From Rayman to Assassin’s Creed, Ubisoft has a long history of creating stellar franchises. Hopefully, Star Wars Outlaws will be the next one to become a hit, as the studio’s open-world Star Wars game is a ton of fun and has plenty of potential to be expanded further. Rather than playing as a Jedi, players take control of Kay, a generally good-hearted bandit who is more than willing to steal and double-cross crime cartels to her advantage.
Playing as Kay, a very normal person in a world filled with spectacular beings, helps ground Star Wars Outlaws. Rather than playing as a power fantasy, players have to use stealth and their cute four-legged companion, Nix, in order to sneak around and get jobs done. Some missions can rely a bit too much on stealth, leading to some monotonous sequences, but for the most part, it’s a rewarding gameplay system that allows for some improvisation when things go sideways.
When Kay has been found out by enemies, she can use her versatile blaster to take care of foes. It’s the only real weapon that Kay gets in the game (you can pick up enemies’ guns but only for as long as their ammo lasts), but it has three main modes (plasma, ion, and power), each with its own upgrade trees to further flesh out. A bit more variety in combat would’ve been nice, but there’s still enough going on here (such as having to switch to ion blasts to take out droid enemies) for encounters to never get old.
Star Wars Outlaws is at its best outside of enemy encounters, though. Most of my favorite moments came from exploring the rich planets, which are filled with a ton of little touches, and story missions that revolve around being an adventurer. An early standout mission sees Kay making her way through a crashed High Republic-era spaceship, solving puzzles and using her hook to make her way through the derelict ship. If there’s a sequel, I’d love to see it lean more towards the adventuring aspect, a la Uncharted.
The story winds up having Kay recruit a team throughout the galaxy for a heist, and that means there’s some really satisfying space combat to be had. In the core story, you won’t get into a ton of dogfights, but there are some really great space scuffles to get into if you start exploring and doing side missions. Your ship can also be upgraded over time, allowing you to become more of a powerhouse when flying around than initially when you’re pretty vulnerable.
Star Wars Outlaws has two interesting gameplay systems at play. First off, the reputation system is a lot of fun as you get bonuses (such as exclusive shop items and discounts) if you are on a faction’s good side, while being on negative terms has them jack up prices and disallow you from their turf. Your choices really do matter, although in a world as sketchy as this, you’re always able to get back on someone’s good side if you do some jobs for them.
The other interesting system is its overall upgrade system, which rewards you for tracking down intel, collecting items, and actually playing the game. While some skills are given simply by having the right materials, others require you to play in a certain manner or achieve certain goals (for example, jumping a long distance on your speeder gives you a hop). It all leads to a really satisfying gameplay loop as the game feeds into all of its parts well, creating a cohesive whole that rewards you for exploration and using all of your abilities.
It’s also worth noting that Outlaws simply has a lot of charm. The story is filled with fun characters, there are plenty of alien animal monstrosities that you can pet, and the story is well-told with a number of flashbacks that help get you more invested in Kay’s personal journey. Ubisoft has done a great job of working with Lucasfilm to ensure that this is a Star Wars world you want to be spending time in.
Star Wars Outlaws PS5 Review: Final Verdict
While the stealth gameplay can sometimes become repetitive, Star Wars Outlaws is largely a blast. The attention to detail is top-notch, with each planet being a lot of fun to explore and side missions providing some of the best moments. While it’s better when it leans toward being an adventure game, Outlaws is undeniably a great foundation point for what should hopefully become Ubisoft’s next great franchise.
Every planet is fun to explore
Adventure gameplay is thrilling
Story filled with fun characters
Stealth missions can get slightly monotonous
Combat could use more variety