Summary
Massive Entertainment’sStar Wars Outlawshas been marketed as the first proper open-worldStar Warsgame since its announcement in 2023, reportedly having even more freedom of exploration than the hub worlds of recentStar Warstitles such asStar Wars: Jedi Survivorby also allowing players to seamlessly explore space in the starship, Trailblazer. As its August 30 release date nears, more outlets have had the opportunity to get hands-on with the game, and therefore, more official footage and opinions have been shared online.
It’s also long been established that protagonist, Kay Vess' actions will have consequences as she navigates the Outer Rim’s criminal underworld andbuilds her reputation. This involves working with the major crime syndicates across a handful of planets, such as the Hutt Cartel and Pyke Syndicate - which have appeared throughout otherStar Warsmedia - and the Ashiga clan, which has been designed by LucasFilm and Massive Entertainment specifically forStar Wars Outlaws.
Building a reputation with each syndicate can be done through unlimited contracts from contract brokers, as well as story missions.
Star Wars Outlaws: Release Date, Preorder Bonuses, Setting, & Characters
Ubisoft announced the release date for its upcoming Star Wars Outlaws game with a new trailer that gave a better look at its setting and characters.
Kay’s Choices Will Have Consequences In Star Wars Outlaws
But It Seems Like These May Be Limited
With the criminal underworld being so cut-throat, it goes without saying that despitecrime lord and chief antagonist Slirobringing the syndicates together to discuss a strategy to profit while the Empire is distracted by the growing rebellion,these syndicates are going to have their own motives and Kay is going to regularly have to decide who to side with.While this all sounds fun to me, and I am looking forward to interacting with each of the distinct syndicates, this early footage seems to indicate that these direct types of choices will be the extent of the ones Kay is allowed to make, rather than having complete freedom in the open world.
I am particularly looking forward to interacting with the Crimson Dawn after reading theCrimson Reigncomics set around the same periodthatStar Wars Outlawstakes place.
Gaming content creatorJorRaptorrecently spent four hours playingStar Wars Outlawsand discussed his experience at length in a YouTube video, stating it didn’t convince him. In this video and a follow-up post on X, he noted thatwhile some of the locations, factions, and general world-building seem impressive, Kay Vess does have some limitations on what she can do.
The first thing mentioned is Kay’s interactions with NPCs, which makes it very clear thatthose who had hoped for"GTA in space"when they sawStar Wars Outlaws' Wanted system and heard the words “scoundrel” and “open-world” are going to be disappointed. As it turns out, Kay can’t steal vehicles from friendly civilians or harm them in any way, much like other creatures found across the open world, suggesting that Kay Vess may be a scoundrel, but she’s not going to fit in completely with her more ruthless peers.
Star Wars Outlaws Interview: Julian Gerighty On Player Choices, What Inspired Nix, & Rogue One’s Influence
The creative director behind Star Wars Outlaws spoke with Screen Rant at Summer Game Fest about what it’s like to step into protagonist Kay’s shoes.
Kay May Be A Scoundrel, But She Seems To Have A Heart Of Gold
No Civilian NPCs Were Harmed In Kay Vess' Story
Considering Ubisoft has pushed the premise thatStar Wars Outlawsis intended as"the ultimate scoundrel outlaw fantasy"- and the fact that characters won’t be following the letter of the law is right there in the name - this did surprise me slightly. A strong focus has been put on Kay’s skills as a thief and a gunslinger and her general resourcefulness. Therefore,it seems surprising to me that some of this resourcefulness doesn’t seem to involve the general open world more in a way, like jumping on an X-34 Landspeeder to make a quick getaway on Tatooine - which would also be a fun nod toA New Hope-, rather than trying to find Kay’s specific speeder to get away from her enemies.
Kay also won’t be able to steal enemy weapons and store them on her speeder, instead throwing them on the ground before she makes her getaway.
While this seems like an odd contradiction to the claims of Kay’s resourcefulness in a pinch, I suppose it is likely tied into the general gameplay progression, as players can customize Kay’s speeder, and these statements about her talents have more to do with how each level can be approached in different ways from stealth, bribery, or a full-scale assault.
Still, it feels weird to me that, after promoting the title in such a manner, there is a lack of complete freedom in Kay’s actions.While Kay’s choices do have consequences, this seems to be limited to the main criminal factions and opening doors to areas they controlrather than having complete freedom to interact with anyone Kay comes across.
If the intent is to make Kay seem more likable as a protagonist, I understand that to some extent.However, the first time we were introduced to the most famous scoundrel in the franchise, Han Solo, we saw him shoot Greedo without hesitation or remorse. At the time, we didn’t really know much about Greedo, nor did we really care. It was shocking, but it showed the ruthlessness of that side of the series, much like Obi-Wan Kenobi - then going by “Ben” - slicing off someone’s hand with his lightsaber in the Mos Eisley Cantina. Even if George Lucas did opt to alter Han’s introductory sequence to have Greedo shoot first in a clear attempt to soften Han by making it an act of self-defense in the 1997 Special Editions, it’s not like the character was unpopular in the 20 years between the theatrical release and these altered versions, in fact, it was quite the opposite.
Therefore, I feel that if Ubisoft wanted to promote a true scoundrel fantasy, there should be the option to have those outside of the criminal factions be impacted by Kay’s actions too.It doesn’t make sense for Kay to only be feared or respected by other syndicates when her actions would likely impact the rest of the districts' inhabitants.It feels like Massive Entertainment made the decision to haveStar Wars Outlawsbe completely free, but only as far as exploration is concerned, rather than Kay’s actions.
Of course, I’ve said before that I am keeping an open mind about the game, as there’s plenty I have seen that I am looking forward to - more in some of theleaks rather than the official previews, funnily enough - andwhile this certainly isn’t a dealbreaker, it just feels like a slightly odd choice to have an outlaw not doing some of the most basic outlaw-type activities seen in other similar titles in the open-world genre. Alas, it’s not too much longer to wait to see just how restrictive this feels in practice, asStar Wars Outlawslaunches on August 30.
Source:JorRaptor/YouTube
Star Wars Outlaws
Set between the events of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, Star Wars Outlaws is an open-world action-adventure game where players hop into the scoundrel boots of Kay Vess, a woman who travels the galaxy Looking for a better life. Together with her furry partner Nix and new allies she meets along the way, Kay will navigate the various landscapes, towns, and planets across the galaxy while outsmarting both Crime Syndicates and the Empire.
