A truly open-world Star Wars game sounds like sci-fi fantasy fulfillment of the best possible kind. A galaxy to explore full of different stories, characters and activities is certainly tempting, and the Star Wars IP has left plenty of inspiration to draw from. We’ve seen gameplay of Star Wars Outlaws previously, but some hesitation has trickled out since it was revealed, with some concerns that the Ubisoft template of open-world experiences isn’t exactly pushing the limits of game design.
Having spent four hours hands-on with Star Wars Outlaws hasn’t necessarily changed my viewpoint. This is an open-world Star Wars game, and it does what it says on the tin. What I’d argue, though, is that this universe is satisfying enough to play around in that it doesn’t need to reinvent the wheel. If you love exploring big open worlds and have even a passing interest in Star Wars, I think Star Wars Outlaws is set to be one of the most satisfying and comfortable games of the year.
The first part of our hands-on time let me loose into the open world, able to do… whatever I wanted. Beginning with a main mission to get used to some of the core gameplay mechanics made sense, and making my way through the first main hub town seemed to offer a bunch of activities you could easily waste time in. Indeed, arcade games, card games, or just seeing opportunities for side-quests pop up gave me the early impression that the world of Star Wars Outlaws is large and full of content.
A stealth-based main mission isn’t exactly the best way to get me on side (Assassin’s Creed this is not), but it did mean I was able to test out Nix, the little cute co-protagonist that accompanies you on your journey. Nix can distract enemies by playing dead, activate switches that are out of reach, or even get in on the fight if you need support. The area I was stealthing my way through had plenty of resources to be collected off the beaten path for those willing to explore, and after a couple of failed attempts, I made my way through. Stealth sections where you have to restart the whole area when you’re seen are the bane of my existence, and I hope the full game doesn’t have too many of them.
“…different decisions that impacted these alliances, and it was interesting to see the ripple effect play out.”
Upon completion, the information you gather from missions can lead you down different paths when it comes to alliances with different factions. The main character Kay is a scoundrel, after all, and deciding who to align with and when can have an immediate impact on how you’re perceived in Star Wars Outlaws. Alliances can make items cheaper in certain stores, or give you access to missions; on the flip side, if you’re in bad standing with a faction, they can block you from entering areas completely, forcing you to sneak your way in. Even in my short play session, I was given different decisions that impacted these alliances, and it was interesting to see the ripple effect play out.
Jumping onto the galactic motorbike and heading out into the great unknown is where Star Wars Outlaws immediately moved out of the linear objective territory and into that comfortable open world that I love to engage with. Within moments, I found myself in an alien bar, where eavesdropping on a nearby conversation clued me in that there was treasure hiding behind a nearby waterfall. It led me on a mini treasure hunt, but along the way, I encountered a Speed Racer who challenged me to a race, which I couldn’t resist. All the while, a key objective of finding parts for my ship was looming.
As is the case with this genre, it’s difficult not to be distracted, but that led me to have a really good time. Have we seen this style of game in the past? Yes. Does it still work? Absolutely, yes. Star Wars has entertained multiple generations with its quirky characters and engaging storylines, and Star Wars Outlaws takes many pieces from that elaborate puzzle and smashes them together. The hours flew by before I knew it, and that bodes well for a game that will surely have 100 hours of content for completionists and fans, if not more.
I took on another main mission before the second part of the preview jumped me ahead to a different destination for a mission called The Relic, which we’d seen gameplay of previously. These story-focused objectives kept things moving along, with well-made cutscenes and intriguing characters to interact with. They also served as a bit of a showcase of the many different elements that make Star Wars Outlaws whole; exploration, puzzle-solving, platforming and of course combat.
They all feel good, despite being formulaic; Kay is able to grab onto specific types of handholds, while also using her grappling hook to traverse longer gaps where required. Nix can be easily directed to flick switches and access out-of-reach areas so that Kay can progress, and if needed, a bit of hacking never goes astray. This hacking, by the way, is some of the most satisfying mini-games I’ve mucked around with, one a Sudoku-like colour and shape grid, another more akin to a rhythm game as you push buttons to the beat.
Shooting enemies feels punchy enough, but it is quite easy to get overwhelmed by larger groups of enemies, so your positioning behind cover is going to be important. The three modules of your blaster (Plasma for primary, Ion for shields and Stun for a bigger attack on a cooldown) feel good in practice, and the sharpshooter-style ‘slow down time marking multiple enemies’ is satisfying to pull off; I hope there are more special abilities and modifications that come later, because what’s there so far is a little basic.
Additional skills will be unlocked along the way as well; while I didn’t dive too deep, it’s nice to see that what you do during gameplay impacts your abilities. For example, using a takedown on a distracted enemy three times, and defeating 5 of them with melee attacks, unlocked a skill called “fast-talk”, allowing Kay to quickly react to alerted enemies and delay their reaction. Unlocking things in this way rather than simply selecting them on a skill tree feels more natural.
Because every video game needs a card game distraction baked in, Star Wars Outlaws has Kessel Sabacc, a simple game of placing a bet, finding the lowest pair and tricking your opponents. It’s far more simple than Gwent or Queen’s Blood, by far, but it’s a nice diversion that has some unique ability cards to change things up, with a bit of luck thrown in for good measure. I played for about 20 minutes, and despite its simplicity and slight riff on what we’ve seen before, I could have certainly played it for much longer.
That was my overall impression of Star Wars Outlaws after my time with it. There wasn’t a lot that I hadn’t seen done before in other open-world games, but it didn’t deter me from playing it and didn’t stop me from wanting to play it more. Even the dog fighting, which I’m not normally a huge fan of, was enjoyable and fast-paced. Traveling between planets feels smooth and slick as well, creating the feeling of a connected galaxy.
Star Wars Outlaws doesn’t seem interested in reinventing the wheel. But it’s a bloody fun wheel, if you ask me.
Star Wars Outlaws will be released on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC on August 30.
The journalist was flown to Sydney courtesy of Ubisoft ANZ for this hands-on preview.
About the Author
Luke Mitchell
he/him
Luke spends his time making radio, playing video games, binge-watching TV, getting unreasonably invested in wrestling, hosting bear events and hanging out with his beautiful pets.
