Star Wars Outlaws review. Did Ubisoft finally succeed?

Since its announcement, Star Wars Outlaws has provoked a strong reaction from players and bloggers (mostly Western). They criticized the company’s pricing policy, the appearance of the heroine, and some game conventions shown in the trailers. All of this turned into a real snowball, and the closer to the game’s release, the more negative publicity the game and its publisher received. But finally, the game is close to release and we can share our thoughts about Star Wars Outlaws after having played the game in person, not after watching the trailers.

Not Han Solo

Since childhood, Kay Wes has survived by stealing on the streets of her native planet. As an adult, the girl decides to radically change her fate by robbing a big kingpin, which allows her to start a new, prosperous life.

After this prologue, we find ourselves on the planet Toshara, where our adventure and path to earning a reputation among the cartels that share gangster power in a distant galaxy begins.

Kay, of course, can’t match Harrison Ford’s charisma (who can?), but she manages to interest us with her lightness and youthful ease. We learn about her character through her dialogues with other characters, her improvisations when she is put in a seemingly dead end, and her willingness to take on adventurous tasks. Even without realizing the consequences of her actions and without understanding what she is signing up for, Kay manages to get away with it, even in the most difficult situations. She is a typical fortune seeker who primarily responds to benefits for herself. Which is not a disadvantage in the context of the adventure genre.

In terms of mood, Star Wars Outlaws is more similar to the first Uncharted installments. Like young Nathan Drake, Kay is not burdened with family life and responsibility for anyone but herself (and Nyx). That’s why the game’s atmosphere and the story itself have a light, relaxed form. Although sometimes the developers make a choice that will affect the fate of an entire nation. But even in such moments, it feels like the responsibility is somewhat understated because this choice affects someone else, not the heroine herself.

One of the problems that prevent us from fully enjoying an adventure story is facial animations. The actors play their roles very confidently and emotionally, and I have no complaints, but on the screen everything looks like the characters are speaking with their mouths closed. And this is in the cutscenes, not in simple conversations or comments while we are running around the world.

The main plot of the game is to assemble a new and more professional team to help rob a rich man for the second time, cancel the bounty on his head, and finally start a new life. The team members usually stay on the ship, and our faithful friend and partner Nix accompanies us on our travels. The animal is not only cute and has a good potential to bring large amounts of money from merchandise sales, but also plays an important role in the game play.

Shoot first

Nix can bring any item, from resources to weapons, even during a fierce firefight with the enemy. He can open a door or distract an enemy, allowing them to sneak into another room, or stun them without raising an alarm. Nyx can also easily drop a poorly suspended object directly on the enemy’s head, or sabotage the enemy by blowing up a gas cylinder or damaging the alarm panel. He can even attack one enemy while you are dealing with another. If you look at the game mechanics, Nyx has almost more functionality than the main character.

It’s a classic open-world action game. We determine the degree of our adventure and its length by completing secondary quests. The resources received for completing additional tasks allow us to improve weapons, bikes, and ships, or to find clothes or amulets with bonuses for Kay, such as gradual health recovery. Such bonuses will add a little comfort and possibly make it easier to complete certain episodes. This is especially true for Kay’s sneaking and stealth bonuses.

Quests expand existing mechanics and open access to new ones. For example, the standard way to pick locks is a sound puzzle. But after completing an additional quest, you will get another way of hacking with the selection of icons. It’s not used in story missions until a certain point, but completing it immediately will open chests with resources and doors that can make it easier to advance through enemy bases in the early stages of the game. And it is nice that the game rewards not only with additional resources but also with mechanics. The same applies to weapons and ship and motorcycle upgrades.

Kay’s abilities are unlocked and improved by fulfilling additional conditions. For example, quietly neutralizing enemies five times will unlock the ability to talk to a guard if we are caught. This gives us a window of a few seconds to deal with the enemy before they arrest us. After using this mechanic several times, we will be given access to another one. And so it goes with all the heroine’s abilities, no leveling points or levels.

This system feels completely unobtrusive because these improvements are optional. Yes, they improve our life in a hostile world, but if you decide to run through the story as fast as possible, ignoring all the additional mechanics, the game will not put a spoke in your wheel. It will allow you to do so.

Nix also has his perks, but only one can be active. They work like food, which gives corresponding bonuses. They are discovered in restaurants, after which they are allowed to be changed in the menu. Ordering each dish is accompanied by an interactive skit that is charming and fun.

I was also pleased with the variety of tasks. There are two ways to enter the bases. The first is to shoot every enemy you encounter noisily, while worsening your reputation if the attack is on a cartel. The second option is quieter and partly has several ways to get in. Moreover, you learn about some of them when you are already trying to leave the place of penetration. The same applies to tasks inside cities and towns.

The mechanics of stealth are basic. We hide behind boxes, sneak through the ventilation, distract the enemies with the help of Nyx, or lure them with a whistle. The main thing is that the developers provide this variation, and it reminds us of Deus Ex or Dishonored, which is already a compliment.

The combination of shooting, stealth, parkour, and lock-picking mechanics made me practically clear the entire first planet, which took me about 10 hours, if not more. However, in general, the gameplay in Star Wars Outlaws can hardly be called a perfectly calibrated action game. It’s just a well-made game that gives you a choice of several mechanics, each of which is not perfect, but good enough to entertain the player.

Reputation comes first

An important aspect of the game is Kay’s reputation among syndicates. It has the greatest impact on the player. With a positive reputation, merchants open up, giving discounts on goods, bonus items for Kay and Nix, and the ability to walk freely through the clan’s territory. And if the reputation drops to the level of hostility, the syndicate members start ambushing and attacking as soon as Kay’s hair appears on the horizon.

The first planet, Toshari, is ruled by the Pyke clan, but Crimson Dawn is breathing down their necks and trying to take a piece of the underground pie. By building a reputation with the Pykes, you can make your life a little easier. This syndicate keeps control of the planet, and therefore we will be able to open teleports to almost every corner of Toshara. A good reputation with the Crimson Dawn does not give such a bonus, and this is quite logical due to the hierarchy of clans at the time of our arrival, although there will be a few teleporters as well.

An open confrontation with a clan will slightly spoil your reputation with them, but neutralizing opponents by sneaking won’t affect our relationship. The greatest impact on reputation is the choice in missions, especially in story missions.

Outside of the main quests, you can improve your reputation with Contracts offered by all Cartels. These are simple tasks such as installing a bug on the territory of the enemy Cartel, hacking the security system, or delivering cargo from one point to another. The latter type of task even gives you the opportunity to legitimately complete the task or leak the delivery location to a rival clan at the end. Some contracts have only one chance to be fulfilled. If Kay is caught, the task is considered failed.

Another effective way to improve your attitude is to give up important information. For example, information about the movements of the emperors. This data is not very common, so it is better to think about who is more profitable to improve your reputation with at this point.

Separate from the clans is the Empire, which considers itself above all others. They are the legitimate authorities here, and relations with them are built like the police from the GTA series. If we get too brazen near the Empire’s patrols or outposts, or even openly attack them, our wanted status starts to rise. If we are caught, we will receive a fine. But if we manage to escape, we can pay off a corrupt officer in the city for a small fee.

In general, the reputation system looks like an interesting add-on for an open-world game that adds to its liveliness. Unfortunately, the developers did not develop it to the maximum. The reputation does not actually affect the main story, but runs parallel to it. Bugs and disappointments bring a bit of frustration. At one moment the mechanics work according to one rule, and the next it works according to another. And at first, it’s not clear whether it’s a bug, changes made with a patch, or the system is simply broken. This can happen once or twice per game, but it does affect the overall experience a bit.

A taste of adventure

The open world here is somewhat different from the classical understanding of this world-building, as events unfold on several planets. The planets, like a pie, can be divided into three layers: the atmosphere, the open location of the planet, and the big city. Although the second, winter planet is devoid of open spaces. I was pleased to see that landing on the planet and flying off into outer space is seamless, thanks to an interactive cutscene in which we can slightly maneuver the ship while it takes off. The ship has simple physics, it’s easy to control, and the shootouts with enemy crews look dynamic and exciting. Especially when you fly past the wreckage of large cruisers or out of the fog, and a giant block of ice appears right in front of your nose.

At first glance, open locations look large, but traveling through them is fast and convenient. In cities, there are several quick travel points to major intersections that open immediately upon arrival. The open world also has them, but it all depends on the clan with which we have good relations. But even without them, traveling on a bike is fast and allows you to plunge into a small adventure once again.

The first surprise came when I opened the game map. It was completely clean, with no question marks or other activity, just completed tasks and open merchants.

Additional activities, question marks, bases, and secrets only appear on the radar when we stumble upon them while traveling in the open world. The atmosphere of adventure is enhanced by small events that push you to search for treasures and resources. You can go to a completely unremarkable roadside cafe and overhear a conversation between two smugglers discussing where the goods are hidden. Or a guy will gladly share the location of a valuable artifact for a few coins. At the same time, you can stumble upon these same places by accident simply by taking a wrong turn.

There are also more passive ways to relax in the game. In cities and small towns, you can find arcade machines, or you can bet on horse racing. There is also a card game called Sabac. The rules are relatively simple, but the excitement is high. Particularly skilled players are even invited to separate VIP tables in closed rooms. Just like in the announcement trailer, Nix can spy on opponents’ cards. This process looks quite funny, but it has its benefits. If we get caught, our opponents will start to be more careful, and if we are too brazen, they may even throw us out of the table. Then we will have to wait a bit before we are allowed to play again.

I played on PS5 and artistically the game looks great, from desert plains to snowy city and water-filled rivers and streams. Everything is spoiled by the aggressive use of FSR (FidelityFX Super Resolution) technology. This becomes noticeable in open locations, when bushes, stones, and water mix into an incomprehensible mess, especially when traveling around the world at speed. In cities and locations with fewer small objects, this problem is practically not felt. It’s also less noticeable when using the Quality mode with a limit of 30FPS, but if you have a powerful PC, I recommend that you pay attention to this version of the game.

Worse than before

The second unpleasant surprise was bugs. No game is free of them, but in the recent games I’ve played, they’ve mostly been visual glitches and minor technical issues that don’t generally spoil the experience. In Star Wars Outlaws, I’ve encountered bugs that went beyond the permissible norm.

For example, at one point, the character was constantly in combat mode, which made it impossible to save quickly or manually. I noticed this when I died while trying to rob one of the clan’s bases, which caused me to be punished and roll back to the nearest save. In my case, it cost me about 20 minutes of game progress. Also, the energy doors stopped opening after I reloaded the save, although everything worked fine before. It is noteworthy that the studio’s previous game, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, was devoid of such serious technical problems.

Preservations themselves are not perfect either. They strangely preserve intermediate progress. Resources and hacked terminals are rolled back, but treasure chests found on bases remain found. As a result, you still have to run around the base and re-collect all the resources by disabling surveillance cameras and turrets.

Also, in some missions there are very few intermediate saves, and manual saves are not always allowed.

For many people, there was also a controversial decision regarding the widescreen format in which the game was shown to us. In the menu, you can return to the classic 16:9. On consoles, the «cinema» format only adds to the mess, but does not increase the viewing angle. Judging by video about the features of the PC version, the horizontal viewing angle is increased, making the image look like it was shot with an anamorphic lens. Among recent games, this visual method was used in Hellblade 2.

Star Wars Outlaws is a classic adventure with all the advantages and disadvantages of the genre. Charismatic characters find themselves in dangerous situations that they cause themselves. However, the developers managed to move away from the already classic Ubisoft open-world formula and create a platform where the player feels like an explorer, and where a small adventure awaits around every corner. This is not a new word in the genre, but just a good, sometimes exciting, adventure. Nothing more, but nothing less.