Star Wars Outlaws Preview
Star Wars Outlaws is coming out next month and I’m sure you’ve got questions. Well, I played a few hours of the game hoping to answer some questions of my own. Honestly, there’s still a lot I’m curious about. But I’ve seen enough to give a quick and dirty rundown of what’s in store for players at the end of August. So far I’m cautiously optimistic. This thing might be a real winner! So long as I can play my way.
You play as Kay Vess, a smuggler trying to stay alive and ideally, nice and rich. My short playthrough revealed a woman of flexible morals. Rob who you need to, backstab as directed, and don’t be afraid of a little violence. She’s not great in a fight, but she can hold her own if pressed. I didn’t see any morality system in play, but there are factions you can align with.
Just Blast Your Way Out
I’m not a giant fan of stealth in games in general, you see. So anytime I’m given non-stealth alternatives I’m much happier. You could sneak around for every mission I played, but! You could occasionally get real loud with it. Blasters firing, grenades exploding, people screaming at you, the whole nine yards. I was locked into stealth on a few sections (including one very frustrating bit), but there are other options.
As I mentioned before, you can just blast your way out of certain scrapes. But Kay isn’t great in battles, at least not at first. You start with one cool special move and a modest blaster pistol. Open combat can end pretty badly pretty fast. It’s not so much that she’s weak? More like the game would prefer you went for stealth. Is it always going to be like this, or do you eventually get stronger? I didn’t see much in the way of levels, stats, or experience. We’ll see if the full game gives you more flexibility.
Speeder Bikes, You Say?
There were a lot of side missions calling my name, but I didn’t waste much time with them. I did take a short speeder bike race break, however. It was crazy fast, tough to control, and very dangerous. I can’t wait to do more races, in other words. It looks like there’s a healthy dose of side content just hanging around wherever you go. This is great news for someone like me, who continues the main quest only if I absolutely have to.
It feels extremely cliche to say at this point, but Outlaws feels very Star Wars. The planet where I spent most of my time was crammed with cool characters and scenery. Everyone around you is talking in a host of different languages. The ship and weapon designs are meticulous and well-crafted. Plus, the music is on point. A lot of this fades to the background once you get into a mission, but it makes wandering around spaceports and cities a very cool experience.
A Well-Crafted World (So Far)
Missions during the demo covered a lot of ground. There were space battles, burglaries, and firefights. The stealth sections were mostly alright, but one bit was so awful I almost didn’t finish. It was a combination of sneaking, platforming, and waiting that singlehandedly changed my opinion on stealth in Outlaws. I’d honestly rather just get shot at by dozens of lasers. Again, I’m very curious about what the total percentage of stealth is going to be in the final game.
My time with the demo was several hours, but it didn’t feel like nearly enough. I want to see so much more. What kind of sidequests are there? How does Kay get stronger, or does she at all? Where does the story go? How many planets will you see before the end? I’m also curious about the Ubisoft of it all, broadly speaking. How familiar will Outlaws be to diehard Ubisoft fans? So far it feels like a slight departure from their usual formula, but maybe I just haven’t seen enough yet. For good or ill, I can’t wait for the full game to drop at the end of August.
Thank you for keeping it locked on COGconnected.
