Star Wars: Outlaws Review — A Glimmer of Hope in the Galaxy?

It’s hard to discuss the current state of Star Wars without acknowledging the giant space elephant in the room. Like a drunken stormtrooper, the beloved intergalactic franchise has been enduring a few ‘misses’ as of late across its cross-media catalogue, but it is heartening to report that Star Wars: Outlaws is a fantastic experience in the ever-expanding SW universe, as well as being a really enjoyable open-world game on its own merit.

Much like 2016’s Rogue One film, Outlaws is essentially a cousin of the mainline Star Wars formula, which actually bodes well and makes it a lot more interesting than the now well-trodden Jedi vs. Sith milieu, plonking you in the lesser-seen underbelly of the universe. You play as Kay Vess, a thief living on a less-than-awesome planet on the forgotten side of the galaxy, who gets the opportunity to pull off a big score that could change her fortunes. Players get to experience a really enjoyable swashbuckling, scallywag adventure full of alien scoundrels and backstabbing factions that breathe new life into the lore and narrative of the Star Wars universe. It’s more Uncharted than it is The Force Awakens, and all the better for it, telling a much more personal-stakes story rather than a galaxy-altering tale.

To move the plot along, the missions (which take you across the galaxy, on foot or in spaceships) primarily revolve around you acquiring items or key Macguffins to help with heists (often also coming in tandem with high-jinks and daring escapes). All eventually lead to a bigger score that sees you having to side with or backstab different factions. Earning trust or betraying these factions with decisions in dialogue or actions during missions can alter what missions and items you gain access to throughout the journey, which adds some replayability.

The missions themselves often feature gameplay that puts stealth first. Borrowing from the likes of other Ubisoft titles such as Hitman and Assassin’s Creed, you’ll use many similar mechanics (sensing enemies, hiding in tall grass, doing silent takedowns) to slink your way around bases and levels to steal or sabotage things to help you along your way. You can of course take a more aggressive approach and use your blaster to shoot your way to victory, and thankfully, the shooting feels responsive and impactful, making each clean shot of the blasters pistols, rifles and other weapons feel punchy and effective.

Aiding you in combat and general traversal past obstacles is Kay’s trusted companion, a dog-like alien called Nix (what’s a Star Wars story without a sidekick?), who you can command on the battlefield. Holding down the LB button allows you to highlight objects and then order Nix to interact with them. This extends from distracting guards to pushing buttons in order for you to progress, which adds another layer to the stealth and puzzle-solving portions of the game.

In between all this, you’ll have to hack doors and terminals to get access to whatever documents or items you’re stealing, and a rhythm-based hacking mini-game is one of the better spins on the trope that makes opening a door or chest a lot more tactile and enjoyable.

Space battles make up some of the other activities you’ll engage in, with the dogfights being a core component. Weaving through asteroid belts while taking out enemy ships is a great tangent to the stealth-heavy gameplay that makes up most of the experience; and having the chance to scope around these larger space zones for loot and parts along the way makes it all feel very interconnected.

Visually, the Outlaws packs quite the punch. Large open vistas are punctuated by gorgeous planetary backdrops, internal areas are densely packed and well-lit, and the particle effects of the game are immersive and beautifully designed. The one drawback on the presentation front is the voice work and facial movements and expressions looking a little offbeat, but for a game of this scale, it’s something you can easily overlook.

While it seemed like a fairly mammoth task, Massive Entertainment has pulled off an interesting, fun, and dynamic open-world Star Wars game that’ll appeal more to people who love classic third-person action-adventure titles like Assassin’s Creed and Hitman. It’s not without some small presentation and design hiccups, but what works is extremely well executed and a joy to play.

Star Wars: Outlaws is available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC on 30 August 2024.