The Star Wars franchise is one of the biggest in the world, generating tens of billions of dollars for Lucasfilm and Disney. It has spawned some of the best movies of all time, along with TV shows, comics, novels and, of course, video games. Disney has decided to spread their wings a little more, with LucasArts and Electronic Arts no longer having the majority over the big titles. Now, Ubisoft has entered the fray, and there’s no better publisher to do so given their track record for sprawling open world games as of late.
WithStar Wars Outlawscoming out in a little over a month, Ubisoft and Massive Entertainment, best known for The Division titles, have started to finalize development and start spinning the marketing wheel. We got our hands on four hours of gameplay with the upcoming action adventure title, going from the vast world of Toshara to the cold streets of Kijimi. What we were left with was wanting more, as it took us by surprise just how colossal this could be for the franchise.
Reputation System
The biggest component toStar Wars Outlawsis the reputation system. There are four different factions we had access to: The Pyke Syndicate, Crimson Dawn, Hutt Cartel, and Ashiga Clan. Most of these factions are spread throughout the galaxy, so their influence is felt everywhere, some more than others, and depending on your actions in the story, it will affect each in different ways. Almost every mission we went on, side or main quest, affected one or two of these factions at a time. There will be choices Kay needs to make, for example, completing a mission as intended for a given contract, or betraying them for another allegiance.
There doesn’t seem to be a middle ground for these missions as it will always affect one positively while damaging another. So, for example, at the end of a big stealth mission on a large imperial space station where Kay is tasked with deleting data, you have a choice to frame one of two specific factions, benefiting the other. There was never a means of hurting one of the other factions or choosing an option that may benefit both, but instead there are only these two paths to go down. It’s not just quests that will change your standing with factions, as intervening in dogfights in space or getting caught in restricted zones will damage relations.
Depending on your standing with a faction, they will allow you in their territories of operations without any problem and will even give you discounts and access to special goods from traders aligned with them. Min-maxing each faction will likely be a huge part of the completed game, although the worse reputation you have with a faction, the more likely they’ll send goons after you. While we weren’t given many emotional or moral-questionable choices, we wouldn’t be surprised if Ubisoft sprinkled these in to question your loyalty.
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Stealth is an important part ofStar Wars Outlawsas there were various areas scattered throughout the main city hubs that were completely restricted. If caught, Kay is thrown on her butt outside the area and her reputation with said faction will decrease. Outside of cities, missions can be approached with stealth in mind; in fact, it’s almost encouraged and forced depending on the storied quest.
All the characters in a given area have their own patrol or activity they’re doing that keeps them busy, and you will need to figure out their routes to best get the jump on them. If there’s more than one enemy you need to take down, making use of little Nix, your four-legged nimble companion, is vital as they can go attack one of them, which essentially acts as a perfect distraction.
Nix in general is incredible for stealth options, as outside outright attacking enemies, they’re able to sabotage alarm systems, interact with certain parts of the environment which will no doubt be used for a bit of thievery, and just distract enemies to slip by them. In general, there’s no actual reward for going towards this playstyle outside a couple of abilities that can be unlocked, but it’s the sense of accomplishment sneaking through an entire area of enemies without raising a single alarm.
The only thing we did wish was added to the stealth component was a bar that filled up to indicate how much time you have in an enemy’s line of sight before their attention goes from curious to alerted. Regardless, coming from the studio that brought us The Division, we can definitely see the evolution of their stealth capabilities inStar Wars Outlaws. While it’s only a portion of the experience, it definitely feels a lot more fleshed out in comparison to their past work.
While you can play it stealthily, going guns blazing also works most of the time, at least during less covert-specific missions or adventures. You are equipped with a trusty blaster that can be upgraded for lethal abilities or stunning, which the latter is very good against robotic enemies. Other weapons that can be picked up won’t be with Kay for long as she doesn’t like to bring a lot of attention to herself, and having say an A300 Blaster Rifle strapped to her back at all times will certainly catch the ire of the empire. Weapons obtained from downed enemies are temporary, and any action Kay performs, such as going into a vent or picking a lock, she will discard the weapon on the ground next to her.
The general gunplay is satisfying, as you’ll be taking cover and picking your shots accordingly. It’s not anything we haven’t seen before, but it does offer enjoyment whilst in the middle of a firefight, especially with the ear-catching sound effects that will truly immerse players. There is a bit of a Red Dead Redemption style Dead Eye targeting system that occurs when Kay’s Adrenaline meter fills up, which adds a little bit of flair to an already visually stylish adventure. There’s also a Gears of War active reload feature that we really wished more games would use.
Looking past the gunplay, hand-to-hand combat is serviceable. If you’re not coming up from behind an enemy to take them down with stealth, Kay will be swinging wildly to knock them out. It didn’t feel bad, but it definitely wasn’t the focus of combat. At least from what we got to play, it’s meant as an effort to create some distance from an enemy or getting caught and not wanting to raise any alarms more than anything.
In addition, there are a ton of different abilities you’re able to unlock. This includes more stealth options like gaining access to smoke bombs and reducing your movement noise, improving your speeder’s capabilities, and dealing extra damage to enemies in certain situations. There are even some creative skills, such as distracting enemies by fake surrendering. All of these are made available through various unlock conditions, such as completing a certain contract type, collecting a specific item, or defeating certain enemies, just to name a few. It will no doubt give Kay a versatile arsenal of abilities.
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Hacking Mini-Games
There were two mini-games to speak of in the build we played. Picking locks, such as for doors or caches, involved timing your button presses with a rhythm, something a little more creative than simply angling your tools in a certain direction. The other is hacking into terminals to gain access to information or shutting down cameras and opening remote doors. This is one of the more complex mini-games that has you selecting from a large array of symbols to fit a four-symbol code.
If a symbol doesn’t belong, it will simply remove it from the pool, whereas if one of the symbols does belong but is in the wrong place, it will turn yellow. This is where you need to use your head a bit by mixing and matching the different symbols based on how you’ve ordered them over the past couple of tries. It gets more complicated the further you go into the game, with some symbols being linked to one another, although it does help eliminate bulks at a time. These mini-games aren’t too intrusive, although they were pretty plentiful in the demo. They broke up stealth and combat to offer a little more fun and quick thinking.
Open World
While the demos we got to play were limited to specific planets, we did get a bit of taste for the open world aspect Ubisoft is well known for. As soon as we started things up, we were immediately introduced to our speeder bike that can be fully upgraded to your liking – something we unfortunately weren’t able to access with our time. This will take Kay around the vast world, provided there are open areas to use it.
Of the two planets we visited, Toshara offered a good look at the open areas we can expect for the complete game. Each location is generally sectioned off as a specific faction’s territory, and once again, depending on your standing with them, their patrol men will either ignore your presence or treat you with hostility. Most of the world is pretty empty, although beautifully rendered, with only a few settlements and structures scattered about for you to find side quests or collectibles in.
The one thing that took us aback was the amazing graphical prowess Ubisoft has been able to implement. The worlds we got to explore were absolutely beautiful, bustling with visual fidelity we’d never seen in a Star Wars game before. It’s not completely barren as there’s still wildlife scattered about and ships flying above to give you a good sense of scale and events that are beyond Kay herself. Just riding the speeder around is one of the most serene experiences you’ll have in any Star Wars game. The cities are surprisingly dense, with some fantastic lighting effects. It truly immerses you in the Star Wars world like never before.
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Space Combat
This wouldn’t be a Star Wars game without a little bit of space combat. Once we fixed up Kay’s ship, the Trailblazer, we were soaring through the stars and doing a little bit of dogfighting in the process. Combat is relatively simple. You have your standard cannons and concussion missiles, along with laser turrets when upgraded. Concussion missiles can be locked on while your cannons need to be aimed and fired free-hand. There’s something satisfying about taking down a ship and then having it spiral out of control until it crashes into some debris.
While combat can feel gratifying, the evasive maneuver button feels out of place. Not necessarily the fact you have one, but the way it’s animated. It’s almost like we’re still playing a third-person character shooter and your character hops left or right to dodge. Your ship will simply jolt to the left or right to dodge incoming attacks, which feels a little out of place from the smooth sailing in space.
You’re also able to fully upgrade your ship’s abilities, although the demos we got our hands on didn’t have much to tinker with. You can upgrade your artillery, both blasters and homing missiles, along with your propulsion and defensive capabilities. All you need are materials collected or earned in various parts of the galaxy to fully customize your ship to your liking. This will undoubtedly play into the open world aspect, having so many side quests to choose from.
Star Wars Outlawssurprised us. While we were only able to get a few curated hours with the game, it still gave us a good impression on the likable protagonist, fast-paced combat, and satisfying stealth mechanics. The universe of Star Wars is so massive that it feels like there’s an infinite number of stories to be told, and having the charismatic Kay and her adorable sidekick Nix at the helm certainly helps tell a compelling adventure. The gunplay also has a lot of potential, especially with the number of upgrades that can be unlocked for both Kay and her trusty blaster.
There are some concerns we do have about hand-to-hand combat and whether space battles will get old, but for the most part, we’re hopeful everything will come together. It certainly helps that the open areas and dense cities bring the world to life like never before, immersing you in one of the most iconic franchises ever created.Star Wars Outlawsis a riveting experience that, if you’re a Star Wars fan, it’ll scratch an itch you didn’t think you had.
