With Star Wars Outlaws set to land on 30 August, the promise of living out your dream as an outlaw set in the Star Wars universe is imminent. The game is the first open-world action-adventure single-player game set in the Star Wars universe, and there is plenty to love about a game that does not focus on the Jedi and the Sith. It’s also the first Star Wars to feature a female protagonist (sorry, you can’t change up the character, much like Cal Kestis and Lara Croft), and the first Star Wars game focused on being a scoundrel, much like our favourite smuggler, Han Solo.
Prior to Outlaws, most Star Wars games have centered heavily on the Jedi, such as Star Wars Jedi series (2019, 2023), Star Wars: The Force Unleashed series (2008, 2010), Star Wars Jedi Knight series (2002, 2003) and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (2003). Sure, there have been games like the Star Wars Battlefront series, Star Wars: Republic Commando (2005) and even Star Wars: Dark Forces way back in 1995, but those are more shooting games and you have to admit that games focused around the Jedi have far outweighed the rest.
So kudos to Ubisoft’s Massive Entertainment for making a game from a very different perspective of the Star Wars universe (it’s about time!), as it delves into the seedy underground world of a galaxy far, far away, filling the shoes of scoundrel Kay Vess, and her trusty companion, Nix. Timeline-wise, the game is set within a period of civil unrest, during the year between The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983).
As shared by Star Wars Outlaw’s Creative Director Julian Gerighty at a recent interview with Geek Culture, the game’s main campaign should take anywhere between 25 to 30 hours to finish, and completionists who want to finish all side quests can take around 70 hours. And that’s not even counting the hours the player can potentially spend on mini-games like Sabacc in the cantinas.
Star Wars fans, being the usual skeptics they are, have been on the fence over the past few months, stemming from the various game impressions and reveals across the internet. So if you’re still feeling the pull of the Dark Side, and are unsure about the Light, here are five things that stood out for us during our extended hands-on play time at a recent Ubisoft preview event in Los Angeles.
#1. Five Vast Planets To Explore
Kay and Nix’s adventure spans over five planets – Tatooine, Akiva, Kijimi, Cantonica and a Toshara moon. Apart from Kay and Nix planet-hopping to complete the main story missions, there will be plenty of other fun things to do in the “Living World System” that Massive Entertainment had built for the game. It is thanks to this system that there is always something to happening or something to do in the dynamic world of Star Wars Outlaws.
Picture this, you are in a cantina, you can lean against a bar and eavesdrop on conversations and pick up a new quest that sends you to outer space to hijack a shipment or go on a smuggling run. Or while speeding across the vast open space of each planet on your speederbike, you will often chance upon ad-hoc side quests or speeder bike race.
Especially of note are the attention to details the developers have placed to a planet like Tatooine. Star Wars fans will be delighted to be able to speed around the vast Dune Sea, traverse the labyrinth of the rocky canyons, explore the urban hub of Mos Eisley, and more importantly, sneak into Jabba’s palace to sneak a look at Han Solo frozen in carbonite hung up on the wall somewhere within.
#2. Mini-Games Galore, From Sabacc To Retro Arcade Games
Besides doing smuggling runs and heists, the world of Star Wars Outlaws is littered with plenty of mini-games to keep players occupied for hours on end, from card game Sabacc to retro arcade games and betting on racing events.
Sabacc is a popular blackjack-like card game played throughout the Star Wars galaxy, often with high stakes. Alas, winning at Sabacc won’t win you the Millenium Falcon but we expect it to have a life of its own, very much like how The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s in-game card game Gwent got so popular, it spun off into a free-to-play, stand-alone, game in 2018, aptly named Gwent: The Witcher Card Game. It then led to Final Fantasy VII Rebirth’s own mini-game, Queen’s Blood. Here’s hoping that Outlaw’s iteration of Sabacc proves to be worthy of the players’ time to spend copious amounts of time on, and there are even ways to cheat. That’s one way to become the richest scoundrel in the galaxy without even leaving the cantina.
Kay is also able to bet on Fathier Racing in Canto Bight, on the planet Cantonica to earn some additional credits. We have not had the chance to try out this mini-game during our play time so it remains to be seen how the actual mechanic will be or if there is some way for Kay and Nix to cheat.
Nothing beats playing a game within a game, and players will get to play a retro arcade game called Raven Six, an arcade shooter similar to Asteroids. Players will need to shoot down alien ships and asteroids with a crosshair. We hear there is a Trophy (PlayStation 5) and Achievement (Xbox) to earn with Raven Six, much to completionists’ delight.
Even the dataspiking mechanic to open locked vents, doors and crates utilises a rhythmic mini-game setting. Players will have to listen to the rhythmic pattern and press the controller’s right trigger to sync with every beat in the loop. For those who are tone-deaf, there’s an option to enable a visual UI helper, in the form of white circles, to keep frustrations at bay. Or you can simply change the dataspiking difficulty in the options. To add to the tension, Kay is able to peek left and right while tackling the dataspike, to ensure no guards are nearby, as all this is taking place in real-time.
Similarly, when hacking into computer systems, the game utilises a code-breaking mechanic very similar to the age-old game Mastermind, where the player has to guess the correct symbols and positions in a set number of tries.
#3. Your New Favourite Adorable Companion, Nix
Massive Entertainment created a whole new alien species just for the game and Nix is a Merqaal companion that grew up with Kay on the streets of Canto Bight. Think of Nix like Cal Kestis’ BD-1 companion droid, but with a much wider range of capabilities. Nix not only looks adorable, but he can be used to fetch items, disable alarms and distract Stormtroopers with a silly dance while Kay takes them out from behind. While it’s amusing that the troopers are easily distracted by a random dancing alien in an Imperial facility out in space, and quickly go about their business afterwards, we are willing to suspend our disbelief to enjoy the game. It is, after all, a game and we all just want to have a good time.
In situations where there are two enemies present, Nix can even be asked to attack one enemy while Kay takes out the other from behind, before she moves on to knock out the other. Not only that, but Nix can sneakily activate an enemy’s grenade on his/her belt or an explosive nearby, so Kay can watch the fireworks from a safe distance. Stuck behind an electric barrier with no way to get to the other side? Send Nix to a nearby vent to deactivate it so Kay can proceed.
Nix even has an extra trick up his sleeves when Kay is having a round of Sabacc at the cantina. He can even be asked to sneak a peek at an opponent’s card hand to give Kay the upper hand in winning some much needed credits, but just don’t get caught!
Most important of all, Nix is just a great companion to have around throughout the game, so Kay always has some company. Even the subtle detail of Nix climbing aboard the back seat of her speeder bike and having him comfortably nestled in it as she blasts off to the next location is just oddly satisfying to see.
More than anything else, it gives the franchise another reason to make adorable plushes out of the stealthy little companion to melt the hearts of Star Wars fans around the world, much like the one we received during the special preview event.
Did we forget to mention that Nix is invulnerable? So you won’t ever have to worry about him getting killed or knocked out. Let’s just assume that no one in the galaxy far, far away ever bothers trying to hurt or kill an adorable little creature like Nix.
#4. Space Combat & Speeder Bike Races!
Kay’s spaceship, the Trailblazer is a blast to pilot between planets, engaging hyperspace, taking off and landing on planets. Just take a look at the captured gameplay footage below and see how seamlessly the game transitions from the planet’s surface into outer space and vice versa. It’s equally satisfying to watch the hyperspace jumps, which are always a visual treat.
The space combat is also well executed, with beginner-friendly controls to cater to a more mainstream audience. The aiming assist reticle does a fine job of helping players land their shot, while maintaining the fast-paced intensity of the dogfights. When using an anolog gaming controller, the mechanic of simply pressing down on the left trigger to engage a zoomed in focus view really helps with shooting and makes for a very satisfying kill. Locking on and firing missiles are just as easy and fun to watch. It brings us back to the good old days of dogfighting in 1997’s Star Wars: X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter and more recently EA’s Star Wars: Squadrons (2020). It has the right mix of arcade shooter and flight simulator controls to keep the learning curve low while still enjoyable for the veteran player.
In terms of customising the Trailblazer, its base design is more or less fixed. There are some aesthetic options where you can fiddle around with different colour schemes and change up the ship’s exhaust effects. At a later point, you can even buy a turret to fix atop the ship, or upgrade the main gun as well as various types of missile loadouts.
Kay’s main form of transport on each planet is her speeder bike, and not only can she carry out side missions to get upgrades for her speeder bike, such as speed boosts, but she can also challenge random denizens that she come across to speeder bike races to win credits. Think of it like a podrace but with speederbikes instead, where Kay has to speed through a series of checkpoints (depicted by smoke) and maintain a lead over her opponent.
#5. The Empire Wanted System & Syndicate Reputation System
In every single location that Kay and Nix go to, there’s an Empire presence and if Kay commits any crimes and is spotted by Imperial troops, they will start to chase down Kay, to either arrest or neutralize her. If she kills any troops, it will escalate the severity of the crime level which will lead to the Empire sending more formidable troops such as Death Troopers. The game will feature six levels of crime severity, in similar vein to GTA’s wanted star system, but with “space cops”.
During Kay’s adventure, she will need to also balance between maintaining five levels of reputation with each of the four syndicates – the Ashiga Clan, Crimson Dawn, Hutt Cartel, and Pyke Syndicate. The reputations run from Terrible to Bad, Poor, Good and Excellent.
A Poor Reputation means restricted areas for their territories and districts. Syndicate members will shoot on sight, and Kay is not allowed in syndicate districts. If she is spotted inside, she will get kicked out. However, syndicate members will give Kay a chance to prove herself and offer a handful of their available jobs.
A Good Reputation means Kay is welcome in the syndicate’s territories and districts, allowing her to enter syndicate areas, but stealing will not be tolerated. Syndicate members trust Kay and are more likely to give her jobs too. Syndicate-affiliate merchants will give Kay huge discounts and even access to their exclusive stock. First-time members of the syndicate are also given a unique cosmetic welcome gift too.
An Excellent Reputation means Kay can help herself to whatever she needs from the syndicate areas. Syndicate members will offer Kay with all the best jobs available, the merchants will give even bigger and better exclusive deals. But most importantly, she will be given a unique crest along with a shiny new piece of gear.
Players can actually achieve Excellent Reputation with each and every syndicate within a single game run. Balancing that is part of the challenge, but it’s part of the fun because the developers didn’t want it to be easy to attain Excellent Reputation or land at Terrible Reputation. So if you are a completionist, you can take your time to sequentially achieve Excellent Reputation with each Syndicate, reap all the unique gear and rewards before double-crossing them and move on to butter up the next syndicate faction.
Now that’s truly living out the intergalactic scoundrel life you’ve always wanted, and it’s only possible in Star Wars Outlaws, hitting PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on 30 August.
Yonk is a geek who is fortunate enough to have an equally geeky Star Wars fan for a wife, who owns a LEGO Millennium Falcon encased in a glass coffee table as their home’s centre-piece.
Si Jia
Natalie
