Star Wars Outlaws Review - A Galactic Adventure With A Few Roadblocks

Written by Brandon Hofer  on August 26, 2024

Reviews: This new open world Star Wars adventure has a lot going for it but a few issues prevent it from reaching its full potential.

Tweet

Comments

Star Wars Outlaws is the beginning of a new partnership between Ubisoft and Lucasfilm Games. It is an entirely new adventure that spans multiple planets, along with some space action as you trying to take down TIE fighters while battling against the Empire. Star Wars Outlaws introduces a brand new character to the universe, along with one of the most adorable (and useful) companions I have ever seen in a video game. Ubisoft is known for their open world games and while Star Wars Outlaws benefits from that, it does have its differences as well. Unfortunately there are also some things that keep this really good game from attaining greatness.

The game starts off introducing you to Kay Vess and her adorable companion Nix. After an incident takes place you are on the run with a Syndicate trying to hunt you down. It doesn’t take too long until Kay is introduced to her first companions who are aware of her predicament. Because of the aforementioned incident, Kay has a death mark on her, which means people will be coming after her to try and collect the bounty. Her new companions have an idea for how she can get rid of this mark and secure her freedom. I won’t go into any more story details for spoiler reasons but this sets Kay and Nix off on an adventure that spans the galaxy in true Star Wars fashion.



Star Wars Outlaws is an open world game where you can explore to your hearts content but you might not have access to everything in the beginning. Certain areas require a special tool to gain access, something you will acquire on your journey. You have a spaceship to initially fly to different planets but once you do that the game’s fast travel system will let you do it from that point on. I have to say that I really appreciate that if I am on Toshara I can quickly pull up the map and fast travel to a location on Akiva. If you want to actually fly there each time instead of utilizing the fast travel mechanic you can absolutely do that. I did that a few times but after a little while opted to use fast travel to save time. Kay will traverse the terrain on a speeder vehicle that is famous in the Star Wars universe she she explores and tries to stay alive.

Over the course of the game you can earn parts that will not only upgrade your Speeder but your spaceship as well. These upgrades will become necessary to give you the best chance of survival, and some of them are required to advance in the game’s story. While the speeder is a really nice way of getting around, the controls for it need some work. Anyone who has ever played a racing game knows that “RT” is to accelerate and “LT” is to brake. The key in the game tells you that as well but that isn’t how the controls actually work. Even though the game says it is “LT” to brake, I constantly had to use “RT” for both acceleration and brake. Whenever I would rely on “LT” to try and slow down I would end up crashing into something, which goes into another problem. There is no speed control on the speeder. If you are in a town and you are able to ride the speeder it will go slower than if you are in the open field but the game doesn’t give you any actual control over your speed. This means you might be racing through a cave or a tight corridor and you will more than likely crash into a wall because of the breakneck speed you are traveling. This is especially aggravating when trying to search for an item or collectible because you can’t move slowly around the location of the item trying to look for it. This is something I hope gets changed in a future patch.



While you can’t really customize Kay as a character, you do have the option of choosing your loadout and how your blaster gets upgraded. Your loadout includes the outfit you wear, the charms you use to gain an advantage, and whatever you decide to give to your cute companion Nix. When you are selecting your outfit be sure to pay close attention to the details because some pieces give you a gameplay bonus while others don’t have any gameplay effect at all and are just there for cosmetic reasons.

As you progress through the game, you will run into different experts. These experts are the key to unlocking different abilities. I enjoyed the progression system here and how it kept you up to date on what you needed. For example, you can learn a lockpicking skill after meeting certain requirements. Different experts will be helpful in different ways, such as the mercenary helping out with your space ship and a “hotfixer” improving some of your offensive weaponry. The requirements needed to unlock these abilities are straightforward, which is greatly appreciated. To unlock the loop maneuver for your spaceship, for example, you need to defeat a certain number of enemy ships and complete a space smuggler contract. Each expert you come into contact with will have six abilities that you can unlock, so there is quite a bit here for completionists who want to try and get everything in the game.



The map in the game is your standard open world map. Star Wars Outlaws has different syndicates which control different areas of the map and your relationship with each faction will determine how easily you can navigate through these territories. There are a number of fast travel points that eventually open up as well so once you get to a particular location you can get there again with just a few button presses. Other markers on the include icons for missing loot, a magnifying glass signaling there is some intel to be found in that area, a magnifying glass with a gear inside it to signify there is a key part of intel in that area, and more. If you come across a piece of land that is controlled by one of the syndicates you can immediately find out the status of your relationship with them. Anything “good” and above and you are golden.

This brings up the game’s reputation system that is tied into the missions and the story being told. The criminal network in Star Wars Outlaws has four different factions that you will have to navigate relationships with on your journey. Your relationship will be in one of five different stages with each faction. It can range from being “terrible” which is something you want to avoid if at all possible all the way to “excellent”. If your relationship with the Hutt Cartel, for example, is “terrible” then they might sent a hit squad after you and anytime someone from that cartel sees you they will shoot you on sight. It should go without saying you want to avoid this if at all possible. An “excellent” relationship with the Hutt Cartel proves beneficial though. You cross the land they control freely, gain access to Hutt buildings, have special fast travel points designated for the Hutts, and much more. If you have a mission that takes you into Hutt territory it should be fairly self explanatory that the mission will go much easier for you if are in good standing, instead of having to sneak around and hope no one sees you.



Throughout the game you are given many different decisions on what you want your reputation to be with each group. Sticking with the Hutt cartel example, some missions will hurt them will others will help them. You have to balance out what you want to do and who you want to do it to. There are side quests where the Hutt Cartel might hire you to do a job but once you get the job done, another cartel will also offer a deal. In that instance you have to decide if you keep the original deal with the Hutts or break that deal and accept the new offer. Both options have potential consequences so you have to weigh the pros and cons of your decision. During my playthrough I had a “terrible” relationship with one of the syndicates and had to dig myself out of it. One way you can do that outside of missions is by finding different intel throughout the world. Once I had that I would sell it to the syndicate I had the worst relationship with so that I could try and get on their good side. There are different ways you can approach but always keep in mind how you are treating the different syndicates and how your gameplay experience might evolve as a result of those decisions.

As you progress through Star Wars Outlaws a number of different side quests will pop up. These quests can range from gaining access to a vault, to finding a job for a droid, or planting a listening device for one of the syndicates. You can also sign up for contracts with the different syndicates but this is also where your reputation really matters. If a contract requires you to have an “excellent” reputation with the Hutt cartel but you only have a “good” reputation, then you won’t have access to that contract until your reputation with that cartel improves. Star Wars Outlaws does a great job of tying this all together and it really will make you think about your priorities in the game.



I mentioned early on in this review that Star Wars Outlaws is a really good game but not a great game. One reason is for the aforementioned speeder experience. Other reasons have to do with a bunch of bugs that are in the game. For starters, combat can be a bit clunky. If you are trying to take cover in a firefight, Kay won’t always stay in cover like she should, or the cover gets in the way. It can get really annoying when you have to fight the environment in the middle of a big firefight. This is shocking to me considering this came from the same studio that gave us The Division, a really fun third person shooter.

A marker for the current quest you are on isn’t always in the correct place either. If you have to find an item in a market, the marker might be 100 meters or more from where you actually need to be and the game won’t really tell you that until you are almost on top of the item. Another annoying aspect for me was the game’s checkpoint system doesn’t always work how it should. There were times when I would get to a location in an Imperial base and get taken out and then be thrown back to the last part where the game auto saved. Sometimes I lost some good progress, and other times I basically started where I was taken out. There didn’t seem to be any consistency with how it worked, and you can’t do a manual save if you are in a restricted area or in the middle of a big battle, so you are left to rely on the autosave. If you are playing on the Xbox version, Star Wars Outlaws doesn’t play well with the Quick Resume feature. There were times when I would come back to play the game, only to have to completely quit out and start again because the game wouldn’t run properly thanks to the Quick Resume. Other games on my Xbox handle that feature amazingly well so I know it isn’t the Xbox itself.



Up above I mentioned how firefights can be annoying at times due to the controls not allowing me to properly take cover. On the flip side of that the stealth gameplay in the game is fantastic and something I opted to use whenever possible. You can quietly walk around and eliminate enemies, similar to how you would do in Assassin’s Creed games. You also have your adorable little buddy Nix who proves to be invaluable. Nix was a key part of my strategy no matter what the situation was. If I had a guard in front of me that kept looking in my direction, I would send Nix over there to distract him. Then once the guard had his back turned, I would sneak up behind him and quietly eliminate him. If there was an alarm in the area, I would send Nix over to sabotage it so enemies couldn’t call for reinforcements if I got caught. If I was involved in a huge firefight, I would also send Nix over to a downed enemy to grab his weapon and bring it back to me to use. There are also puzzles that revolve around Nix, such as him getting through a grate to push a button in the next room to open a door for you. If I had two enemies in front of me I always enjoyed sending Nix to attack one while I quickly stun the other enemy. Then I run up and eliminate the guy Nix is busy with and within a few seconds there are two enemies quickly and quietly eliminated. The team at Ubisoft and Massive did an amazing job incorporating Nix into the gameplay and I enjoyed how I could strategically use him to flip the odds in my favor. Then of course there are street vendors in the different towns where you take a break for a meal and trust me when I say, that you want to see at least one of these. The interaction between Kay and Nix while they are eating is one of the most adorable things you will ever see in a video game and I absolutely loved it.

In addition to that stealth gameplay, there is also quite a bit of action you can jump into in space. Just take off from the planet you are in and you’ll have cargo to find in a nebula, a few stations to visit, intel to find, or perhaps even engage in a dogfight against one of the syndicates or the Empire itself. This is where you really want to have your spaceship upgraded to give you the best possible chance as the enemy moves really quickly here and if you aren’t good at dogfighting in games, you might be in trouble.



Star Wars Outlaws is a game that I have had a lot of fun playing and I really enjoyed that story. With that said, there are quite a few bugs that need to be ironed out. The issues I mentioned during combat, controlling the speeder, and not having field icons be entirely accurate dampen the experience a bit. I believe these are issues that could be addressed in future patches. I went through and completed the game so none of this stuff is game breaking or really hindered my overall progress. I just shouldn’t have to deal with that type of thing in these games. If a patch comes out that addresses these concerns it will turn what is a really good game into a really great game. Overall my time with Star Wars Outlaws was an enjoyable ride with a few bumps in the road. Once those get ironed out, it should be smooth sailing.