Star Wars Outlaws Review

GamesRadar

Star Wars Outlaws succeeds in many ways, including immersing you in the Star Wars universe. But does it miss the mark on one of its key objectives, to “let players live the life of a scoundrel”

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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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