00:00Don't get caught. That's been an underlying principle of the scoundrel way of life for decades now.
00:06Ever since an exacerbated Han Solo tried to talk his way out of an encounter with Jabba the Hutt
00:11in Star Wars A New Hope, the crime lord wants to know what sort of smuggler would drop his cargo
00:15at the first sign of an Imperial Starship, and the answer is why many became so enamoured with
00:20Solo as an archetype. He's a wild card, willing to do anything to survive another day in a galaxy
00:26battling between light and dark forces, no matter the personal cost or reputational consequences to
00:32his actions. Star Wars Outlaws does its best to render this fantasy into reality, but developer
00:37Massive Entertainment has misinterpreted elements of its appeal through an ailing contextual stealth
00:42system, unkind progression checkpointing, and frequently rigid objective parameters. Critical
00:49missions teeter between fantastical and frustration as a result, drawing attention from the litany of
00:54successes achieved elsewhere in the experience. Don't get caught and don't raise alarms. Don't do this
01:00and definitely don't do that. When Massive is dictating the pace of play, the fantasy falls apart.
01:06Star Wars Outlaws doesn't appropriately communicate detection and visibility, not enough to support
01:12stealth as such a principal focus of the critical path. Main missions leave little room for you to
01:18exercise judgement, instead insisting that you infiltrate ventilation systems of Imperial Starships and
01:23syndicate outposts. Get caught, start over at the cost of your patience and credit. It's a shame,
01:29because if Han Solo and Lando Calrissian have taught me anything, it's that figuring out what to do once
01:34you do get into trouble is all part of the game for a scoundrel. And like those famous scoundrels, you feel a
01:40desire to go quiet until it's time to go loud, no matter the situation. You'll want to try and charm your
01:46way past enemy personnel, dress up in ill-fitting costumes to avoid detection and have the space
01:50to talk your way out of and into trouble. Instead, there's a whole lot of vents and an annoying rhythm
01:56based lockpicking minigame to access a great many of them. Star Wars Outlaws exists in this weird space
02:02as a result. It's one of the best Star Wars games, but a bad stealth action experience. And understanding
02:08what you value more will ultimately tip you towards or away from this adventure.
02:13Kay Vess is a scoundrel in search for a quieter life. Star Wars Outlaws tracks the pursuit of that
02:18dream and the dark paths that wait for those who blindly follow their intuition. An earned death
02:23mark is a death sentence, pushing Vess out of the only home she's ever known and into exotic new lands.
02:29Akiva, Kijimi, Tatooine and Toshara. For planets like Kijimi and Tatooine, you're given freedom to explore
02:36wide environments that have always existed on the periphery of a camera lens. And in the case of Toshara,
02:41Massive demonstrates that it's more than capable of making additive contributions to the wider Star
02:46Wars universe. These planets are microcosmic open worlds, sprawling landscapes with pockets of
02:52civilization, challenges and collectibles to encounter, that connect via stretches of
02:57explorable galaxy. A little drab, but free flight is thrilling as TIE fighters screech overhead.
03:02Massive throws out the playbook honed by Assassin's Creed and Far Cry to great effect, leaving you free to
03:07wander by foot, by speeder or by ship without any reliance on crow's nest cartography to progress
03:13across the landscapes. Star Wars Outlaws is at its best when it leaves you enough alone to soak in
03:18the atmosphere of these locales, authentically capturing the iconic visual aesthetic and terse
03:23tension inherent to populations externalizing the events of the Empire Strikes Back. Syndicates wrestle
03:29for control over territories, taking advantage of Imperial forces turning their attention to a resurgent rebel
03:34alliance. The Hutt Cartel is extorting moisture farmers on Tatooine, maybe you can help. The Pike
03:40Syndicate is fixing sabacc tournaments and fathia races, maybe you want in on that action. And Crimson Dawn,
03:46a shadow in the corner of every cantina. Building and breaking uneasy relationships with syndicates
03:54is an area where Star Wars Outlaws shines. As your reputation grows, a light system of choice
03:59and consequences underpins every decision you make. This system works because of its simplicity. It's
04:05ever-present, but never a burden. A smart way to reflect the dire circumstance Vest must navigate
04:10as she assembles a crew capable of pulling off an impossible heist. Reputation management is authentic
04:16and organic, which is also true of character customisation and progression. Experts discovered in
04:21your travels help refine and expand your skillset over time. The decision to divest from funneling
04:26experience points through skill trees is liberating. Altering the efficiency of your blaster or the
04:31speed of your cruiser is similarly organic, with Vest pilfering parts or bartering over resources to
04:37make steady improvements. The effect of these progressive design decisions means that you really
04:41do feel a part of a wider world rather than a function of it. Star Wars Outlaws has immaculate vibes,
04:47capturing the feel, as amorphous as that may be, of existing in the Star Wars universe perhaps better
04:53than anything before it. As a result, Star Wars Outlaws is unique in spite of itself. You'll find
04:59plenty of familiar touch points all over its composition. Environment navigation has echoes
05:03of Encharted, albeit without the polish typically associated with Naughty Dog productions. The way
05:09side stories unfurl across the open worlds has shade of Red Dead Redemption, though Massive doesn't
05:14commit to intricate systemic design. Gears of War's perfect reload dictates combat flow when you wield an
05:19inelegate weapon for a more uncivilized age, while the way Vest contextually shifts around cover in
05:25shootouts may bring about memories of Quantum Break. But what I was reminded of the most while playing
05:29Star Wars Outlaws was the experience of sitting down with Mass Effect for the first time in 2007. A game
05:36that, despite its poor performance and flawed combat, really ignited the imagination. It wasn't until I took my
05:42first steps onto the Citadel that I realised I had been waiting all my life for the likes of Battlestar
05:48Galactica, Firefly, or Star Trek to be made interactive. For an RPG to so convincingly satisfy
05:56the fantasy of stepping into a world that was alien to my own. I've sacrificed my time to galaxies and
06:01the old republic, fallen in love with the Jedi games and all their forms, but it's Outlaws that made me
06:07truly feel a part of this universe for the very first time. We give Star Wars Outlaws 3.5 stars out of 5.
06:16So, will you be playing Star Wars Outlaws? Or do you need some more convincing?
06:20Let us know in the comments and stick with GamesRadar for the latest news, reviews and more.
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