I’m almost certain I recommended Star Wars: Outlaws to my buddy Manky Kev when I was about 14. “All Star Wars games are about Jedi or fighter pilots, who are the most boring assholes in the whole series,” I affirmed, with an eloquence three times greater than mine. “You want a game where you can play as a bad guy, but a good bad guy, not a Sith, and it’s open world like GTA. You’re Han Solo, but before he starts hanging out with Jedi and fighter pilots.”
I remember it very clearly. Manky Cave threatened to kick me in the head if I said any more shit about Star Wars, and the idea was later forgotten. But apparently someone at Ubisoft stole the idea from me and other 90s teenagers who loved Star Wars and Grand Theft Auto and wanted to mash them together.
Yes, after decades of changing player tastes, the merging of game genres, and the general rise of Ubisoft’s open-world formula, it might be a bit of a stretch to compare this Disney 24-acquired Watch Dogs to Grand Theft Auto. The Boss BabyYou can’t even steal someone else’s speedbike. I checked, and there’s not even a prompt. Ubisoft is so serious about getting you involved with the speedbike upgrade system that a tech-minded career criminal like Kay Vess would rather legally spend money on a better bike than steal one.
but you able Freely explore the Star Wars galaxy (some large walled areas) in your trusty ship. Pull off a big heist and cleanse your palate with some petty theft. Engage in a personal NPC narration about a little guy with a gambling problem. Play arcade games at a bar. Betray the local bigwig. Reaching the bustling hub where you do these things is subject to the same traversal rules as GTA: there are wide open roads for your enjoyment, but other people use them. Sometimes they’re the police, or anyone who’s considered an authority in a particular area of the galaxy, and you have a wanted level.
We know that, at least once, the space highways to faraway places are locked behind story gates. Your access to entire city districts depends on your loyalty to the controlling faction. You rise through the ranks of criminals working for various gangs, a journey interspersed with cutscenes that, directed by a lover of the Du Jour TV series of the time, are filled with silly humor that makes you almost forget what a bunch of awful bastards everyone is. Yes, this is Ubi, and yes, it’s clear that much of Outlaws’ DNA comes from its fellow Assassin’s Creed and watch dogsbut if you want a neat summary, then GTA: Andor is really just as good as any of the others.
While this is a familiar theme by now (though perhaps never really followed through), a big part of Outlaws’ appeal is its daring lack of lightsaber action. This isn’t about robed teenagers fighting for freedom across time, or conquering civilizations based on their ostensibly incompatible but often indistinguishable means (Well), is about people who have to live in places like the Star Wars galaxy without a high density of the Force or the Skywalker surname. In short, these people’s lives suck, but life would be even worse if they were straight.
Kay Vess and her little lizard dog Nix aren’t the kind of people who are likely to never see or hear a lightsaber extended. If Ubisoft is delivering on the hype here, they won’t. Or, if they do, it’ll be once, and it’ll scare the hell out of them. As expected. As expected. should. Likewise, the average pickpocket working on a Dundee high street is unlikely to feel the thrust of a £3,000,000 cruise missile being launched, or know which buttons to push to make it work.
Though they’re more like Han and Chewbacca than Luke and Leia, Kai and Vix never tire of sneaking around. The split-second gameplay of the Ubi games is most prevalent in the enemy camp. Obviously. You have the usual choices: sneak around (good players), go all-in (idiot players, total idiots, how do they get dressed in the morning), or the stealthy third way, where you start out with stealthy (good) intentions and then give up because the game is bad or you just played it badly and missed something.
Your dog Nix replaces the drone and gadgets in Watch Dogs 2. Assassin’s Creed Eagle Vision. He can open doors for you, distract bad guys, and give you headaches to make important things glow. But unlike the Ubisoft character he replaces, he’s a cute little baby who I want to hug and give him snacks.
That’s it. Really. Star Wars: Outlaws is Ubisoft’s take on Star Wars. You already instinctively know if it’s for you. But I can offer some additional insight: Before this hands-on experience, Outlaws was barely on my radar for release. I didn’t expect it to be bad, but it wasn’t an exciting prospect. Maybe it was because it represented a juncture of series fatigue – Ubisoft’s much-maligned open-world template being applied to media properties that have been put into overdrive in recent years with mixed results. Whatever the reason, this is where we are.
But now? I’m excited. I can’t wait to get some proper play. The little vertical segment we played (two different environments, a mix of city and open-area play, a smattering of space combat, and a hyperspace jump) looked and felt like the Star Wars game of my childhood dreams, and it was a lot like the Star Wars game of my childhood dreams. That I was impressed and shattered my decades of expectations. Whether it will turn out to be the Monkey’s Paw remains to be seen. As always, we will reserve appropriate judgment until review.
Star Wars: Outlaws will be released on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on August 30.
