Quick Verdict
On paper, everything about Star Wars Outlaws was appealing to me. The Ubisoft games I’ve spent the most time with over the past decade are both The Division titles, developed by Massive Entertainment (the same studio behind Star Wars Outlaws). This also meant that I wasn’t one of those people who is tired of the Ubisoft formula, because I really haven’t engaged with it much in recent years. Another appealing factor was the idea of an open-world Star Wars game without Jedi or lightsabers, featuring characters who are just everyday people in the Star Wars universe. The stakes feel a bit more personal and relatable.
Unfortunately, an unforgiving checkpoint system, inconsistent stealth detection, and bland gameplay resulted in a pretty forgettable experience. While there are a couple of shining moments throughout the experience, they are few and far between. I also encountered some game-breaking bugs and other frustrating issues that forced me to repeat tedious sequences. Overall, it was a disappointing experience from start to finish, and left me hoping that an indie developer can finally get an opportunity to create a Star Wars game.
A Galaxy Too Far
Star Wars Outlaws puts players in the shoes of Kay Vess, a scoundrel accompanied by the adorable Nix, looking for a big score so they can start a new life. The story focuses on the criminal underworld and syndicates in the Star Wars universe, including familiar figures like Jabba the Hutt and the Hutt Cartel. There’s also the Pyke Syndicate and Crimson Dawn. The game has some nice surprise appearances, but it mainly focuses on original characters. It’s a more grounded story centered around assembling a crew for the ultimate heist. It’s a pretty generic tale, and if you’ve watched any of the dozens of heist movies available on Netflix, you’ll probably have a good idea of how the story will play out.
On the journey, Kay and Nix will make new friends and enemies, while heading to several planets with different biomes. Star Wars fans will love the open world areas that Massive Entertainment has created, virtually putting the player at some of the most iconic locations including Mos Eisley on Tatooine. I found exploring these planets and uncovering the little details the team added much more interesting than the gameplay itself. As for the speeder, I don’t have any strong feelings on it. It reminded me a lot of riding the motorcycle in Days Gone, a little clunky at times, but overall manageable. But like much of the other aspects of Star Wars Outlaws, it’s just not very memorable.
Hiding in Plain Sight
Some may disagree, but at its core, Star Wars Outlaws is a stealth game. At the risk of stating the obvious, the level of enjoyment you get from Star Wars Outlaws is largely dependent on the style of stealth gameplay you prefer. I found the stealth in Star Wars Outlaws frustrating and tedious. In my experience, there was a wild inconsistency on when and how enemies detected me. There were instances where I was crouching right next to them and nothing happened, while in other scenarios, enemies detected me through walls. Making it worse, the checkpoint system is very unforgiving, and you can easily lose half an hour of progress if you trigger an alarm. Sometimes, on your first pass through a level, it’s not even clear why an alarm was triggered, further adding to the frustration.
I had a hard time finding any enjoyment from the stealth portions of the game, and there’s a lot of it. At least one-third of the game involves crouching around and trying to stay undetected. While that makes sense given that you’re a single scoundrel with a pet trying to infiltrate a heavily guarded Imperial base, there’s a disconnect when Kay can punch a fully armored Stormtrooper in the face and knock them out. Many of the levels feel repetitive with little charm to them, as you go through the motions from getting from one place to another, hoping you trigger a checkpoint so you don’t have to repeat 30 minutes of careful sneaking around. I honestly can’t recall a single stealth portion of the game that felt satisfying to complete. It was more of a relief that it was finally over.
Among Thieves
I could forgive the frustrating stealth portions of the game if the combat felt good. Shockingly, especially considering how much I love The Division’s gunplay, using the blaster in Star Wars Outlaws feels off. Many enemies are bullet sponges, though it’s somewhat humorous that you can shoot a Stormtrooper in the head multiple times before it falls over. Certain areas can get overwhelming with the number of enemies that appear, especially if you trigger some sort of alarm. This isn’t a game where you can go in guns blazing, as it’s ultimately a cover shooter, much like The Division and The Division 2. Things can get out of hand pretty quickly, and there’s a delay when using a Bacta Gel to heal, so you can’t rely on it for quick recovery. Combat feels a bit better once you upgrade the blaster, but the only real interactivity is timing the reload, similar to Guardians of the Galaxy, where you hit a trigger as the mark enters a specific zone.
It feels like the stealth and combat components of the game were designed with Nix in mind. For many of the stealth sections, you can use Nix to distract or attack an enemy, while in a firefight he can grab weapons, Bacta Gel, or even grenades and drop them at Kay’s feet to pick up. The interaction between the two characters is likely the best relationship in the game, despite Nix not being able to speak. But isn’t that the case with some of the best Star Wars characters? We’ve got some of our favorite droids like R2-D2 and BB-8, and now Grogu, everyone’s favorite baby Yoda.
Underworld Affairs
While the planets are great to explore, the actual mission locations surprisingly lack a lot of personality. Many of them felt very similar to one another, despite the different environments. The series of steps you have to do to complete each mission change very little, as you carefully navigate your way to yet another vent to crawl through, to open yet another door, to hack yet another terminal. There are ways to repeat game mechanics without making them feel tedious, but Star Wars Outlaws seemingly avoids every one of those design choices. It’s odd, too, because the team at Massive must understand what makes a game entertaining. As repetitive as both The Division games can be in terms of design, some of the missions felt wholly unique and felt fun to clear. There were maybe three standout gameplay moments in Star Wars Outlaws that were different and memorable, and two of them come during the final mission of the game—which, by the way, is fantastic. It’s unfortunate that the last two hours of the game didn’t carry over to the other 20.
When Star Wars Outlaws was first announced, Ubisoft touted it as the first open-world Star Wars game. I won’t argue whether that’s true, but if you’re going to claim you have an open-world game, you probably shouldn’t implement a quest area restriction. Nothing feels less open-world than being confined to a predesignated area, and this is especially offensive when you’re in the Trailblazer flying in space. I couldn’t believe it when the countdown appeared, telling me I was outside the quest area. I was in a dogfight in space and the game is telling me I can’t go that direction… in space!
A Rogue’s Regret
As for the game’s equipment and upgrade systems, they feel very bare-bones. While there is some customization with outfits and set bonuses, the impact on gameplay is minimal and doesn’t significantly affect how you approach combat or stealth. If you’re expecting a deep, meaningful progression system that adds variety to your playstyle, you might be disappointed. I do regret not playing Star Wars Outlaws on PC, because in Performance mode, it didn’t look great on the PlayStation 5. Some areas and moments had nice fidelity, but the majority of the experience reminded me of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. It’s likely a sacrifice made to create large, open-world spaces with no loading screens, but at times it was distracting how poorly it looked. I believe this isn’t the case on the PC, where many have praised how great the game looks.
Graphics wouldn’t save the gameplay experience for me, however, especially considering some of the bugs I encountered. There were two equally annoying bugs I would consider game breaking during my playthrough. The first involved not getting a prompt to open a specific door, so I spent over half an hour backtracking through the entire area, thinking I missed something. In my frustration, I loaded my last save to teleport me back to a different area of the zone to see the prompt to open the door. The second issue (video below) took me about 30 minutes of figuring out how to reach a specific chest without dying and resetting all the progress. When I was finally able to open the chest, a cutscene played where I wasn’t able to control Kay, and I died. What’s more frustrating is that before opening that chest, I had made sure everything in the general vicinity was cleared and I had even closed the door behind me. Somehow, that Gamorrean Guard found a way. Nothing feels worse than dying while unable to control your character, and losing all that progress. Surprisingly, the game crashing during a loading screen was the least frustrating of the major bugs I encountered.
Star Wars Outlaws – Dying in a Cutscene Video
Star Wars Outlaws is probably one of the most divisive games I’ve ever played. I’m sure plenty of people enjoy this specific style of gameplay and can overlook some of the game’s issues because it offers an immersive Star Wars universe to explore with compelling locations. The voice acting is mostly solid, with a few standout moments, and the story improves near the end. However, it’s predictable and checks off many of the expected clichés. I could have left most of the game behind and would probably have been more satisfied with the experience.
Is the game worth $69.99? I’d have to say no. Given Ubisoft’s track record, it’ll probably see a major discount in the near future, especially as we get closer to the holiday season. If you’re a Star Wars fan and enjoy stealth gameplay, I recommend waiting for a sale. I will say the final two hours or so of the game were satisfying, it’s just a real shame that was the only bits I truly enjoyed. I have no strong desire to return to the game to finish up some of the stuff I skipped, which is often my biggest indicator on whether or not I would recommend a game.
Star Wars Outlaws official release date is August 30, 2024 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. This review is based on a purchased retail copy of the game on PlayStation 5. While FullCleared does have affiliate partnerships, they do not influence our editorial content. We may, however, earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links.
Star Wars Outlaws – Have a Laugh Video
Star Wars Outlaws Review Gallery (possible spoilers!)
