Star Wars has come a long way since 1977. Prequels, sequels, spinoffs, animated shows, live-action series based on characters from the animated shows, and, of course, countless video game adaptations. As with many of the other mediums, games based within the galaxy far, far away often revolve around those who swing lightsabers and wield the force. I’m not about to sit here and complain about slicing up Stormtroopers as Cal Kestis of Kyle Katarn, but there are interesting corners of the galaxy to explore away from the Jedi and Sith (shoutouts to Star Wars: Bounty Hunter).
Revealed exactly a year ago today, Star Wars Outlaws puts you behind the blaster of Kay Vess, a smuggler and general scoundrel who’s always out to make some credits. Together with her adorable Merqaal companion Nix and towering commando droid ND-5, players will explore various worlds, make deals with deadly syndicates, and make a run at becoming one of the most infamous outlaws in the galaxy.
Ahead of this morning’s Ubisoft Forward, we were given a sneak peek at some extended gameplay from the upcoming third-person action-adventure title from Massive Entertainment, and it’s looking promising.
In total, we were shown snippets from three missions, spanning an Imperial starship, a snow-covered town on the planet Kijimi, ruled by a crime syndicate, and the site of a wrecked cruiser on the desert planet of Toshara. We got a good glimpse at what we can expect from Outlaws here, from the gunslinging combat, complete with a time-slowing ability that would have John Marston tipping his hat, right through to the Uncharted-like traversal and exploration.
The mission aboard the Imperial vessel demonstrated how useful Nix can be, as he was commanded to distract guards and even go full face hugger, giving Kay enough time to close distance for a takedown. Wading through the hanger crawling with Stormtroopers, Kay boarded her ship, the Trailblazer, and took off into a debris field nearby. The ship combat looks decent, though I was left wondering just how it feels to control, as it’s far more Falcon than X-Wing.
Landing on Toshara, we then see Kay leap, climb and mantle her way through a derelict cruiser in a sequence very reminiscent of the rebooted Tomb Raider series. The exploration segment didn’t blow me away, but it will undoubtedly be a nice change of pace from combat. It was the final mission that caught my eye, as Kay was tasked with stealing an artifact and presenting it to the leader of a local crime syndicate.
Scoping out the Crimson Dawn stronghold and finding a crafty way to get inside felt, Kay then took the stealthy approach, picking off guards one by one. We also see the game’s rhythm-based lockpicking and Wordle-like hacking minigames. Both were different enough from similar systems to stand out to me, but I’ll be interested to see if there’s an option to skip them, if not for accessibility, then at least for the sake of not tiring of them.
We only get a small hint at the larger story at play on Kijimi, but the dynamic between the different crime families could be interesting, especially from the perspective of a character like Kay, who sits within the moral grey. I still have some reservations about Outlaws as a whole, but this extended preview definitely filled in some blanks, leaving me hopeful for a game that lets me become a stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking nerf-herder.
Star Wars Outlaws releasing on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC on August 27.
What did you think of the latest look at Outlaws from this morning’s Ubisoft Forward? Let us know in the comments or on our social media.
