Star Wars: Outlaws gameplay reaction
Star Wars: Outlaws is a new game set in-between Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi, where players will take control of scoundrel Kay Vess as she makes her way through the galaxy to clear her name and start a new life. This game is made by Massive Entertainment, Ubisoft, and Lucasfilm Games, and will be the first Star Wars open-world title.
Revealed during the Xbox Showcase and then gameplay shown at Ubisoft Forward, this title will explore the criminal underworld of Star Wars during civil war, meaning there is plenty of time for opportunity.
So far, there is only confirmation of the Pykes being in the game, but hopefully the other major syndicates will likely be present (Crimson Dawn, Black Sun, the Crymorah Syndicate, and the Hutt Clan). Many minor ones will probably be in the game too, like the Droid Gotra.
Vess isn’t alone in her mission to clear her name, she’s joined by Nix, a cute animal voiced by Dee Bradley Baker, and a BX Commando droid in a trench coat, looking ripped. It’s with this core group Vess will perform a heist the galaxy has never seen to clear her name.
The gameplay showed Vess stealing an artifact from the Pykes, and the game lovingly recreates the Pykes as seen from Solo: A Star Wars Story and The Book of Boba Fett for canonicity. When this mission inevitably goes wrong, and Vess escapes via speeder bike (which will be an exciting part to play), a little icon comes up saying the player has lost standing with the faction.
This small icon brings a huge amount of excitement, because of the potential effects. It will make working with the Pykes harder no doubt, perhaps they’ll attack the player on sight instead of handing out missions, and it might make more gangs sympathetic to working with Tess. It gives the player the chance to join whatever criminal faction they want, and role-play as a Black Sun operative or Crimson Dawn freelancer.
Another part in the trailer that’s exciting is the opportunity to either cosy up to the Empire, or attempt to ignore their presence. At one point, the trailer shows a prompt where an Imperial can either be bribed into forgetting she saw Vess, or, if Vess denies her the bribe, what feels like the entire Empire will be set on her.
This leads to a quick bit of space combat, which looks quite simplistic, which is a bit disappointing really. Hopefully there’s the chance to modify Vess’ ship, but that wasn’t shown off so it’s too early to tell. Space combat doesn’t look like it will be a huge deal, more clearing a path to escape rather than staying for the whole fight. Vess fights a few TIE Fighters before fleeing into hyperspace, which looks awesome, a very clever loading screen.
She arrives at a new planet, and that’s where the trailer ends. Something not mentioned are how many planets will be in the game, and how big they are.
Another point Ubisoft will have to reconcile is how this game fits in the Star Wars canon. As the player is presented with many options to interact with the world, how it will fit into the wider Star Wars story is something that could be difficult, but there were no hints given about how that might happen.
Star Wars: Outlaws will be released in 2024.
