Our own Gray Aris reviews Star Wars Outlaws:
“Star Wars Outlaws is an enjoyable but flawed game. Its exciting combat and decent stealth are marred by a forgettable story with lifeless characters. It’s pretty on the outside and sounds good, but is held back by disappointingly limited exploration in an inanimate world.”
Update, September 16th: Gray adds an Addendum
Beginning the Game
This game made a great first impression on me. The first hour or two was tight, with an exciting story, varied gameplay, and what started like a fun adventure. I really enjoyed the opening on Canto Bight – first running around the city with Nix, finding, stealing and betting your way to paying off your debt, then sneaking your way into Club Tarsus while learning the game’s stealth mechanics, all culminating with a thrilling city escape and heist.
The First Planet and the Core of the Game
On Toshara, the first main planet, I was having even more fun with the addition of the speeder, open world, and faction system. Mirogana is a mostly well designed city (I got lost more than a few times) with an especially great overall vibe and interesting faction base headquarters that changed as you allied with factions. If you are in a faction’s good graces you can walk right in and if you are not you’ll have to resort to less honest means. This could include some force stealth, but not anything too crazy and I found sneaking around enemy bases to be stimulating. The speeder is exhilarating; it lives up to its name and I enjoyed zooming around the map and jumping off ramps, especially when you unlock additional mechanics such as boost. There are races against NPCs, faction and imperial bases, and plenty of treasure hunts that you might embark on after “overhearing” a conversation with some hot tips. The story missions were especially exciting, taking you deeper into enemy bases, crash sites, and old imperial structures. These offered variety through their mix of combat, platforming and stealth, as well as the best lockpicking game I’ve ever encountered, with a simple yet satisfying rhythm mechanic that allows for swift break-ins once you get the hang of it.
The main mechanics of the game are combat, stealth, exploration, and platforming, with betting mini games and Sabacc on the side. The combat is a bit like Uncharted’s, scrappily running and gunning around the battlefield, taking cover, and picking up stronger enemy weapons to really do the job. I found the combat to be serviceable throughout the game, offering thrills and excitement but never really blowing me away. The stealth too was enjoyable, classic/typical Ubisfot stealth depending on what camp you fall into, with enemies that will only see you if you’re within a 140 degree arc in front of them and lose sight of you and give up searching easily. To me, it seemed very similar to Assassin’s Creed stealth, sneaking around behind cover and hiding spots, disabling alarms, tracking enemy movements, and taking them out one by one (or two at a time with Nix’s help) should you choose to. I found this to be fun – I’m not a huge stealth person so I appreciated the stealth’s simplicity and ample tool set, such as being able to whistle, stun enemies, and sense and outline enemies through Nix’s abilities. Nix also offered flexibility through his ability to steal or fetch objects, disable alarms, and open doors all from afar.
Limitations Reveal Themselves
With all of this variety and excitement, I started the game off doing every side mission and treasure hunt on Toshara and enjoyed my time on this planet. But,slowly, I was starting to see the limitations of the game. The world was beautiful and seemed exciting but it felt like you were existing alongside it rather than in it. You couldn’t climb much in the open world, limiting exploration, and in the city you could hardly interact with anything. NPCs and animals wouldn’t notice or react to you and at times it felt like walking through a (beautiful) demo rather than existing in a game. I also was lamenting the lack of fluidity in movement. The rope and climbing felt slow and clunkier than Uncharted (which I was really hoping the game would be like). Not to mention not as exciting in terms of paths, setpieces, or even Uncharted’s famous stumbling during climbs.
Space!
Still, I was enjoying the game despite these faults and I was excited when I got my spaceship, the space gameplay feeling like what I wished Starfield’s space stuff played like. The ship controls nicely, with smooth turns, fast stops, and a boost, and features shields, laser cannons, and missiles. I had a lot of fun doing the exciting on-spaceship gameplay at the end of the first space section. I didn’t spend as much time in space as I could have, in large part to me just not being much of a space combat fan. The spaceship gameplay was solid throughout my time playing, it just never stuck out to me.
New Planets
Once I got to Kijimi, however, the limitations and faults began to show even more. The city wasn’t very beautiful (though it wasn’t supposed to be, so this can be forgiven) and the interactivity was again very limited. Still, the “outside” of the city sections were exciting and adventure filled and I was having a good time. The world was made with love that you could see in things like the cute eating a meal with Nix that the developers didn’t have to do but still devoted time to. And the game still felt very Star Wars, with aliens and space chatter abound.
The next two planets made me feel a lot more disappointed than they opened the game up. The gameplay was still the same, with the gunplay getting tired through lack of features like being able to hold onto enemy weapons and the stealth beginning to show its cracks. More than that, the worlds just didn’t feel great. Akiva was largely the same throughout, just lots of green and water and the interconnectedness of the map didn’t amaze me like the level design in Respawn’s Jedi games did. Tattooine even more so, just a whole load of (mostly) lifeless and unpopulated desert (though this makes sense of course). But these are two of the game’s four planets and they feel like single biomes (really, all the planets were, I came to realize) and none of them really awed or struck me on my 1440p maxed out settings. I was really disappointed by the time I got to Tattooine, with even Mos Eisley boring me, and I am a huge Star Wars fan.
The Essence of my Grievances
The game never really evolved, just stayed more of the same. Uninspired platforming, Ubisoft stealth, and good but never great combat, though the game did slowly add some blaster mods, stealth tools, and of course a couple of biomes. Uncharted and the Jedi games had consistent core gameplay that didn’t change much over the course of the game too, but those were a hell of a lot more fun. Outlaws started off fun but never thrilled me and grew weary over time as I saw more of the classic Ubisoft “sneak onto enemy bases” gameplay that I’d seen in many Assassin’s Creed games and the new Avatar game. All of this might be forgivable; if not for the story. The story was really just not that good, most of all because of the characters. ND5 was a pretty lackluster main companion, seeming a bit too much like a generic human-type droid and none of the experts were featured enough for me to care about them. I couldn’t describe them to you more than “Ank is a small furry alien who loves to blow things up.” The whole game, I was waiting for the story to really get exciting, and then I was just disappointed as I realized what the game’s version of exciting story meant. Not to mention, the factions were less of a factor than I’d been led to believe. Sure, I had the Pikes chasing me everywhere I went and I could walk onto any Crimson Dawn or Hutt base and buy cool gear but the exclusive missions I played were just more contracts. Steal this cargo, interrupt this weapons deal, yadda yadda yadda.
The Best Part of the Game
The soundtrack to this game is absolutely incredible. It enhances the game, whether you’re sneaking around an imperial base or speeding away from some syndicate, the soundtrack knows where you’re at and matches the vibe to perfection. It enhances the game and is easily my favorite part of it.
The (Spoiler-Free) Ending and Getting Tired
All of which brings us to the final section of the game. Here the gameplay felt more of the same, and it was more apparent than ever that the “set pieces” were really just basic levels – they didn’t alter with explosions or the floor breaking like Uncharted or the Jedi games and the explosions were just kind of eh. The gameplay was more of the same – sneak your way around a mostly linear base with some rooms to really play around with the game’s mediocre stealth that might change into a shootout where you need to make sure no alarms get raised. And most of all, the story just did not do it for me. I was not attached to any of the characters, even disliking some, was not really afraid of the villain, and saw most of the twists coming. It was disappointing to say the least.
Final
And that’s where I left it. I may do more contracts and play around with the faction system while I seek out to fully upgrade my abilities/speeder/weapons but that’s mostly because I haven’t settled on what game to play next (until GoW Ragnarok releases on PC next week). I love Star Wars, but I did not love this game. It felt repetitive and limited, with little to no excitement or variation with the setpieces. I was a big defender of this game at first but came to agree with a lot of the criticisms I saw, as well as how it still felt pretty “Ubisoft like” with its stealth mechanics and repetitive base structure. Which could be ok – Ghost of Tsushima had repetitive base structure , but it also had an exciting story, terrific gameplay, and a beautiful world. I cared about the world and was happy to be in it. With Outlaws, I was really only happy to be in it because it was Star Wars. Otherwise, I may have dropped the game midway through.
Final Rating: 5.5* (with a Star Wars cushion)
* This rating has been updated in the Addendum!
Afterthoughts
Performance Notes: On PC as of 9/14 I experienced crashes, 5-10, as well as a frequent glitch where it would be like a second camera would shake along with the first. This would usually only last a cutscene, but sometimes (maybe 3 times) lingered into gameplay and I had to restart the game. Game is pretty demanding, much more so than the Jedi games, though it is newer.
And lastly (probably), this game has a cinematic perspective so it is ultra widescreen and has black bars on top and bottom if you’re on a normal display. This really bothered me. You can zoom in to fill the screen, but this cuts off the sides of the screen and (to me) feels awkward.
Tl;Dr Summary: I definitely don’t regret playing it and had fun with it, but that fun withered and I was very ready to put it down by the end.
My least favorite parts of the game were the interactivity, story, platforming, and set pieces (or lack thereof). Gunplay and stealth weren’t bad but weren’t enough to compensate for these deficiencies.
Addendum
After exploring the post game a little more, I’d like to add some thoughts on exploration, progression, side missions, and graphics.
Exploration
While exploration abilities are limited, guided exploration opportunities are plentiful and sometimes joyful. I found myself smiling walking through a dead Sarlacc, brandishing a mesmerizing purple light to light my way through the dark. Another mission had me speeding up a ramp on my speeder to jump to another level, from which I rock climbed and grappled my way to new heights, ultimately blowing up rocks and lighting electrical boxes to unlock the door to the treasure I sought. They can make for exciting adventures should you decide to embark on them.
Progression
After you meet with various experts and complete their according missions, you’re given challenges such as defeating a certain amount of dark troopers in a row or achieving a number of headshots, often as well as obtaining materials. These experts and their challenges unlock new abilities, such as an electro-shock prod for elite takedowns, a laser turret for your ship, or additional shots in your deadeye-like adrenaline rush. Though these upgrades are relatively minor, they add new options and can add variety to the gameplay should you choose to use them. Similarly, you can alter the game by obtaining minor upgrades for your blaster through the trading of materials littered around the game, or achieve stat upgrades or new characteristics through the purchasing of certain clothing. Some of the upgrades are nice, such as increased bacta healing vials or extra adrenaline gains, but I didn’t find myself needing or noticing most of them.
Missions
Side missions mostly consist of intel, contracts, and the aforementioned expert missions. Intel contains useful information such as the locations of stolen goods, treasure, or key parts for abilities and upgrades, contracts, essentially leading you on a treasure hunt. These locations can be on land or in space, and while the regular intel missions are repetitive, the key intel offers more exciting opportunities to explore and or blast your way through enemies. Contracts are the most generic missions of the game, having you steal, smuggle, or spy. These missions offer currency as well as reputation rewards, though favor earned from one clan typical comes with disapproval from another. Expert missions are a bit more detailed, offering multiple stages such as locating the expert, performing some errand, and then fighting alongside them. These missions offer dialogue that might give insight into the experts backgrounds. Though, as mentioned before, I did not find any of these characters compelling.
Graphics
Graphics were a mixed bag. On my capable RTX 4090 laptop I was able to play on Ultra settings with quality DLSS and a framerate of around 45 fps. However, I sometimes had the game drop by 20+ fps and it wouldn’t return to normal until I restarted the game.
At times, usually in cities and cantinas, the game was gorgeous, bright, colorful and varied.
Other times, open areas and bases had the game looking generic and drab. I found the forests of Akiva and the deserts of Tattooine to be particularly lackluster. Human faces in the game appeared flat and dull, though I found the aliens to be much more impressive. One thing I noted was that Kay’s jackets and shirts always looked great, from her default leather jacket to Lando’s sabaac shirt and cape combo. When I dropped the game to mid quality graphics, I began seeing what many players meant with their “Xbox 360 graphics” complaints.
Additional Synopsis
Outlaws offers a plethora of missions and exploration opportunities, though oftentimes these are generic and limited. The game finds strength when it takes you on explorative tours through the forest of Akiva, or when it creates lengthy missions that take you from a Jawa sandcrawler to the insides of a dead sarlacc to a high speed speeder chase across the deserts of Tattooine. I had my complaints and objectives to the game but overall had an enjoyable time with it.
Updated score: 6.5/10
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