A true AAAA (Absolutely Atrocious And Abysmal) experience
Ubisoft have marketed Star Wars: Outlaws as a AAAA experience. And I whole heartedly agree. It absolutely is… if AAAA stands for Absolutely Atrocious And Abysmal. In fact, if Concord and Dustborn hadn’t already released to shockingly bad reception (or a lack thereof), Outlaws would perhaps be getting way more flack than it currently is.
Star Wars: Outlaws has been in development for about 5 years, according to developers, and honestly, it’s hard to see how. Now, before we get into the negatives (And there are a fair few), to be fair to the game, some of the landscapes are quite good. Seeing Jabba’s palace for the first time or exploring an abandoned ship overgrown with fauna are among some of the big highlights in this one.
Not only that, but the sound design definitely resonates those Star Wars vibes. The score really hits those atmospheric beats, with just enough brass and string segments to lean into Williams’ iconic score without it ever feeling like a cheap knock-off.
There are also a handful of levels (usually those revolving around platforming sections) that do quite well to show off what this game could have been. But then the other mechanics come slamming in like a sledgehammer to the face and remind you that no, these are fleeting dreams and the real game is a broken nightmare.
Outlaws places you in the shoes of Kay Vess, a scoundrel who sets out on a Han Solo-esque journey across the Star Wars galaxy to make a name for herself.
With various factions to appease (or piss off), Kay takes part in various different missions before recruiting a team of her own and setting off for the “big one”, in a final set of missions.
During that journey there’s a bit of a mystery surrounding her family and flashbacks flesh out more of her relationship with budding sidekick Nix, who happens to be a furry friend that can help you out through the levels with her mechanics. It’s not dissimilar to Kena: Bridge of Spirits. Of course, this game doesn’t even come close to that one.
The story is perfunctory at best, with the usual sprinklings of human drama and background to keep you invested, but nowhere near enough to really rally behind Kay. Honestly, I’m still baffled as to why the game didn’t include a custom character generator, allowing you to live out your true fantasy of being a ragtag bounty hunter across the galaxy but given the god-awful character animations, I guess that’s probably for the best.
Compared to the story and a couple of landscapes though, it’s really hard to know where to start. Graphics are always a point of contention but they’re not really a deal-breaker if the gameplay is good. Hell, the original Crash Bandicoot or Metal Gear Solid on the PS1 still hold up to this day.
Comparatively speaking, games with massive graphic fidelity (like Detroit: Become Human) can fail with bad gameplay. Star Wars: Outlaws however, finds itself on the wrong side of both paradigms.
The character animations are just outright awful at times, with Kay looking like a pixelated 80’s mum with poofy hair. The only thing she’s missing is a cigarette in her mouth. But in all seriousness the lip syncing is terrible, the environments don’t look particularly appealing when you get up close, and the interiors have a serious lack of detail to them.
Hovering a camera around the computer consoles in an imperial base for example, will show one solid colour and no shading. Given the leaps and bounds gaming has taken in recent years, and Ubi themselves boasting pre-release that this would be a “AAAA experience”, it really is disappointing to see graphics rivaling that of the PlayStation 2.
But what of the gameplay? Well, Star Wars: Outlaws basically models itself as a stealth game with sprinklings of action. Most of the missions involve stealthily infiltrating bases or grabbing intel, hacking computers and using Nix to navigate simple environmental puzzles.
Expect plenty of hopping through vents and shooting generators to turn on (or off) electricals, and platforming too, which includes grappling over gaps and climbing up mesh walls.
It’s a very basic design pattern, but the AI in this game is woeful. In fact, there are game-breaking issues here that are simply embarrassing to see make it into the final cut. Crouching in tall grass will render you completely invisible to enemies, even if they’re standing right next to you. Other times, the line of sight for enemies is really poor, so you can stealth takedown an enemy with a guard nearby literally watching you and not batting an eyelid.
The animations for said takedowns usually involve Kay bopping the goons in the back of the head and taking them down with a single punch. It’s quite amusing to see her do this to armoured guards and stormtroopers with ease, especially as there are later levels inside Jabba’s palace for example, where you can’t do the same thing to unarmoured Gamorreans.
But most of these encounters are quite orchestrated, and usually include you entering a large-ish arena, scouting the area with your powers (pressing R3 will bring up a radar of sorts for which enemies are nearby) and then either blasting them all down or stealthily taking down the groups. Sometimes the mission will require you not to set off alarms so you’re forced into sneaking around, but as long as there’s tall grass, you should be fine.
In return for various feats (using Nix as a distraction while you headshot enemies) will unlock abilities that will enhance your various abilities in battle, or through completing the different missions. This system also extends to being more influential in conversations, being more adept at combat and more.
In theory, the Reputation system that Outlaws plays with overarching all of this action is quite good, although it’s an overused idea not dissimilar to that seen in both the Fallout and Elder Scrolls games. It’s quite easy to manipulate, especially if you intend to complete a lot of the side missions too, but it works well enough for what the game throws at you.
The side missions are even more simplistic than the main campaign levels, and usually include fetch quests, killing a set number of enemies in a closed-off area or clearing out little areas for your mission giver. There’s nothing here that really stands out, and a lot of it feels like busywork designed to pad out a game that already feels padded for what’s actually on offer.
I mentioned before that a lot of missions involve sneaking through an area and beyond that, there are either platform-only sections that go on a bit too long or fetch quests that see you retrieve an item or relic. There’s no one mission that stands out beyond these tropes, and nothing you haven’t seen done better in other games. In fact, I’d argue that Lego: Star Wars has a much better gameplay set-up and level design than anything in this game.
All of this, before mentioning the miserable litany of bugs, glitches and issues with Outlaws too, which I’m sure Ubisoft will be sorting out with patches in the future. But the sheer amount here is inexcusable, given how much this studio expect you to cough up for the game. It’s an unfortunate cherry atop this disappointing cake, that solidifies that in its current state, Outlaws is not a game I can recommend splashing the cash on.
All things considered, Star Wars: Outlaws is a bitterly disappointing pill to swallow. It’s not the worst thing Star Wars has put out this year (looking at you, The Acolyte) but it’s certainly far away from the lofty expectations we’ve come to expect for a top-notch Star Wars or classic Ubi game.
The heavy reliance on stealth is ironically its biggest drawback, given the stealth mechanics are broken and completely immersion-breaking. The game struggles to stand out next to others in this field, with a hodgepodge of influences and mechanics from other games, crowbarred together into an ugly, poorly-rendered mess. As I said earlier on, if this is a true AAAA experience, I think I’d rather go back to playing PS1 classics.
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Verdict - 4/10
4/10
Thanks for playing this so I don’t have to.