Ubisoft’s newest Star Wars title, Star Wars Outlaws, has received mixed reviews. Released in August, only 1 million copies have sold worldwide despite its up to $300 million budget. This is said to be one of the reasons Assassin’s Creed Shadows (amongst other controversies) was delayed. But is it that bad of a game?
It’s true; after what happened with CD Projekt Red’s Cyberpunk 2077 fiasco, gamers are at the end of their ropes with unfinished, buggy, and downright unplayable games, and who could blame us? During early access, did have bugs, and when Ubisoft pushed out a patch, players’ save files were lost, causing players to have to restart their adventure.
A big complaint from fans is that they wanted to be Han Solo. Based on the timeline, this wouldn’t have worked, considering Han was already occupied and frozen in Carbonite.
But Kay Vess isn’t a Han Solo impersonator. Kay Vess is still a very green scoundrel in the Underworld. She hadn’t even left her home planet of Canto Bight. Like many in the galaxy far, far away, Kay hoped to find a better life for herself and her adorable sidekick Nix.
Some were disenfranchised by the lack of Jedi and Sith wanting to take control of another force-sensitive hero who managed to escape Order 66 over a fresh-faced Outlaw who is still figuring out how to effectively play the syndicates.
It can be awfully jarring to have a character who has never left their planet suddenly be a pro at flying spaceships. Kay’s struggle to get her stolen ship space-born adds levity but also realism. Why would she know how to fly such a rare model? Instead of simply hopping into the pilot’s seat and inexplicably knowing exactly how to get the ship moving, we see humanity in Kay. She simply doesn’t have the knowledge and fumbles around until something works.
Kay is not naive despite this, which is evident in her wary nature and sarcasm. This doesn’t mean that Kay is infallible, after all. The mission that leads to Kay’s departure from Canto shows that she’s in it for the credits, not glory, and certainly not saving the entire galaxy from the Empire. Honestly, Kay has a very fake it ’til you make it type of outlook, and it works.
It seems all games are open-world now, which has led to many players simply being completely burned out. The large, expansive maps we all once adored now become an overwhelming environment, knowing that there will be countless side quests and a variety of collectibles waiting to be found. Adding yet another open-world game to your library can seem daunting, even to try to start the game. You could easily focus on just the story, but you’d lose the lore and rich environments, not to mention learn more about Kay and find upgrades that will make Kay’s journey through the galaxy easier.
The thing is, this is the first open-world single-player game in the Star Wars universe. The worlds are populated beautifully, with a variety of events happening. From being chased down by bandits to entering a syndicate-owned area, you feel like the planet has life. There are a variety of animals, some familiar to a fan of Star Wars, some new.
Nix is not just an adorable axolotl-looking creature. He can sense things around them, distract or steal things, and even start a fight so Kay can get the upper hand. Kay can send him to set off canisters, sabotage things, and even open pathways that Kay wouldn’t be able to get to.
Additionally, if players go eat with Nix he gets the food as an item that can buff certain abilities he has.
Star Wars Outlaws is not a terrible game, and for many players like myself is very enjoyable. Ubisoft did do a good job of bringing us to a galaxy far far away, and worked parallel with the timeline of events. I don’t mind that the graphics aren’t Ghost of Tsushima levels; they are still beautiful. The soundtrack fits the game well, helping with immersion greatly. The fact that Steam players won’t get this game until the end of November is frustrating, as I truly believe had it been released on day one on Steam it would have done better. Ubisoft may not be the developer to like at the moment, but the actual crew who crafted this game did so out of love for the franchise.
Despite its flaws, I truly believe that one day, Star Wars Outlaws will be considered a diamond in the rough.
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