Star Wars Outlaws Review (PC)

Star Wars isn’t the hottest property anymore, and it’s easy to forget how fun an adventure in a galaxy far, far away can be. Fortunately, Ubisoft’s Star Wars Outlaws, which is (somehow) the franchise’s first open-world game, brings to mind the better parts of the former EU and avoids the pitfalls we’ve seen in recent Disney productions.

Living on the edge

Outlaws is set directly after the events of The Empire Strikes Back. The Rebel Alliance has been scattered after their defeat on Hoth, and the Empire still rules the galaxy with an iron fist. However, the Galactic Civil War is background noise in the game. You take the role of Kay Vess, an orphan street thief from the outskirts of Canto Bight who dreams of making enough money to escape the squalor in which she grew up.

Kay is no bright-eyed Luke Skywalker and doesn’t even channel Han Solo’s scoundrel-with-a-heart-of-gold persona. She’s lazy and listless, takes advantage of those around her, and is generally not a great person. The only thing she’s loyal to is her pet and companion, Nix, a small lizard-like creature called a merqaal.

However, Kay’s attitude quickly catches up with her when she takes on a job that promises to pay enough for her to get off-world. She’s hired to infiltrate a crime boss’s mansion and jack a boatload of credits. However, the operation doesn’t go as planned, and Vess soon finds herself alone with a death mark on her head.

To get rid of the death mark, Kay must navigate the perils of the criminal underbelly of the Star Wars universe. Along the way, she’ll make allies, gain new abilities, and play a key part in the workings of several criminal syndicates in the Outer Rim.

Just O-Kay

Unfortunately, Kay is a fairly one-dimensional character. She has a generic background and a chip on her shoulder from being abandoned by her mom as a kid. Throughout her adventure, she never really grows as a person past a superficial level and essentially exists as a blank slate upon which the players can imprint themselves. I’d get this approach if Star Wars: Outlaws was a game where you create your own character. However, if a studio goes to the trouble to create an original character and mocap them, I expect a bit more depth.

Fortunately, you can dress Kay up, and there are many different outfit selections to mix and match. You can change her jacket, holster, and pants independently, and some clothing items provide bonuses to your stats. Some gear combines to form a set, giving you an even stronger buff if you wear the right three items (think Diablo).

The customization extends to your starship, speeder bike, and Nix. You can change paint schemes or give Nix little cosmetics to wear, and there’s plenty of each to discover.

Unfortunately, you can’t change Kay’s hairstyle, which I absolutely hate. I get going for something reminiscent of Mark Hamill in A New Hope, but there’s a reason the Farrah-doo has gone the way of Quaaludes and disco balls. The piece de resistance to this hair disaster is the bun in the back.

Kay uses her data spike as a hairpin, which is supposed to be cool. But I can’t suspend my disbelief this much as someone with long hair. She’s constantly jumping across pits, dangling off ledges, and sliding down chutes, and there’s no way that data spike wouldn’t fall out of her hair at some point. Also, that flared-out hair is begging to snag at any opportunity and pick up dirt (and the local equivalent of ticks).

Let me give her a practical ponytail, Ubisoft, please.

All by myself

At the end of the prologue, Kay ends up on the planet Toshara with a broken-down ship named the Trailblazer, a speeder bike, and not much else. Your first order of business is scrounging up the parts and cash to get the Trailblazer flying so you can try to keep one step ahead of anyone trying to claim your bounty.

Unfortunately, Kay doesn’t have a killer resume or many conventional skills, so you’ll quickly find yourself looking for “under the table” work. It won’t take long before you’re introduced to three of the local crime cartels. The Hutts, the Pyke Syndicate, and the Crimson Dawn all have operations on Toshara, but the latter two are the big players here.

You’ll quickly be introduced to the reputation system, which is a fairly simple measurement of your relationship with each criminal organization. The better your relationship with a cartel, the better they’ll treat you. Get on their good side, and you’ll get exclusive items, free access to their territory, and discounts at their merchants. Make them mad, and they may attack on sight, bar you from their property, or even send attack squads after you.

Fortunately, there are unlimited opportunities to raise your rep with a faction. There are randomly generated side jobs that can be picked up that give you a simple task to complete. Once finished, you’ll get an item or some credits and a small boost to your relationship with one of the cartels. So, if you make someone mad, don’t worry too much, you can always grind them back to happiness.

Of course, the Empire is still (nominally) in control of the remote worlds you’ll visit. So, while the organizations you work for typically have arrangements with local Imperials that allow them to operate, you’ll still find stormtroopers patrolling about, and TIE Fighters guarding the space lanes. Cause enough ruckus (or attack Imperials directly), and you’ll trigger the game’s wanted system.

Like GTA, there are six levels in Outlaw’s wanted system. Trigger one bar, and you’ll get stormtroopers or TIEs harassing you. Go higher, and you’ll find yourself targeted by Death Troopers or Imperial raiders and cruisers. Fortunately, you can quickly lose your wanted level by either paying off corrupt Imperial officers or hacking an Imperial comm terminal.

So anyway, I started blastin’

Much of Star Wars Outlaws’ gameplay centers around stealth action. Kay has few allies, so there’s seldom an opportunity to attack a restricted location head-on. Instead, you’ll need to slice computers, crawl through vents, and avoid enemies to reach your objective.

Fortunately, the stealth sections in Outlaws are well done, and each serves as a puzzle, and many times, there are multiple solutions. You can use Nix to distract enemies, sabotage alarms, remotely detonate barrels, or attack enemies for a short period so you can run up and knock them out.

You can gain more skills over time with a unique unlock system that’s one of Outlaws’ highlights. Instead of pulling new abilities out of the ether, Kay must learn them from experts you meet throughout the galaxy. So, for example, instead of suddenly being able to hack better, you’ll have to find an experienced slicer and perform a quest for them to find better tools.

Of course, Kay isn’t the type to be afraid to shoot first, and most of the time, you can go on the offensive if you’re discovered (or if stealth bores you). Kay’s sidearm can take down most foes in a headshot or two, and you can pick up weapons from downed foes temporarily.

Kay’s blaster gains more utility over time as well. At the start of the game, you only have a standard blaster shot. However, you’ll eventually get a rapid-fire mode, an ion blast that excels against droids, and a heavy charged attack that does massive damage.

The same is true for the Trailblazer. After hyperdriving to a planet, you can explore its orbital space for fun and profit. Various aspects of the ship are upgradable, including the laser cannons, engines, shields, and hull. The odds are against you in orbit as much as they are on the ground, so you’ll want to do what you can to turn the tide in your favor.