Ubisoft’s attempt to capture the scoundrel fantasy set in the Star Wars universe looks set to deliver, even if aspects of the open world remain a mystery.
It is a great time to be a Star Wars fan. Between the launch of EA ’s super sequel, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, last year, the recent release of The Acolyte on Disney Plus, and the promise of new movies to come, people aren’t lacking for ways to live out their ideal Jedi fantasy. One side of the galaxy not explored in media for a while, however, is the role of the Han Solo-esque scoundrel, but that's about to be rectified. Her name is Kay Vess, and alongside her trusty companion Nix, the two are set to make Star Wars Outlaws a wild ride when trying to pull off the galaxy’s biggest heist.
Of course, Ubisoft officially unveiled Star Wars Outlaws during last year’s Summer Game Fest. That initial trailer and gameplay reveal made it look cool, but I was still left curious as to whether the promise of the “first ever open-world Star Wars game” would live up to that bold promise. Well, having stepped into Kay’s shoes for a full hour over the course of three missions at a preview event, I’m pleased to say that Star Wars Outlaws is very much shaping up to be the third-person action-adventure we all hoped it would be. Though no means revolutionary by modern AAA open-world standards, it’s that authentic Star Wars attention-to-detail mixed with Uncharted-style exploration and combat that gives me a new hope that the full game could be special when it launches on August 30, 2024 .
The first mission I got to play was simply titled 'The Wreck', which primarily served as a means to showcase the Star Wars Outlaws brand of exploration as Kay and Nix seek to retrieve a nav computer from – you guessed it – a wreck. Luckily, doing so is made extremely straightforward thanks to Kay’s ability to use her grapple hook to swing, rappel, and sling herself to areas both above and below as needed. She’s just as mobile as any mercenary looking to make a quick buck needs to be, and the controls never get in the way of having the job run smoothly – at least for me here. Sure, the infamous environmental yellow paint makes regular appearances here, but it blends in naturally with the wider environment for the most part.
What stuck out to me most was how well Ubisoft and the team at Massive Entertainment were able to capture the cinematic nature of Star Wars in a linear mission such as this too. The mission ends, for example, with Kay bumping into an old frenemy just as she retrieves the nav computer, triggering an explosion sequence that sees her run through the collapsing Old Republic-era ship, dodging debris, and firing off shots at foes, before finally hopping on a speeder bike to make an appropriately zoom-worthy exit. This end sequence very much felt like an escape you’d expect to play in PlayStation ’s Uncharted series, only now with John Williams’ excellent soundscape scoring events and a cute alien critter trailing close behind.
A rogue one
My demo’s second mission, The Relic, is where the choice-based approach to combat began to shine in Star Wars Outlaws. Kay can command Nix to either attack enemies either directly, or distract them from a distance to stealth through a scenario. Equally, though, going in guns blazing means crouching behind cover, popping off shots, and occasionally switching to the stun mode of Kay’s blaster whenever a stormtrooper has the audacity to use a shield. The shooting itself felt a tad stiff, if I’m honest, but multiple fire modes and the ability to use gadgets like a smoke grenade, or pick up enemy weapons (that handle differently) helped keep things interesting. This being a Ubisoft game, Star Wars Outlaws even has its own version of Splinter Cell’s beloved ‘mark and execute’ function, where you can pause time to tag enemies, before unleashing a tirade of gun blasts.
Again, much of this mission is very linear. At least, that was until bringing the titular relic back to its rightful (probably) owner meant enjoying a small stint exploring the icy, glacial walkways of Kijimi. The frozen planet plays host to a relatively dense conclave of NPC passers-by, which only added to the believability of the space and Kay’s need to keep her head down. Unfortunately venturing even slightly off the required path saw me hit with a ‘please return to mission’ warning, as I was forced to contend with merely being teased about how large in scope many of the places Star Wars Outlaws will have players visit actually are.
The mystery surrounding how open the planets will be wasn’t resolved by the final mission I got to try either – False Flag – which sees Kay and Nix fleeing an Imperial warship and flying away from tie fighters in her own vessel, the Trailblazer. Escaping the avalanche of stormtroopers meant slicing a terminal (complete with match-three minigame) and holding them off for long enough to lower the Imperial’s shields and make a break for outer space. It was here where piloting the Trailblazer was introduced. It handles… perfectly fine. Popping off shots at the pursuing TIE Fighters behind me meant getting them in my sights, holding down the left trigger to enter Pursuit mode and firing away with the ship’s blasters. The lock-on is almost too forgiving, lacking any real challenge at all. Far more impressive was the seamless air-to-ground transition as Kay comes down to land on a planet.
I left my hour-long hands-on preview of Star Wars Outlaws reaffirmed that the most exciting way to engage with this universe right now is through video games. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor was my personal game of the year for 2023, so the fact we’re getting another Star Wars title so soon after – that is very different but still could be of similar quality – is exciting. Admittedly, there’s still plenty the team at Massive Entertainment is holding close to its chest – most obviously how open-world navigation works and the scale of the worlds we’ll get to visit. Star Wars Outlaws promises more than Uncharted in space; it promises to be one of the best Star Wars scoundrel fantasies we’ve seen yet, providing the open-world delivers just as much as its set piece missions.