The first Star Wars open world video game is a beautifully designed treat for fans by developers that clearly love the universe, but the gameplay leaves a little to be desired. (Spoiler free)
As a long-time Star Wars gaming lover, I've been waiting for an open-world video game. Hell, I even bought a PlayStation 5 in anticipation of this release, putting my long-suffering PS4 to rest finally. And I enjoyed it! I did my first playthrough in about 25 hours, completing the main storyline. I've since restarted, and am giving myself time to really relax into the game. Like in many open worlds (I'm a huge fan of Assassin's Creed Odyssey and Fallout 4), it takes time to learn, explore, and discover everything a game offers. And to be clear, Outlaws offers a lot—you just have to be willing to work for it.
The setup
You're Kay Vess, a loner thief from the gambling capital of the Empire, Canto Bight. After a job gone wrong, you're on the lam in a stolen space shuttle called the Trailblazer, and tagging along with you is your trusty sidekick, Nix, a creature that's like a cross between an axolotl and a cat. No matter anyone's take on this game, good or bad, they love Nix. We all love Nix. Nix is a damn saint.
He rides shotgun with you on your speeder, can grab weapons and pickpocket for you, push buttons behind energy shields to lower them, and any of a dozen other useful features throughout the game. He's not unlike the little droid companion in Jedi: Fallen Order.
Together, you land on the planet Toshara, where you fall in with a man name Jaylen Vrax, who's putting together a crew for a one-last-time kind of heist against a crimelord named Sliro. The first half of the game is gathering all of the different members (the muscle, the bomb expert, etc.) while the second concerns the actual pull-off of the heist itself. Think a Star Wars Ocean's 11, and you're close.
Throughout the game, you have tons of side quests on the various planets and moons: Cantonica, Toshara, Tatooine, Akiva, and Kijimi. Because you're dealing with all of the underworld elements and crime syndicates, you have the ability to get in good—or piss off—factions like Zerek Besh, the Hutts, Crimson Dawn, and more. There's lots of double-crossing and backstabbing, which makes for a fun, if at times complicated, story.
The gameplay
The first thing any Outlaws player will want to discuss—or hate on—is stealth. This game is not a shooter or a button masher; it's a stealth game. For those not expecting this, it can be kind of frustrating. But I keep coming back to a comment I saw on Reddit explaining this: you're a skinny sneak from Canto Bight, not a warrior or stormtrooper with small arms training. Once I really let that sink in, my perspective changed.
Kay has lots of Imperial compounds and gang-dens to infiltrate, and the stealth gameplay often requires you to not trigger alarms while sneaking around. Once you do, the level restarts, which can be annoying. Much has been said about the AI NPCs being inconsistent in terms of difficulty, but honestly I found several parts to be super challenging.
As a sneak, you have to do lots of slicing (the Star Wars word for hacking) and breaking into buildings. Slicing in this game is basically like playing Star Wars number Wordle: you have to rearrange numbers into the correct order. No real skill is required for this, and it gets repetitive pretty quick. The other way you gain access to doors is with your data spike, which you use by syncing up flashing lights to a trigger. Again, not terribly complicated, but I always liked these breaks in the game.
When you're not sneaking and shooting, there's lots of other activities to keep you busy on the planets. Flying into space is fun, and the space battles are entertaining, not unlike in Star Wars Squadrons.
Traveling in between the planets through hyperspace and approaching them reminds me of Mass Effect. Even in the vastness of space, there's so many little nuances that showcase the developers of Star Wars. When you jump to hyperspace, for example, you move both the joysticks forward simultaneously—you're truly "punching it" as Han would say.
There's also a very a robust Sabacc card game simulator that you can play frequently, and it's surprisingly fun and engaging. Sometimes I'd find myself just settling in for 30 minutes to play this card game with aliens and loving every second.
Spending time in our favorite universe
Honestly, a non-Star Wars fanatic probably won't love this game. The gameplay and story just isn't enough to really impress someone immensely. But if you do love Star Wars, and the thought of just roaming around the Jundland Wastes on your speeder bike appeals to you, you're in for a treat.
The maps are SO comprehensive and detailed, and it's clear that these developers put a lot of love into this game. Here are just a few of the little moments of joy (thanks to some breathtaking graphics) that made me smile—and keep making me smile, as I'm now 40 hours into this game and have no intention of stopping soon:
If these things appeal to you, you'll probably enjoy this game. I wasn't blown away when I rushed through just the main storyline, but as I slow down and take my time, exploring every little bit because I'm a Star Wars super fan, I'm really loving it.
Nerd Coefficient: 7/10.
POSTED BY: Haley Zapal, NoaF contributor and lawyer-turned-copywriter living in Atlanta, Georgia. A co-host of Hugo Award-winning podcast Hugo, Girl!, she posts on Instagram as @cestlahaley. She loves nautical fiction, growing corn and giving them pun names like Timothee Chalamaize, and thinking about fried chicken.
