Based
on
the
many
reviews
out
there
it
would
be
easy
to
write
Star
Wars:
Outlaws
off
entirely
as
a
bad
game,
or
at
the
very
least,
a
wholly
mediocre
one
that
will
likely
be
on
sale
for
half-price
in
a
month
or
two,
based
on
Ubisoft’s
usual
business
plan.
The
reviews
don’t
actually
do
the
game
justice
though:
sure,
Star
Wars:
Outlaws
does
a
lot
of
things
wrong,
but
it
also
has
some
genuinely
great
moments.
It’s
also
one
of
the
most
interesting
Ubisoft
games
in
years,
taking
quite
a
few
of
the
company’s
typical
ideas
and
either
throwing
them
out
or
improving
upon
them.

Here’s
the
gist
of
what
you
need
to
know:
Outlaws
is
the
story
of
Kay
Vess,
a
young
woman
raised
on
the
Star
Wars
streets
to
be
thief.
Think
Han
Solo,
though
the
game
does
a
fine
job
of
making
sure
she
isn’t
just
a
gender-swapped
version
of
Harrison
Ford’s
iconic
smuggler.
She’s
smart
and
clearly
has
a
good
heart
despite
her
vocation.
She’s
also
on
a
run
of
bad
luck.
She’s
surviving
but
only
barely,
so
she
takes
a
risky
job
and
things
go
south,
reinforcing
her
belief
that
she
can’t
rely
on
anyone
but
herself
and
her
absurdly
cute
pet
named
Nix.
But
with
a
Death
Mark
now
on
her
head,
she’s
given
the
chance
to
redo
the
failed
heist
at
the
behest
of
a
mysterious
man
named
Jaylan.
So
now
partnered
up
with
a
droid
named
ND-5,
Kay
heads
out
to
recruit
a
crew
and
pull
off
the
biggest
heist
in
the
galaxy.

The
good
news
is
that
Kay
grows
into
her
role
as
a
rogue
toward
the
end
of
the
story.
But
that
doesn’t
stop
the
early
hours
feeling
like
Kay
would
have
likely
been
blasted
in
an
alleyway
long
before
she
ever
got
to
the
point
of
dealing
with
Rebels,
infiltrating
Imperial
bases
and
navigating
the
world
of
shady
crime
syndicates.

The
other
big
issue
with
the
story
is
that
for
the
first
10-15
hours
of
the
game
there
isn’t
one.
The
bulk
of
Outlaws
is
spent
tracking
down
a
few
characters
Kay
needs
to
pull
of
the
heist,
so
as
the
player
you’re
given
freedom
to
travel
between
three
planets
(Akiva,
Tatooine
and
Toshara)
and
find
a
droid
smith,
explosives
expert
and
a
gunslinger.
On
paper
that
sounds
fine,
but
in
execution
the
game’s
writers
don’t
handle
this
freedom
well,
unable
to
construct
satisfying
narrative
Lego
blocks
that
be
clicked
together
in
any
order.
Each
planet
is
a
self-contained
story
and
you
barely
interact
with
your
intended
crewmate
until
the
very
end.
And
then
once
they
join
your
crew,
you
can
only
chat
with
them
through
optional
exchanges
that
are
surface-level
at
best.
The
crew
also
don’t
talk
among
themselves,
either,
and
very
rarely
interject
in
whatever
you’re
doing.

Basically,
for
the
vast
majority
of
the
game
your
crew
are
just
a
part
of
the
scenery
on
your
ship.
You
don’t
get
to
know
them,
learn
about
them,
work
with
them
or
otherwise
do
anything
with
them.
If
you
recruit
the
droidsmith
first,
it
won’t
have
any
impact
when
you
go
find
the
gunslinger
or
vice
versa.
This
leaves
about
two-thirds
of
the
game
feeling
aimless.
There
are
storylines,
with
Kay’s
trip
to
Tatooine
being
a
major
highlight
for
her
character,
but
the
overall
narrative
becomes
background
noise.

There’s
good
news,
however:
the
game’s
last
few
hours
are
so,
so
much
better.
It
shifts
into
a
linear
adventure
and
once
free
of
the
typical
Ubisoft
open-world
design
structure
the
writers
clearly
thrive.
Your
crew
finally
comes
together
and
begins
to
talk
to
each
other
and
to
Kay.
It’s
a
bit
jarring,
to
be
honest,
because
all
of
a
sudden
Kay
is
acting
like
she
knows
and
likes
this
group
of
misfits,
despite
having
shared
about
5
minutes
of
dialogue
with
each
of
them
over
the
last
10-15
hours.
Putting
that
aside
though,
the
closing
hours
are
what
the
rest
of
Outlaws
should
have
been:
a
fun
heist
featuring
a
crew
of
interesting
people.
Sure,
the
big
ending
twist
is
more
predictable
than
the
cancellation
of
The
Acolyte,
but
I
actually
found
myself
hoping
for
a
sequel
because
the
last
few
hours
demonstrated
that
Massive
Entertainment
has
something
special
here.
There’s
potential.

It’s
just
a
shame
that
most
of
Outlaws
is
spent
feeling
like
you’re
stuck
in
a
bad
version
of
Ocean’s
Eleven
where
all
the
fun
heist
action
and
cool
character
moments
happen
in
the
last
five
minutes.
A
few
cool
moments
(like
platforming
through
the
interior
of
a
crashed
ship)
don’t
make
up
for
it.

Putting
aside
the
frustrating
story
issues,
one
thing
Star
Wars:
Outlaws
nails
is
its
world-building.
Star
Wars
games
traditionally
focus
on
the
Jedi
and
for
understandable
reasons,
but
Outlaws
is
all
about
the
seedy
underbelly
of
the
Star
Wars
universe
and
gives
us
a
chance
to
explore
it
as
a
regular(ish)
person.
We
get
cruise
the
vast
sands
of
Tatooine
on
a
speeder,
walk
the
frozen
streets
of
Kijimi
and
gamble
on
races
on
Toshara.
Each
planet
features
a
major
city
and
a
few
smaller
settlements,
and
they
all
feel
lived
in
and
real.
It’s
a
pleasure
to
explore
these
places
and
soak
up
the
atmosphere.
The
art
team
have
done
an
exceptional
job,
resulting
in
some
gorgeous
vistas,
while
the
cities
feel
lived
in
and
teeming
with
life
in
a
way
that
other
Star
Wars
games
are
lacking.
If
you’re
a
huge
Star
Wars
fan,
Outlaws
may
be
worth
checking
out
purely
to
spend
some
time
exploring
and
seeing
what
life
is
like
outside
of
the
Force,
the
Jedi
and
choking
work
colleagues
during
a
meeting.

Now
we
arrive
at
the
gameplay.
This
is
where
Outlaws
really
comes
apart.
Not
because
it’s
terrible
–
it’s
a
functional
game
at
every
level
–
but
because
it’s
overwhelmingly
bland
and
shallow.

Kay
Vess
isn’t
swinging
a
lightsaber
around
or
powering
through
enemies
with
the
Force
–
she’s
a
rogue
and
a
thief,
so
her
main
weapon
is
staying
out
of
sight.
She
has
a
blaster
strapped
to
her
hip
which
we’ll
get
back
to,
but
Outlaws
is
a
stealth
game
in
a
Star
Wars
disguise.
Which
is
exactly
why
it’s
so
frustrating
that
its
stealth
mechanics
are
barebones
and
stiff.
It’s
not
even
the
instant-fail
missions
(there
are
heaps
of
those)
because
it’s
not
like
the
sneaking
is
hard.
No,
it’s
just
how
rote
and
uninspiring
it
is.
A
few
tricks
like
sending
Nix
to
distract
a
guard
aren’t
enough
to
keep
things
interesting.
If
you’re
going
to
constrain
me
by
making
it
so
I
can’t
even
be
spotted,
at
least
give
me
some
fun
tools
to
play
with.
This
is
Star
Wars,
after
all
–
surely
crooks
and
criminals
have
some
cool
tech?
Alas
though,
from
the
very
first
sneaking
mission
to
the
very
last,
you
and
Kay
will
be
doing
the
same
thing:
hiding
behind
a
box
and
scampering
over
to
hide
behind
another,
identical
box.
The
enemies
don’t
become
more
cunning,
the
gameplay
doesn’t
evolve.
The
only
thing
that
changes
is
the
range
at
which
you
can
be
spotted
thanks
to
inconsistent
cones
of
vision.

On
a
somewhat
inconsequential
note,
Outlaws
features
some
of
the
anaemic
takedown
moves
I’ve
seen.
Kay
Vess
looks
like
she
weighs
about
as
much
as
Master
Yoda,
yet
she
is
capable
of
knocking
out
a
fully
armoured
Stormtrooper
by
punching
their
helmet
with
all
the
force
of
a
puppy’s
sneeze.
What?
The
worst
might
be
when
she
very
slowly
drags
a
foe
to
the
ground,
giving
them
plenty
of
time
to
voice
an
alarm
if
they
wanted
to,
and
then
lightly
punches
them,
somehow
rendering
them
unconscious
with
a
gentle
tap
to
the
noggin.
I’m
convinced
Jabba
the
Hutt
would
be
capable
of
more
athletic
displays.

When
the
Jabba
shit
hits
the
fan
it’s
time
to
whip
out
a
gun
and
get
blasting.
Considering
Massive
Entertainment’s
pedigree
I
had
high
hopes
for
the
combat
in
Outlaws.
After
all,
The
Division
and
its
sequel
both
have
excellent
gunplay.
That’s
just
not
the
case
though.

When
it
comes
to
firefights,
Kay
favours
her
trusty
blaster
over
anything
else.
It
can
be
upgraded
to
provide
different
modes
–
like
rapid
fire
–
and
Kay
can
pick
up
dropped
weapons
too,
but
as
soon
as
the
ammo
runs
out
she
automatically
tosses
them.
In
fact,
Kay
can’t
keep
hold
of
weapons
at
all,
as
climbing
a
ladder,
entering
a
vent,
interacting
with
anything
or
triggering
a
cutscene
causes
Kay
to
throw
the
weapon
away
like
it’s
just
insulted
her
mother.
Much
like
the
stealth,
the
gunplay
would
probably
best
be
described
as
bland.
You
crouch
down
behind
a
wall,
don’t
move
and
gun
down
the
braindead
AI.
It’s
basic
stuff,
and
again
fails
to
evolve
over
the
course
of
the
game.

Exactly
how
a
publisher
that
built
itself
around
stealth
games
and
a
developer
best
known
for
its
shooters
managed
to
create
gameplay
this
lacking
in
anything
interesting
or
engaging
is
beyond
me.
And
that
sadly
applies
to
the
space
combat
as
well.
Mind
you,
in
the
case
of
dogfighting
in
the
black
void
Massive
Entertainment
seems
to
understand
it
doesn’t
have
much
to
offer
and
keeps
the
space
battles
to
a
minimum.
In
fact,
I
think
I
probably
spent
less
than
an
hour
total
flying
around,
which
is
fine
because
there’s
absolutely
nothing
out
there
worth
checking
out,
although
it
does
look
very
pretty.

Now
though,
we
to
to
the
truly
interesting
stuff.
Well,
interesting
in
terms
of
Ubisoft
as
a
whole
and
how
it
approaches
building
games.
As
open
worlds
in
general
go,
there
isn’t
much
to
say
about
Star
Wars:
Outlaws,
but
if
we
compare
it
against
the
standard
Ubisoft
template
there
are
some
signs
that
the
company
is
evolving
its
formula
–
albeit
slowly.
The
climbable
towers
that
reveal
surrounding
quests
and
areas
of
interest
are
absent,
for
instance,
and
the
game
isn’t
completely
stuffed
with
a
million
interchangeable
missions
designed
to
fool
you
into
thinking
playtime
equals
fun.
No,
this
is
a
quite
lean
package,
clocking
in
at
around
15-20
hours
for
a
playthrough
and
maybe
30-40
if
you
want
to
do
everything.
Many
missions
and
contracts
are
presented
more
organically
than
normal
for
a
Ubisoft
game
too,
sometimes
discovered
by
eavesdropping
on
some
chatty
mercenaries
or
found
out
in
the
world
as
you
cruise
around
on
a
speeder
bike.
It’s
a
far
cry
from
what
Ubisoft
normally
does,
and
hopefully,
it’s
an
indication
that
the
company
is
changing
some
of
its
more
obsolete
ideas.

A
lot
of
what
you
do
in
Outlaws
feeds
into
the
interesting
reputation
system.
As
a
thief,
scoundrel
and
general
doer
of
wrongs,
Kay
is
willing
to
work
for
any
of
the
big
crime
syndicates
provided
they’ve
got
the
credits.
But
Kay’s
mercurial
loyalties
mean
almost
every
job
she
takes
has
a
chance
of
pissing
off
a
Syndicate,
especially
if
she
opts
to
hand
over
sensitive
data
to
a
rival
Syndicate
at
the
last
second
for
some
bonus
credits.
There
are
palpable
gameplay
reasons
to
staying
on
a
Syndicate’s
good
side,
too
–
they’ll
let
you
free
amble
around
territory
under
their
control
and
access
their
special
vendors.
Let
your
reputation
with
them
falter
and
you
won’t
be
allowed
to
enter
their
areas,
forcing
you
to
sneak
in
or
draw
your
blaster.
If
it
goes
low
enough,
they’ll
actively
start
hunting
you
by
sending
out
hit
squads
until
you
can
pull
off
a
job
or
two
to
rebuild
the
trust.

It’s
a
cool
mechanic,
one
that
never
feels
as
fully
explored
and
utilized
as
I
wanted.
Part
of
the
problem
is
that
the
devs
have
to
tie
it
all
back
into
the
main
storyline,
so
sometimes
your
standing
with
a
faction
will
radically
shift
one
way
or
the
other
regardless
of
how
you’ve
been
handling
it
through
the
rest
of
the
game.
But
the
bigger
issue
is
that
it’s
pretty
easy
to
stay
in
everyone’s
good
books
most
of
the
time.
It’s
fun
to
take
a
mission
to
infiltrate
a
Syndicate’s
turf
and
then
do
a
few
other
jobs
to
build
up
their
trust
so
that
you
can
walk
in
through
the
front
door
and
make
life
easier.
However,
for
most
of
the
game
I
was
only
ever
disliked
by
one
faction,
and
that’s
because
I
was
deliberately
driving
my
reputation
with
them
down
for
the
sake
of
a
Trophy.
Still,
it’s
a
great
idea
and
arguably
the
best
thing
in
the
entire
game.

Another
area
in
which
Outlaws
improves
on
the
standard
Ubisoft
formula
is
how
it
handles
the
idea
of
leveling
up.
Instead
of
a
bloated,
shallow
skill
tree
packed
with
a
hundred
useless
little
stat
boosts,
Outlaws
wants
you
to
learn
new
skills
by
finding
experts
out
in
the
world.
These
are
entirely
optional
little
quests,
though
the
game
does
quite
obviously
highlight
them.
Once
you
finish
helping
out
an
expert
you’ll
unlock
a
series
of
challenges
to
complete,
each
unlocking
a
cool
new
skill
for
Kay
to
use.
It’s
a
fantastic
system
that
is
rewarding
and
satisfying
because
you
can
chase
the
specific
skills
you
want
and
each
one
feels
useful.

Ah,
Star
Wars:
Outlaws.
You’re
a
tricky
little
bugger,
aren’t
you?
Easily
pushed
aside
and
seemingly
done
so
by
all
the
reviews,
Outlaws
is
worth
delving
a
little
deeper
into.
Like
a
Stormtrooper
it
often
misses
its
mark,
but
sometimes
it
surprises
and
nails
the
shot.
The
last
third
of
the
game
is
vastly
superior
and
shows
some
great
promise,
while
the
smart
skill
system
and
many
small
improvements
on
Ubisoft’s
open-world
template
all
give
me
hope
that
the
French
publisher
is
willing
to
move
away
from
its
bloated,
rote
designs.

The
gameplay
though….yeah.
It’s
not
bad.
It
isn’t.
It’s
functional,
and
you
can
have
fun
with
it.
But
for
a
triple-A
Star
Wars
title,
this
level
of
mediocrity
in
stealth
and
shooting
is
disappointing.
Combined
with
the
aimless
storytelling
across
two-thirds
of
the
game,
and
you
get
an
experience
that
struggles
to
keep
you
invested
in
the
action,
despite
how
fun
Kay
Vess
and
her
absurdly
cute
animal
pal
can
be.