There was plenty to see and do during the four hours I spent withStar Wars Outlawsat a recent preview event . The world was at my fingertip , but my adventure was at its best when I could just vibe . My most memorable moment came when walk into a dismal bar on Kijimi fromThe Rise of Skywalkerand playing several troll of Sabacc , only to take the air back to my ship and feel some loot to smuggle . It ’s such minute that trade the smuggler fantasy that Ubisoft is touting as the first capable - universe Star Wars video game .
Behind all of this , participant have to poise their kinship with the five different Syndicates that rule the underworld of the Star Wars galaxy . While I still have questions about how this organisation will meet out in the long full term , as well as plenty of nitpicks , the relationship management adds to the sandbox spirit of Ubisoft ’s sci - fi adventure . At its highest point , it feels like Ubisoft ’s Massive Entertainment is usingStar Wars Outlawsto return a sci - fi result toRed Dead Redemption .
Attention to detail
My lengthyStar Wars Outlawspreview began on Toshara , a novel planet make by Ubisoft that was the first discussion section of the plot that spread out up to players . It ’s here where I run across the Pyke , Crimson Dawn , and Hutt syndicates and begin make relationships with each as Kay Vess . For the most part , doing so came through foreign mission that had me search Toshara ’s clear earth on a speed demon motorcycle .
As an open world , Toshara does seem a little barren , though , with only the episodic edifice or outpost scattered across a mostly empty field of honor . Things bewilder much more lively once Kay reached Mirogana . While Ubisoft game can depart in quality , they systematically smash excellent human race design thanks to fantastic attention to contingent . Mirogana gives off the notion I want from a muddied , crime - ridden city on a backwater planet .
While Stormtroopers are walking around and the Empire is feigning ascendancy , it speedily becomes clear that the Pykes are in charge . The city is full of vendors ( some of whom are being shaken down for payoff ) , biz of Sabacc with high steal - in rates , and a cantina , as well ase agent from every Syndicate , who levy and do their dirty oeuvre . There ’s even an colonnade minigame inspired by Atari’sStar Warsarcade classic . These little touches show genuine love and passion for the franchise . I conceive of that a lot of my playday will be spent looking for those little item and minigames that add flavor to this massive Star Wars humans .
It ’s refreshing to see a Star Wars story that — at least for now — does n’t tie back into the rebellion and instead focus on a grimier part of the universe . Humberly Gonzalez deliver a great operation as Kay Vess , intentionally portraying her with a premix of assurance and naivete to the universe . That ’s a compounding seen in some of the best Star Wars booster , from Luke Skywalker to Anakin Skywalker .
Dealing with the Syndicates
There ’s a jolly linear story track for players to conform to , but there ’s also room to craft more personal , emerging story within the plot ’s sandbox . Some of that occur from completing challenges in the worldly concern to obtain unexampled abilities , but it mostly come through gameplay and players ’ ever - changing relationships with each Syndicate . In pattern , Star Wars Outlawsfeels like a Star Wars - theme Riffian on the originalRed Dead Redemption .
Swap the horses for speed demon bikes and hummer for lasers , and some similarity issue . There ’s a Dead oculus - like system during fight and a wanted system if you pass afoul of the Empire . I never did the latter during my playtime , but another journalist I tattle to mentioned being on the run from the Empire at one tip after they accidentally hit a Stormtrooper with their speeder cycle . More relevant to a lot of the plot is whether or not Kay is feuding or friendly with one of the Syndicates .
It ’s not as elaborate as something like the Nemesis system fromMiddle - ground : Shadow of Mordor , but Kay ’s action influence her standing with each of the five sect : the Pykes , Crimson Dawn , the Hutt Cartel , the Ashiga Clan , and Zerek Besh . aid one of them out on a story mission and get a big bonus . Kill a lot of their hombre or make narrative choice to screw them over , and they ’ll set out to hate you .
If you have a good standing with a Syndicate , you’re able to freely waltz around into their territory on planets like Toshara and get discounts from their vendors . angriness one , and they ’ll shoot Kay Vess on vision and transmit bounty hunters after her . By the end of my playtime on Toshara , I ’d experience the latter . I had adjudicate to work with Crimson Dawn rather than the Pykes . That mean I killed many of their mercenaries , snuck into and steal a lot from their territorial dominion , and even endanger the Pykes ’ deplorable acts to the Empire during a story foreign mission that come across Kay sneak onto an purple spaceship .
When I eat up the last mission of the demonstration , I arrest an angry call from the leader of the Pykes on Toshara and check that he was send amplitude hunting watch after me . If I had to continue playing the secret plan after this , I ’d be looking over my shoulder joint constantly until I improved my relationships with the Pykes , in all likelihood at the cost of my standing with another Syndicate . This meta - game withinStar Wars Outlawsis shaping up to be the most compelling part of an otherwise square opened - world sandbox .
Best as a sandbox
The 2nd part of my demonstration took place on Kijimi , as I had to win over the hivemind Ashiga Clan that operates there to play with Kay . Before this , I had a corking time pilot Kay ’s starship through the thick cloud of gas and around the planet ’s jolting debris . Dogfights are unproblematic than those inStar Wars Squadrons , but feel more satisfying thanStarfield‘s space combat . After landing on the major planet , I stole an item from Crimson Dawn to gain favor with the Ahsiga kin .
I had to go into Crimson Dawn territory to do this , and unluckily , my party favor with them was reset to neutral for this part of the demo . I had to hook in , but I would instantly fail when a Crimson Dawn extremity spy me . A like thing hap when I was swipe around the Imperial Starship in the late part of the demo . It feels restrictive , and considering there ’s little penalization for being caught , it just ends up makingStar Wars Outlaws ‘ stealth gameplay finger underbaked .
I ’m very apprehensive about stealth and overall restrictive gameplay in story deputation being a important payoff in the full secret plan , as there are a lot of areas where this happens . gratefully , after I recovered the artefact , I could continue explore Kijimi and its side activities at my leisure time . This planet was my favorite part ofThe Rise of Skywalker , and I love seeing it realized in such intricate detail . I rounded out my demo by playing upward of 30 minutes of Sabacc , which is a fully playable minigame here .
LikeLego Star Wars : The Skywalker Saga , Star Wars Outlawsis at its best when player are costless to search and eat up themselves in the world and gameplay systems . I enjoyed playing a match of Sabacc in a cantina more than sneak through an Imperial starship for a story missionary station . Gameplay takes a turn when it becomes more restrictive for the saki of narrative or the Syndicate relationship system .
From the four hour ofStar Wars OutlawsI played , I find more of the former than the latter . If the Star Wars smuggler phantasy and open - creation mechanics appeal to you , Star Wars Outlawslooks as though it birth that swimmingly . But if you ’re planning to mainline the chronicle and not play around with the Syndicate scheme , you may be in for a very dissimilar experience .
Star Wars Outlawslaunches for PC , PlayStation 5 , and Xbox Series X / S on August 30 .
