Star Wars Outlaws is the latest game from publisher Ubisoft, created by in-house developer, Massive Entertainment. Coming from the same people who brought us Tom Clancy’s The Division 2, hopes were high for Outlaws, but its reception has been rocky as of late. Like other Ubisoft open worlds, the game is brimming with awesome locations to explore, has a notably intriguing story, and offers an exciting blend of action and stealth. However, considering the game’s various problems, it’s hard to shower it with praise. Some critics are calling Star Wars Outlaws a “flawed masterpiece”, while others are all too eager to share their distaste. So, what exactly is the deal with Star Wars Outlaws? Is it as bad as the naysayers are making it out to be, or is this a decent stealth game that’s receiving unfair criticism as both a Star Wars product and a Ubisoft release?
A Crash Course in Galactic Crime
If nothing else, Star Wars Outlaws is a good adaptation of Star Wars in general, outclassing most of the recent straight-to-streaming spin-offs. Although it’s set between the events of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, Outlaws doesn’t bend over backwards attempting to shoehorn fan service into every nook and cranny. Instead, it tells the original tale of Kay Vess, an aspiring outlaw who is forced to leave her home planet after a run-in with a local crime lord. Now with a bounty on her head, Kay and her creature companion, Nix, dive headfirst into the life of a mercenary, green around the ears but eager to learn. With an emphasis on gathering the gang for a big heist, Outlaws is a pleasant, self-contained tale that whips up some old school Star Wars magic without needlessly inserting Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader whenever possible.
Kay and Nix’s journey through the criminal underworld is absolutely stacked with missions to complete, intel to track down, and activities to undertake. Best of all, it doesn’t lead you by the nose with waypoints, but encourages you to track down these quests organically by exploring. In fact, Star Wars Outlaws often puts the decision in the hands of the player, letting them choose which planet to explore next, what path to take when infiltrating bases, and much more. Those actions have consequences too, thanks to the Reputation system, which tracks your favor with the various crime syndicates around the galaxy. Especially when compared to some of the other modern Ubisoft series, like Far Cry, Star Wars Outlaws instills a palpable sense of wonder that is driven by player action above all else.
The Unfortunate Ubisoft Touch
That said, Star Wars Outlaws cannot escape the same dreaded problem that continues to plague most major releases from Ubisoft: a lack of polish and persistently awkward gameplay quirks. The game bills itself as a stealth-action game, and while the stealth is decent enough, many of the action elements fail to meet expectations. Melee combat is stiff and unfulfilling, as are the climbing mechanics, which feel like a dollar store version of Assassin’s Creed. If blaster rifles start firing, you’ll be at a significant disadvantage, as Kay is far from a seasoned gunslinger. Apart from a flashy, slow motion stand-off move pulled from Red Dead Redemption, Kay commonly drops any secondary weapon while traversing the environment, and items like grenades are annoying to throw. None of these problems are bad enough to spoil the entire game, but they are frequent enough to leave a stain on the experience.
These issues are further compounded by recurring performance problems, which also run the gamut from technical hiccups to inexplicable visual bugs. While the environments in Star Wars Outlaws look great, character models and animations are poor by comparison, unless within a pre-rendered cutscene. During in-game dialogue sequences, facial animations and lip-syncing are almost laughably bad, while weird lighting issues crop up in various locations, making things even more sketchy. Despite being completely playable, these issues point to a rushed development or lack of quality assurance, something that’s all too common in Ubisoft releases.
Will Star Wars Outlaws Rebound?
In general, response to Star Wars Outlaws has been underwhelming, both critically and in terms of sales. Though the true numbers are unconfirmed at the moment, leaked Ubisoft company memos have indicated that the game sold less than a million copies in its first month, a dreadful sign of things to come. However, Ubisoft has acknowledged that the game needs some tuning, and recently detailed their efforts to fix things up in a post-release roadmap.
Between October and November, multiple title updates have been planned to rework combat, stealth, and provide bug fixes, but some of these features have yet to be implemented. Additionally, Star Wars Outlaws will finally launch on Steam on November 21, ending its limited exclusivity on the Epic Games Store, something that also harmed initial sales. Time will tell if the game can regain some lost ground and re-emerge next year as a sleeper hit, but we’re keeping our expectations in check. For now, Star Wars Outlaws is an enjoyable stealth adventure that should appeal to fans of the franchise, but be prepared for some bumps along the way.
