To say the past year has been rough for Star Wars fans is an understatement, with Disney releasing disappointing TV Shows that continue to muddy the brand while at the same time trying to place the blame on the fans themselves, and the fact that any mention of Star Wars nowadays is a lightning bolt for the worst aspects of social media to come and attach themselves to it. We now have another steel rod for people to latch onto, though it’s still too early on who will stay attached once the dust settles, but for those who know the Ubisoft cycle, they can just pull up a lawn chair and grab a bucket of popcorn and watch the fireworks from a safe distance. “Star Wars has gone open world,” I kept seeing on all the marketing; by that, they mean the open world in the Ubisoft sense, just a large map with a checklist. But as I started the game, I was impressed by how committed they were to giving us the smuggler dream that fans have wanted ever since 1313 was taken from us; then, as the hours went on, that goodwill slowly started to dribble out of me.
Star Wars Outlaws occurs between Episodes 5 & 6; Han Solo is captured, Luke Skywalker is having father issues, and the Empire is focused on hunting down the Rebels rather than governing the galaxy they have in their control. This is the setting for the game: a collection of gangs are trying to use this current turmoil to control the galaxy’s underworld, and you play as Kay Vess, a wannabe thief trying to make a name for herself. But a botched heist leads her on a quest to escape her problems until she is recruited for a heist, and then the rest of the game becomes a mission to get the crew together. This was the first pacing issue I found with the game’s story; I would have liked it if the getting the crew section started within the first hour of playing; instead, here, it starts around the 3-hour mark. But I will say I did enjoy her character; she fits perfectly into the smuggler archetype that the series is known for and doesn’t come across as “in over her head,” an issue most characters in these types of situations have. I also enjoyed the story, even near the end, when it started to make some interesting choices that I gave them props for sticking with as we reached the endgame.
But the gameplay, on the other hand, was a mixed bag, to say the least. If you have played any Assassin’s Creed game in the past ten years, then you have already played Star Wars Outlaws, except without the “knife blade into the throat” aspect of the previous. When you unlock the open world after the first planet, you can either go on the main path on each planet or just drive around on your personal speeder bike and explore the other content here. However, most of it involves going to one place and either sneaking in or blasting up the place to collect something, and then you are given a choice between two different gangs on which one to side with. This was an interesting mechanic because it gave you an incentive to choose one gang over the other, but in the end, it just makes some quests easier and some more annoying. You can also level up more organically; by completing a select side quest, you unlock a group of challenges, and when you complete them, you unlock the skill. I liked this aspect because it inspires experimentation within the game world. Then you have the space combat, which is fine; it’s not good or bad. It’s just there, but I did have some fun when trying to maneuver around a squad of TIE-Fighters.
Then you have the other side of the coin: the amount of times the game will frustrate you. I’m not talking about bugs; I did encounter some of the most common ones, such as the game not triggering the completed puzzle until I jumped off a cliff and respawned. I’m talking about the game design choices that were made intentionally for additional immersion; however, in the end, they just make the player experience more frustrating. Like how it’s a coin flip on how sensitive the AI is during the forced stealth sections, they can either ignore me as I’m in eyesight from them or can sense me from across the base and trigger the alarm. Also, while you are on your speeder bike, you can’t free aim your blaster to get pursuers off your back; you have to charge up the adrenaline, then activate a deadeye-like mechanic and blast them that way; it doesn’t help when the targeting only selects one when you have six people on your tail.
In the end, I really wanted to like this game more than I did. I went into it with no expectations and avoided the steel rod this time, and it was middle of the road at best. I enjoyed what I played, but I probably won’t remember it in the near future, and I don’t want that from Star Wars. But I’m starting to feel that’s what it is nowadays, another brand to use. But if you are a fan, you will get some enjoyment out of this; just wait a few weeks until it’s fixed up and on sale. But I do hope we get another one; there is a foundation here to improve and explore other aspects of the galaxy; it’s just their first rush out the gate didn’t feel all that impressive.
Score: 6 out of 10
Reviewed on Xbox Series X