Ubisoft’s Star Wars Outlaws promises to fulfill your bounty hunter fantasy by allowing you to explore the dark corners of the Outer Rim in search of loot. It’s a concept that would only get better if you could share the experience with friends.
Set between Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, Star Wars Outlaws give you control of Kay Vess, an original character with a considerable debt to pay and a bounty over her head. Kay’s goal is to perform the biggest heist the Outer Rim has ever seen, a task that demands she navigate the dangerous underworld of Star Wars, where crime syndicates impose their law. It’s an exciting concept that offers something different from the usual war between the Light and Dark sides, which, done well, could show more gray areas in the Galaxy far, far away.
As a criminal, Kay will assemble a crew to help her face gangsters, evade bounty hunters, and take on dangerous tasks. Unfortunately, Kay’s crew contains only NPCs, and the game has no multiplayer element.
Star Wars Outlaws reuses Ubisoft’s single-player open-world formula
The gameplay trailer of Star Wars Outlaws reveals that Ubisoft’s ambitious game mixes stealth and action mechanics to turn you into a one-woman army surviving in the galaxy. You can sneak through enemies’ lairs or use your blaster to shoot your way out of danger. You can also drive speeders and even engage in dog fights against enemy ships. Finally, you have a cute companion trained to distract enemies and create the window you need to escape tricky situations.
While there seem to be many different ways to interact with the open world of Star Wars Outlaws, you’ll be doing that alone. Considering Ubisoft’s game development tradition, this shouldn’t be a surprise.
While Ubisoft is responsible for many profitable IPs, the studio is primarily known for its work on the Assassin’s Creed franchise. Most Assassin’s Creed games follow a single-player open-world formula: you can roam wherever you wish while looking for optional quests and progressing through the main story. Ubisoft also has a tradition of using repetitive quest structures that make exploring the open world tiresome, which explains Star Wars fans’ skepticism regarding Outlaws. Still, the trailers look good so far, and if Ubisoft manages to turn Star Wars Outlaws into a hit, they might be open to offering a multiplayer sequel.
Star Wars Outlaws will be available for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Windows on August 30, 2024. Players who subscribe to the Ubisoft+ service will have three days of early access.
