Star Wars Outlaws [PlayStation 5] | REVIEW

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away… Ubisoft released Star Wars Outlaws, an open-world escapade set in the Star Wars universe that is a blast to play.

Check out some screenshots down below:

Star Wars Outlaws puts players in the role of Kay Vess, a space scoundrel who finds herself working amongst the criminal underworld as she looks to clear her name following a job gone wrong. What better way to do that than by pulling off an even bigger heist, right? This means building up a crew, working with a variety of criminal factions, and traversing across a bunch of planets as Kay looks to hit the biggest score that the galaxy has ever seen.

You know what makes the storytelling of Star Wars Outlaws so endearing? The fact that it focuses on the seedier, criminal side of the Star Wars universe. We’ve played as plenty of Jedi and Sith in Star Wars video games, but it’s rare that players get to experience something that falls outside of the on-going battle between the Rebels and the Empire. Star Wars Outlaws offers just that, and whilst it’s natural that the war between the two will tie into the story given the consequence it has on the galaxy, this feels like it has its own unique tale to tell that’s not directly affected by it – all whilst maintaining that magical essence of the Star Wars universe. Add to that some fantastic characters, engaging writing, and some exciting twists-and-turns, and it’ll be easy to see that this offers one of the finest Star Wars stories that you’ll see outside of the movies.

Oh, and you have an adorable little creature with you named Nix, who doesn’t only help you out throughout the game but is also ridiculously cute.

With its vast open-world setting, Star Wars Outlaws gives players plenty of locales to explore that span across wonderfully varied planets, including Toshara, Akiva, and, of course, the iconic Tatooine. Whilst these each bring with them settlements to explore where you’ll interact with other characters and take on missions, they also offer wider landscapes that players can traverse across, whether that’s on speeder or whilst running, jumping, climbing, and swinging with your nifty grappling hook. Kay is very much an adventurer at heart, and believe me, you get a lot of opportunities to see that firsthand when exploring the world. You’ll also come across plenty of environmental puzzles to solve along the way that act as little brain-teasers, whilst you’ll even do a spot of hacking that actually demands some logical guesswork if you hope to progress.

“Star Wars Outlaws offers an engrossing, action-packed adventure that’s only really let down by a few technical hitches.”

It makes exploration in the game feel especially fun, with Star Wars Outlaws offering plenty of variety within its gameplay to ensure that travelling from point A to B is always eventful. And sure, some planets have a bit more meat on their bones than others, but they each bring that little *something* with them thanks to their gorgeously diverse biomes that always makes venturing off the beaten path feel worthwhile. It’s a good job too, especially since the game adopts the classic Ubisoft open-world formula that offers players PLENTY of things to do in the world… luckily, all of these things feel worthwhile, with this definitely one of the more engaging open-worlds that I’ve had the chance to explore.

One of the key gameplay mechanics at play in Star Wars Outlaws comes with the reputation that Kay builds with each of the criminal syndicates that she encounters – the Pykes, the Crimson Dawn, the Hutts, and the Ashiga. As players complete jobs for each group, their relationship with them builds, granting benefits such as being able to navigate the areas they reside in unbothered, earning extra discounts when purchasing goodies from them, and even getting access to better job offers that bring with them more enriching rewards. However, these criminal syndicates are all at war with one another, meaning if you work with one, you’ll often be working against another. And when you do upset another criminal syndicate? Your relationship with them will sour, meaning they’ll attack you on sight and won’t allow you access to their territory… unless you build up your reputation with them again, of course.

This makes for a satisfying juggling act that’ll often see you switch up your loyalty as you look to work with the group that’ll benefit you the most in any given moment, but at the same time, there’ll be plenty of occasions where you just have to deal with the consequences of your actions. This normally means sneaking your way through bases or blasting away at foes that would’ve welcomed you with open-arms if you were better affiliated with them, with it tough to keep EVERYONE happy in the galaxy. It makes exploration all the more unpredictable, especially when you find yourself treading through the territory of someone who just doesn’t like you.

Fortunately, Star Wars Outlaws delivers entertaining gunplay and stealth action to ensure there’s plenty of excitement to be found in any of the dangerous situations you find yourself in. You’ll find yourself slipping in and out of cover in gunfights as enemies try to outman and outsmart you, with each putting up a formidable fight that encourages player movement as you zip across the battlefield and use the environment to try and get the upper hand. Your skillset and weaponry improve as you progress, whilst the explosive set pieces you find yourself in across missions ensure that action is very much at the forefront of the experience.

Check out some screenshots down below:

The stealth sections can be equally satisfying, with players suspensefully keeping out of sight as they look to complete their objectives. Kay can direct Nix to act as a helpful distraction in these sections, so you’ve got plenty of tricks up your sleeve to ensure there’s always a path to your goal. The only downside is that the stealth sections could get a little bit predictable as the game went on. It started to become a bit too easy to figure out what to do in each area, whilst I also became smarter as to what enemies would and wouldn’t notice – so much so that it made stealth sections feel a little less intense, especially when I just found myself running past what I thought were genuine threats early on in the game. It’s never bad at all, but I just found myself preferring an all-out gunfight than taking the quiet approach the longer I played the game.

It was the only downside that I found in Star Wars Outlaws’ gameplay loop, with everything else in the game keeping me completely engrossed from start to end. There are plenty of other things I haven’t mentioned that all add to the experience, such as the wonderfully executed presence of Stormtroopers who track your criminal activity, the fact your dialogue choices can make an impact, or the exciting space battles that’ll see you blasting enemy ships to pieces. There’s just so much going on in Star Wars Outlaws that it’s hard not to find yourself completely immersed in its world, with it keeping the action and excitement flowing from start to end.

That being said, I’d be remiss not to mention a few little technical hiccups I encountered. During my time playing, I’ve been stuck in the map, had Nix completely disappear, seen enemy AI glitch out to the point where they didn’t react to getting shot, and encountered a few audio glitches, amongst other smaller things (mostly to do with weird physics). Whilst there’s been nothing game-breaking at all, it’s clear that a few issues needed ironing out – even if they are imperfections more than anything.

Developer: Massive Entertainment
Publisher: Ubisoft
Platform(s): PlayStation 5 (Reviewed), Xbox Series X|S, PC
Website: https://www.ubisoft.com/en-gb/game/star-wars/outlaws