Star Wars Outlaws review — A quintessential outing in a galaxy far, far away

When I was a young boy, most of the other kids held all-too-typical aspirations for their futures, with occupations like fireman, singer, pro athlete, and the occasional engineer. Me? I wanted to be Han Solo when I grew up. Now, nearly twenty years later, I finally have the chance to live out my childhood dreams in the ever-expansive and utterly breathtaking adventure that is Ubisoft's Star Wars Outlaws.

It's no secret that the Star Wars IP is in shambles right now. The recent cancellation of Star Wars: Acolyte says a lot about the franchise and it clearly needs a big win to right the bucket of bolts it's floundering in. Lucky for us fans, Star Wars Outlaws delivers in spades, providing an ever-thriving ecosystem of worlds that feel truly alive set atop the backdrop of a galaxy reeling in the shadow of the Empire.

You take the reins as Kay Vess — not quite the Han Solo of my youth, but she has her own style and wit that enlivens the story with similar jolts of levity. It helps that, like her scoundrel counterpart, Kay also has an otherworldly being at her side in the cute and fearless Nix, a ferret-like creature called a Merqaal.

Stretched across the outer rim, on the run from a dangerous crime lord, Kay and Nix take on all but a small part of the galaxy, aiding the likes of the Pyke syndicate, Hutt clan, Crimson Dawn, and more among the criminal underworld in a quest for freedom. Following in the wake of The Empire Strikes Back, Outlaws sees a galaxy at the height of the Empire's reign, adding fascinating levels of complications to the story.

From its break-neck Grand Theft Auto-like heists to its space-based vehicular combat, Star Wars Outlaws is on a whole other level, delivering much and more of a promised open-world adventure in a galaxy far, far away. Despite some missteps and technical mishaps, developer Massive Entertainment's newest experience is of a mold and class that's hard to replicate — yet even after over 20 hours of playtime, I still want so much more.

Star Wars Outlaws: The Basics

• What is it? Star Wars Outlaws is a space-faring adventure where you trek across the outer rim as Kay Vess, securing your new place in the galaxy working for the likes of the Hutts, Crimson Dawn, and Pyke Syndicate.
• Who is it for? For Star Wars fans and adventure lovers. With four worlds to visit and vast swaths of space to explore, there's a ton of variety to lose oneself in and tons of awesome collectibles to find.
• What’s the price? Star Wars Outlaws is available for $69 across a wide variety of retailers, but an Ultimate Edition is also available for purchase at $129. Ubisoft also has a monthly payment plan available for $18 a month with a Ubisoft+ membership.
• What other games has the developer made? Massive Entertainment is behind top-notch games including Tom Clancy's The Division, Far Cry 3, and the more recent Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora.
• What games is this similar to? Star Wars Outlaws draws influence from PlayStation's Uncharted series. Given its "outlaws" nature, it also has similarities with Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption II. Parallels with EA's Jedi Survivor series also exist.

Out there, somewhere 

Star Wars Outlaws opens on a banquet feast corralling the heads of the biggest criminal organizations in the galaxy. But you're barely spared a breath before all but one is left alive and seated at the table. The enigmatic crime lord Sliro hovers in the background of the story, adding fuel to your quest to gain a major foothold in the underworld.

Outlaws excels at keeping you immersed in this storied world, one set in the original era between the Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. As such, while the Empire might be at the top of its game, so too are the many factions that make up the Star Wars criminal underworld.

As the outlaw Kay Vess, it's in your best interest to keep in good standing with these organizations. Having a poor, bad, or worse reputation with the Crimson Dawn means you're barred from entering the premises of any of its territories, and the same is true for other factions. Because of that, you won't be able to land at certain ports or partake in certain side quests. This adds a nice level of variety and immersion to the game.

Following your departure from Cantobite, Vess's home planet, you find yourself stranded on Toshara, which caters mostly to the Crimson Dawn and Pyke syndicate. It's here where you'll spend the next several hours, learning speeder bike traversal, blaster gunplay, schmoozing with sleazy merchants, and completing your first few contracts.

Developer Massive Entertainment does well in shaping the perfect pace for Outlaws. The first few hours is dedicated to learning all of the fundamental basics of the game and from there you're thrust into the galaxy, which teems with a host of surprises all its own. The four planets you'll have visit a wide swath of orbital space featuring debris, space stations, asteroid fields, nebulas, and the like.

It's both peaceful and violent in the vastness of space. Random events, like one that tasks you with aiding a cargo ship in the throes of bombardment from pirates, bring this empty space to life in awesome ways. Traversal can be tedious and time-consuming, but that's relativity for you. At least there are more than a few random events to keep you preoccupied.

Outlaws also doesn't hand-hold too much in its gameplay design, which is a nice touch coming from someone who mostly plays Dark Souls. You'll find that if you really need a hint for something, often in menus or elsewhere, you'll be given the option to describe the function in greater detail, like weapon upgrades, special abilities, etc. This means you're never left in the dark on newly-acquired goodies. 

And the levels of customization, while (thankfully) not quite as sophisticated as Starfield's, mirrors other games like Star Wars: Jedi Survivor. You have the option to change Kay's outfit, the colorway of your ship and speeder, and even add some cute drip to your trusty sidekick, Nix.

Like R2 and C-3PO before them

On the topic of Nix, he's perfectly molded into the story and gameplay in clever ways. Kay can call upon Nix to perform a variety of actions, which usually manifest with an unmissable neon blue symbol of the creature's face. The type of actions can be anything from fetching an item off the ground to attacking an unsuspecting enemy.

It's a solid system that works flawlessly. Once you get a good rhythm down and know how and when best to use Nix, you'll find yourself creating some fluid sequences. It's really fun testing the limits of what Nix can do and what both of you can do together at any particular moment, especially while evading blaster bolts.

This even extends to non-combat scenarios, where (for instance) you're sharing a delicious treat with your furry little friend. These mini-games, which are effectively cutscenes with quick-time actions, display the bond between Kay and Nix in beautiful ways. While these pitstops have their benefits in the form of buffs and specialized perks, they aren't wholly necessary. Still, they add incredible depth and immersion to the game. Whenever faced with one, I'm always reluctant to skip them.

Combat comes in many forms, from space-based dogfights to ground-level blaster-filled action. One thing that could irritate some players is that you can't keep rifles on you at all times. You'll usually find weapons on fallen enemies, which can only be used in those particular areas.

Instead, you'll mostly use Kay's trusty pistol, which you can modify in a variety of ways. My favorite upgrade is the rapid-fire shot, which turns Kay's pistol into the Star Wars equivalent of a Uzi machine gun. Kay's blaster contains loads of customization options, which give you the tools necessary to survive the many combat scenarios you'll face.

I primarily played on the penultimate difficulty setting. It's not the hardest difficulty, but it's tough nonetheless. Thankfully, the game is very generous with save points, which might be off-putting for some, but works for this game. After all, you don't want to spend hours retracing your steps across planets.

Finally, I couldn't help but leave the best for last: it's score. Outlaws serenades you with fierce, pulse-pounding techno vibes, similar to the soundtracks of Blade Runner and Armored Core 6. While it still holds to that Star Wars chic, with the all-too-familiar piano rift (which is so aptly used in this as the alert sound when enemies see you), Outlaws still sports an underlying Cyberpunk soundscape that works so well with its narrative. 

Don't count your chutniks just yet

Despite being potentially one of the best games of the year, Star Wars Outlaws isn't without a host of technical complications. In over 10 hours of playtime, the game crashed a total of three times and I also had to revert to an old save following a game-breaking bug that froze all potential progress in the main story.

While not quite on the levels of Cyberpunk 2077, its technical snafus are still frustrating. Ubisoft and Massive Entertainment will (hopefully) provide a day-one patch to fix these issues.

Nevertheless, bugs aren't the only issues plaguing Outlaws, as graphical woes also persist. It's most noticeable in facial animations and random cutscenes. For example,  I went to pet an animal, only to have Kay's hand wave at empty air while the creature disappeared into the ground.

Another annoyance is how the game locked you into stealth missions. Granted, this shows how well (or not well) you handled the in-game relationship mechanic with different factions. It makes sense you'd have to sneak to avoid certain foes. I just wish there were more alternative methods, as stealth gameplay isn't for everyone.

Star Wars Outlaws: Verdict

With the IP in the gutter currently, Star Wars Outlaws arrived at a perfect time. With all due respect to EA's Star Wars Jedi series, this game gives me the satisfaction of truly exploring that familiar faraway galaxy. Though technical issues can get frustrating, they're not enough to dull my enthusiasm. Right now, this is the best Star Wars-related project out there.