Over the past decade, we’ve witnessed a resurgence of captivating single-player Star Wars adventures, from Star Wars Fallen Order to Star Wars: Jedi Survivor. However, it’s become clear that some of the most compelling narratives in this universe are those that don’t revolve around Jedi. This is where Star Wars: Outlaws steps in. Set in the period between Star Wars Episode 5: The Empire Strikes Back and Episode 6: Return of the Jedi. Star Wars Outlaws introduces us to the world of scoundrel Kay Vess and her partner Nix as they take on the biggest heist in the Outer Rim, promising a unique and personal experience.
At Summer Game Fest 2024, we had the exciting opportunity to play Star Wars Outlaws for an hour and a half. The gameplay demo was divided into three sections, each showcasing different mechanics: combat, traversal, and space dogfighting. Each mission was a distinct part of each level, so for the most part, we went in context-free, and each took approximately thirty minutes to complete.
The first mission saw Kay Vess and Nix attempting to sneak into a scoundrel hideout, secure an artifact, and bring it back to TKTKTKT. During this, we got to walk around in a closed-off town, which felt very lush—both in terms of interactivity and just how much the town felt alive. There were mission walls that kept me moving freely through the town, but even so, what I saw made it feel like a living, vibrant town.
Trying to get into the hideout led Kay Vess and Nix to have to sneak in the back way, and sneaking felt very fluid. But the biggest thing for me was that once I was caught, it didn’t end in a game over; it just meant my standing would fall with that faction, but I could still go guns blazing, which I promptly did. The first thing that stuck out to me was just how fast and fluid the gunplay was.
“Star Wars Outlaws introduces us to the world of scoundrel Kay Vess and her partner Nix as they take on the biggest heist in the Outer Rim, promising a unique and personal experience.”
Being able to switch between firing modes quickly and, in turn, take blasters from enemies after taking them down was smooth. After running out of ammo for these other blasters, you switch back to your blaster pistol. I’ll be interested to see if we can, down the line, get a permanent upgrade to our blaster or new ones to help spice things up.
The second mission involved exploring the wreckage of a downed space station in an attempt to download a map. During this, Kay Vess and Nix explored the environment in a very parkour-the-area-to-get-to-the-objective way. This, to me, was the least gameplay-exciting part, as it doesn’t do anything to really push the environment climbing mechanics in an interesting way. That being said, it was extremely polished and felt good to do. It was just the least interesting mechanically when compared to the rest of the demo. Then, right before the end Kay was ambushed by some guards that had me really excited for the types of encounters we would see throughout her entire journey.
The two guards that ambushed me were skulking around the room, and so was I, so we ended up playing a game of cat and mouse to see who the first person would be to give away their position. Its encounters like that, mixed with the finely tuned gunplay mechanics that, have me the most excited for Star Wars Outlaws. However, at the end of the mission, Kay Vess had to escape the ship as it was coming down here, and the cinematic marvel that was happening on screen was incredible. As both the environment and enemies around Kay were taken down by the shattering ship, there was a real visceralness to the whole ordeal.
“I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Star Wars Outlaws, to the point where it was easily in the top three things I saw all weekend at Summer Game Fest.”
Finally, the space combat. How this mission started was heart-pounding and exciting as Kay Vess and Nix attempted to escape an imperial ship. Having to fight your way out of the hangar and onto the ship is something I will never forget. There is something to be said for being pinned down by countless stormtroopers, hearing their blaster fire rip through the air overhead as you try to time your shots perfectly to be able to give yourself some breathing room.
After our ship, the “Trailblazer,” is ready for take-off, we take to space with some tie fighters in tow. The overall feel of the ship maneuvering took some getting used to, but after maybe five minutes with it, I began to feel more at home with how it was controlled. While combat felt slick and natural, with some aiming assistance during the more intense dog fights, it was interesting to see how they incorporated the mix of needing to maneuver with combat.
I know this is going to be a big thing, but while flying around in the Trailblazer, I came to the planet I needed to land on. While I was out in space, I was given the option to land, which led to a cutscene of landing on the planet, so it seems like the two will be considered two different zones. I think that works better for the type of narrative experience that Ubisoft is presenting.
The only thing I wish I would have been able to tool around in is the open world, but mostly because I wanted to take hold of a speeder and zip around one of the worlds. All that being said, I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Star Wars Outlaws, to the point where it was easily in the top three things I saw all weekend at Summer Game Fest. The tiny crumbs of the story show a promising adventure in our future, and I haven’t been excited about a game like I have been in Star Wars Outlaws in a LONG time. August 30th can’t get here fast enough.
