Full disclosure: I'm a big fan of the Star Wars saga. So, when I heard that a new game was coming out from the world of the Jedi and the Sith, I knew I had to play it. Although this time the main character is holding a blaster pistol and not a Jedi sword, I have to say I enjoyed putting the force aside and embracing my inner Han Solo.
The game Star Wars Outlaws was developed by Massive Entertainment in collaboration with Lucasfilm Games and distributed by Ubisoft. Before we get to the shortcomings of the game, and it has quite a few, it is impossible not to admire the fact that there is an open world adventure game of Star Wars. That in itself gets a big thumbs up from me, and there's no doubt that the developers have managed to capture the spirit behind this never-ending saga.
The plot of the game takes place between the films The Empire Strikes Back and Rebellion. Players step into the shoes of Kay Vess, a cunning thief who grew up in the gambling city of Canto Bight. Kay is always accompanied by her little pet, Nix (your Chewbacca, sort of), who helps her on her journey. Of course it wouldn't be Star Wars without an interesting droid by your side, and who will accompany Kay in this role is ND5, a battle robot with no sense of humor.
This game breaks away from the main characters of Star Wars and gives you a chance to experience the galaxy as outlaws trying to build a reputation for themselves. You can participate in Star Wars type shooting battles, take part in routine space battles and too many stealth moves in weird rescue missions.
The game features an open world with four main planets and spaces full of events. Players can explore the stars, complete side missions in detailed cities full of Star Wars life and humor. During the game you will face four factions of criminals, and your relationship with them will change depending on your actions. This will affect the flow of the main storyline and what side quest opportunities will open up for you. The world is huge, which is one of the strongest parts of this game. Since Kay isn't a Jedi Knight or superpowered of any kind, her abilities are pretty limited and mostly human: like a tantrum where you shoot a bunch of people.
Did we talk about cons? So yes, unfortunately it's far from a perfect game. The main plot is not bad, but its pace is terribly slow and the transition scenes (although they are of better quality than game time) do not scream "Star Wars" to you in terms of quality and level of action. The worlds are very beautiful to the eye and the level of design (including the characters and the natural life and the bar in the universe) is very high, but in terms of computer graphics capabilities we already expect more. Another disadvantage, double in fact, is repetitiveness in battles and missions. The amount of times you'll sneak into similar facilities might drive you crazy, luckily it's fun to just shoot people in this world.
In my opinion, this is also the bottom line regarding "Outlaws": if you are a fan of Star Wars, you are fascinated by the strange characters and the interesting worlds, you have a lot to see and do in this open world and the story itself is interesting enough, even if the characters themselves are not completely baked. However, it's still not the full gaming experience we've all been hoping for, but perhaps with more expansions to come there's a strong galactic base here.