Star Wars Outlaws Review: Galaxy Theft Auto

Star Wars Outlaws at a Glance

Star Wars Outlaws is, undoubtedly, in a difficult position. Not only has Ubisoft set high expectations by bragging about it being the first Star Wars open-world game (which is shocking), but it’s coming off the back of last year’s Jedi: Survivor, a sequel to one of the best Star Wars games.

Fortunately, Massive Entertainment’s open world game does nail an interesting setting for the galaxy far, far away, giving players a mostly Force-less adventure with a great cast of characters and exciting action. However, an avalanche of bugs and glitches, as well as some frustrating pacing issues, stops it from reaching sci-fi perfection. Our full Star Wars Outlaws review goes over all the need-to-know information.

Sci-Fi Godfather

Taking place between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, it’s no surprise that Outlaws is less about the Force and more about the criminal underworld within the Star Wars universe.

Despite moving away from the setting, the familiar Star Wars formula stays with Outlaws, primarily thanks to Kay Vess – the main protagonist of the open-world title. Like many other Star Wars stories, from the farm boy dreams of Luke Skywalker to the street smarts of Rebels’ Ezra Bridger, Kay isn’t exactly a distinct character in the galaxy far, far away.

However, unlike other protagonists in the franchise, Kay doesn’t just become a hero for the Rebel Alliance – in fact, Outlaws is about surviving the many crime syndicates while also pulling off one of the biggest heists in the galaxy. Most of the events of Outlaws teach Kay that there are only a few people she can trust – but both sides of the galactic war will use people if they need to.

I really like this approach. The cast of Outlaws, whether it’s Kay and her crew of outcasts or the various side characters and syndicate bosses, makes for an exciting tale in the long-running franchise. While it’s undoubtedly a Star Wars story that doesn’t really go too deep, it’s a solid blockbuster affair that delivers a good narrative—even if the pacing is a little odd at times.

Star Wars Outlaws also shines as its own tale in the franchise, confidently standing alone against the baggage of the rest of the series as a whole. Of course, it’s beneficial to have some knowledge of the events surrounding the narrative in Outlaws, but it’s still a strong entry on its own two feet, much like EA’s Star Wars: Jedi series.

Death Trooper shooting their blaster rifle in Star Wars Outlaws gameplay. (Callum Self via Techopedia)

The star of the show is undoubtedly Kay’s Axolotl-style pet – Nix. The cute little alien is Kay’s best friend, and in a set of Watch Dogs-like commands, Nix can help out in many ways by setting traps, distracting enemies, or straight up attacking them in firefights. The best thing is that he’s an essential part of the plot and isn’t just a gameplay mechanic, giving you an emotional connection to the cute creature.

Shoot First, Ask Questions Later

Since the release of Episode IV back in 1977, there’s been an ongoing debate as to whether Han or Greedo shot first. While the answer depends on which version you’re watching, there’s no doubt that you’ll need to keep shooting first if you end up in gunfights as Kay Vess. You’re not an armored heavy trooper nor a Jedi knight. As Kay, you’re practically a glass cannon – you can deal great amounts of damage, but you will die quickly.

A lot of Star Wars Outlaws gameplay relies on stealth-based action, with obstacles, vents, and Nix being your best options to avoid detection. Within Imperial bases and syndicate hideaways, there are plenty of enemies patrolling, and one wrong move can make the difference between being hunted or sneaking by. However, many missions only end if the alarm is triggered, so the option is always there to shoot first.

Like any other Star Wars content, things are more fun when they go wrong. Kay can ‘fast talk’ for a few moments to avoid being shot at as soon as she’s detected, but the intensity ramps up as soon as you defend yourself, ending up with a blaster fight that feels exhilarating. It’s clear that a lot of the gunplay feels solid thanks to developer Massive Entertainment’s experience with The Division series. However, Outlaws still feels wholly unique compared to the grounded realism in the looter-shooter.

To help survive infiltration missions, Kay has a variety of tools at her disposal to make it past any enemies. Nix is still the best pet to have in these missions, allowing you to set traps in case Stormtroopers use alarms or distract guards for a quick takedown. You’re not entirely defenseless, though. Kay also has a stun attachment which can put enemies to sleep, and later upgrades give you essential stealth features that make things a lot easier.

Admittedly, the first few hours of shootouts feel a bit clunky. However, once I earned some more modules for Kay’s blaster, things felt a lot better, and while Kay only wields one gun most of the time, you can easily pick up others from the bodies of fallen foes or armories to get powerful blasters that are limited in ammunition.

Ubisoft is typically known for its cookie-cutter open-world games, with basic side quests that feel both repetitive and dull. Fortunately, this game doesn’t really suffer from this issue. Of course, there’s a laundry list of extra objectives to complete if you’re up for it, but the worldbuilding and reasons behind each side job feel excellent and made me want to do them – something I typically don’t want to do in open world titles. Whether it’s completing a job for a syndicate to improve your reputation or finding materials for upgrades. Star Wars Outlaws stands tall in league with some of the best open world games in this respect.

Unfortunately, the Star Wars Outlaws gameplay I experienced isn’t without its issues. Firstly, I had an avalanche of bugs during my playthrough. Many of them were minor visual issues, like random black boxes when flying in Kay’s Trailblazer ship that lasted a few seconds, but some were game-breaking. One time, I was randomly stuck in a rock during a mission as I was covering behind it. Another time, Kay randomly started floating while hanging onto a ledge of a box.

I also found the spaceship sections to be fairly boring. I’m certainly happy they are there, and it’s much better than Starfield’s non-existent space travel, but it feels like Kingdom Hearts’ Gummi ship segments – fodder to drag the play time along. I was counting down the minutes to land so I could actually start enjoying the game again.

With that said,? the most disappointing part of the experience is the climbing segments – and there are a lot of them. It seems Massive Entertainment was going for an Uncharted vibe for the platforming setpieces, but they are not polished in the slightest. Numerous times Kay didn’t latch onto ledges she should have, and one time, I even fell to the bottom of a climbing section after five minutes, leading me to sigh in annoyance and go back to it. It’s bizarre seeing how well this was handled in the Star Wars: Jedi games years earlier, too.

All told, however, I really enjoyed the Star Wars Outlaws gameplay loop. Every moment felt intrinsically Star Wars, like experiencing a movie from the biggest sci-fi franchise in action. There’s something so fun about watching things go south and making it out alive by the skin of your teeth, which never gets old – despite its many flaws.

The Bottom Line

In all honesty, Star Wars Outlaws gameplay isn’t anything too unique, but it’s a solid third-person shooter that remains interesting throughout its 20+ hours runtime. After just a few hours, you get a sense of what to expect for the rest of the experience, but by some sheer magic (maybe the Force itself), the title manages to keep things entertaining, never overstaying its welcome but giving completionists plenty of additional content to enjoy.

I hope Ubisoft gets further rights to making Star Wars games, to tell new and exciting stories within the galaxy far, far away that feel just minorly connected to the main Skywalker Saga. It feels like an old Star Wars game brought into the modern era, delivering a side story that beautifully captures the sci-fi series with a Godfather meets Ocean’s Eleven vibe. As our Star Wars Outlaw review outlines, the foundations here are very strong, it just needs a little more tightening up.

The Star Wars Outlaws release date is very nearly upon us. Things officially kick off on August 30, 2024, for those buying the standard edition. However, you can start playing tomorrow (August 27) by pre-ordering either the Gold Edition or the Ultimate Edition for $110 and $130 respectively.

FAQs