Star Wars Outlaws is a breath of fresh air for a worn-out saga – First impressions

A long time ago, in a galaxy not so far away… there was no more talk of good Star Wars games. Of course, the film series fell into oblivion until 2012, when the universe created by George Lucas would gain new life, all after Disney’s billion-dollar purchase (US$4 billion to be exact).

Since then, everything has changed: five films (with four more in production), six series, fourteen animations and six games are part of this great wave of products that are constantly trying to get down our throats until we say “enough, that’s enough!”. Don’t get me wrong, I love Star Wars, but there is a limit to everything.

Although Star Wars Battlefront (2015) and Star Wars Battlefront II (2017) have more mistakes than successes, it was with the Jedi saga, started by Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (2019) that the franchise had a breather in the games with exactly what every self-respecting fan always asks for: a good story. Its successor, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (2023), which was also well received by the public and critics, came to say that at least in the games, Star Wars is in good hands.

But how long will we continue to control characters who possess the power of the force, who brandish lightsabers everywhere? The universe of the franchise is huge, so why not tell other stories? Mercenaries, smugglers, fugitives? Fortunately, Massive Entertainment and Ubisoft not only listened to these cries, but also decided to tell a new story in an open world through the eyes of a thief and her faithful companion.

At Ubisoft’s invitation, we played four hours of Star Wars Outlaws, a game set between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, in 1080p via the cloud. Here are our first impressions of what could very well be a new breath of fresh air in the galactic saga!

A very alive universe

In this gameplay, we had access to two places on the Outlaws map: Toshara, a desert moon that vaguely resembles Tatooine if it had vegetation, and Kijimi, an icy planet led by the Ashiga clan, where I only played for one hour of the four available. After her ship crashes in Toshara, Kay Vess is sent to a nearby city to find parts so she can repair the damage caused by the crash. In the first few rides with the Speeder (which is somewhat truncated in its movement), you can see that they really put a lot of effort into the planet’s landscapes: canyons, vegetation and riverbeds end up showing you the way to go, without having to use the compass much.

However, the coolest details are not in the external environment, but rather when you enter the citadel. A dirty place awaits you, in the best Mos Eisley style: music, people who don’t give a damn about you, side conversations and bets await you there (yes, bets: if you want to bet on a Fathiers race or play a little trick, it’s also possible). If by chance you hear a conversation from an NPC that interests you, an arrow will point you in the right direction (and yes, it’s all in Portuguese with confirmed dubbing).

Additionally, some NPCs comment on certain actions or events that happen within the game. At one point, I had to infiltrate the territory of an enemy gang (here divided as Syndicates) and ended up causing a bit more trouble than I should have, causing the characters around me to react and comment on what had happened.

Your actions will have consequences

In Star Wars Outlaws, you can join Syndicates, which are equivalent to gangs that will have some importance in your journey. You can join all of them, but be aware that, like any gang, there are also rivalries: you won’t be well regarded if, for example, you are part of Jabba the Hutt’s syndicate while also being part of the Ashiga Clan.

Each syndicate has different missions that will give you respect within the place, as well as exclusive items and rewards that can give you an advantage in fights, such as a weapon or even special grenades. There is an implicit rule within the game that is: don’t steal from others, but if you do steal… don’t get caught. Sometimes you will need to recover an item or document within enemy territory, so be stealthy and think carefully! If they catch you, it will look bad for you.

At certain points in the story, you’ll have to make choices that can be good or bad, depending on which side you’re on. Turning someone in, staying quiet, or playing dumb can all affect your story, but I couldn’t see how much this would affect me in the four hours I played or if it will only be present in side missions.

Star Wars Outlaws lets you make choices throughout the story.

Furthermore, your reputation counts in Outlaws: the more crimes you commit, the more soldiers and mercenaries will be on your tail to take that little bit of cash at the end of the month.

Play like a bastard and learn from it

Perhaps what really caught my attention about Star Wars Outlaws was its gameplay. Although Ubisoft is publishing, the developer was Massive Entertainment (The Division, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora), who drew heavily from their past work to create the Star Wars atmosphere.

Initially armed with an Uncharted-style grappling hook and a blaster, Kay can switch between two shooting modes: plasma, designed to battle enemies, and silent shooting, designed to take down some enemies or even robots and cameras, knocking them out as soon as they hit. As you fight or shoot at the right time, your adrenaline system increases and gives you an ability very similar to Red Dead Redemption’s Dead Eye, allowing you to take down several enemies at once (I confess I only used it once).

Combate de Star Wars Outlaws.

However, if chaos isn’t your style, you can opt for the stealth side of the game, and that’s where Nyx, your partner and best friend, comes in. At first, it seems that Nyx will only help you with some tasks in the game, such as pressing unreachable buttons or acting as sonar, but he does more than that: sabotaging alarms, destroying systems, distracting enemies or even stealing are some of the feats that this extremely cute little creature can perform. Unlike the eagles in the Assassin’s saga, this companion actually serves a purpose.

And speaking of stealing, what would a thief be without her pick-lock? At first it’s a bit hard to understand, but then the logic becomes clear: to open locks, you need to hit the padlock with the controller, no turning the analog stick to one side and trying to open it with the other, your memory and agility will count here. And like every good hacking mini-game, Outlaws also has its own: to open computer systems, you’ll have to use and abuse logic in what seems like a galactic version of Wordle.

Yes, we have ships too

During the demo before arriving at Kimiji we participated in the game’s first ship battle. Although the scenery is beautiful (complete with a destroyed Imperial ship floating above the planet), I had the impression that they left the space gameplay for last, having had better experiences in previous games in the saga.

The controls are a bit confusing, since the logic they used to maneuver the ships is a bit different on the analog sticks (one controls the ship’s axis while the other controls the movement). It doesn’t get in the way, but you can see that a little more time would make a difference.

Nave em Star Wars Outlaws

Okay, but what about the loading screen when entering a planet? As demonstrated in the last Ubisoft Forward, the loading screen is “disguised” as a transition when entering and leaving planets. I was able to see this up close, both when leaving Toshara and when entering Kimiji, and I can say this directly to you, Ms. Ubisoft: give a raise to whoever came up with this idea. It’s impossible not to compare it to Starfield, but this small detail makes the immersion even greater, especially when it comes to Star Wars.

Fresh air for a dated franchise

In these four hours of Star Wars Outlaws, if there was one thing I can say without any fear, it’s that yes, I had a lot of fun playing. Although the game has some bugs (confusing ship controls, places with no indication for jumping or climbing), it seems to be something that can be fixed until its release, which is now, August 30th.

If by any chance you were tired of lightsaber battles and the famous good versus evil, Outlaws seems like it will be the right breath of fresh air in a saga that has bet more on quantity than quality. Just like Rogue One and Andor, every now and then it’s good to change perspective for those who fight to survive in a galaxy that doesn’t help the unfortunate. And in this regard, Ubisoft did a great job.

Star Wars Outlaws is scheduled for release on August 30 on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S and X.

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