the guards, forcing you to fail the task immediately—regardless of how undiscovered you were.
Since the player is unable to accomplish the goal with the present devices, the inclusion of these barrels in the level raises the question of why they are even there. From a game designer’s perspective, it is completely useless.
Find a security terminal or a button to turn the cameras off since shooting at them will typically cause you to fail the operation. Being detected by a camera also instantly notifies all enemies of your whereabouts and often causes reinforcements or the operation to fail. I am not a fan of Star Wars Outlaws as a stealth game.
I began to like Star Wars Outlaws’ action in the few instances where it did not mandate a stealth playstyle. But there are definitely some problems. On my list, the absence of diverse firepower is the most significant. The blaster pistol is practically Kay’s only weaponry throughout the game. This blaster may be used in three distinct modes: Plasma for straight DPS, Ion for shields and droids, and Charge for explosive shots. You can also access a one-hit stun shot with a cooldown of around 45 seconds.
You may also retrieve weapons that foes drop, but each gun has a limited supply of ammo. Worse, Kay will just let go of the firearm whenever you interact with your surroundings, which is rather bothersome. It is like, girl? Are you okay? Do we need that?
Outlaws also have a truly average progression system. In order to get access to new skills, you must perform in challenges rather than the usual leveling up. Many of these skills are just minor gear enhancements, like stronger smoke grenades, extra health and protection for Kay, etc., so it’s a bit of a stretch to call them abilities. Although some of Kay’s clothing may feature passive statistics, such as enhanced grenade capacity or adrenaline on takedowns, it is important to note that none of her outfits have an armor rating.
Star Wars Outlaws is gorgeous graphically. It is one of the things the Massive Entertainment team does well. Unlike Bethesda games, ten individuals seem to occupy the same enormous environment. People are buying, selling, and chatting all over the place. Massive Entertainment has a profound understanding of urban planning.
The landscapes are also distinct. Every planet in the game has its own distinct ecosystem, with towns nestled in forests, deserts, and even freezing wastelands. In later parts, you will enjoy thrilling jet skiing across lakes, as carefree as a summertime jerk. The game’s visuals are spot-on in their depiction of Star Wars, taking place on planets and locations we have never seen before while enhancing the overall energy of Star Wars Outlaws. The same applies for the soundtracks, they are what you would expect of a Star Wars title.
To conclude this review, the stealth gameplay is a clunky mess, and the mission design feels like a chore rather than an adventure. The story and characters are so forgettable that you will struggle to recall them even moments after they are gone. A vast majority of the open-world content is filler, and the genuinely fun moments are buried so deep that it is like they have been locked away in the back of a vault, never to see the light of day. Star Wars Outlaws was hyped as the ultimate thief’s fantasy, but in reality, it is more of a misfire than a bullseye.
