Ubi's ambitious 'Star Wars

Ubi Soft delivers a mixed bag with a standout game for franchise fans.

When we spent a few days at Massive Entertainment’s studios in Malmö attending talks about how ‘Star Wars: Outlaws’ was developed, two things became clear: we were looking at a galactic franchise game that didn’t give up the most distinctive elements of UbiSoft’s more accessible sandboxes, and its setting and approach were very appealing. After playing it, we can qualify both issues, but everything meets our expectations.

We play Kay Vess, a hustler who wants to rise in the underworld of criminals that swarm the saga, the same ones who hung out at Mos Eisley (a cantina we can visit) in ‘Star Wars: Outlaws’ (“semi” because a universe at your disposal is a lot of fabric, even for Ubi). To do so, she will contact various groups and cartels and perform missions that will improve or worsen her relationships with them.

A captivating heist story with Kay and a shady crew of hustlers underpins the plot and her encounters with cartels. Outlaws has much to offer beyond the understandable disappointment of the preview a few weeks ago, which gave a very limited impression of the game. The Star Wars underworld of criminals is one of the most appealing aspects, but let’s first discuss what makes Outlaws so Ubi and how that affects it.

Game from UbiSoft
Massive Entertainment’s game is sometimes too on rails and has lazy level design. Many infiltration phases take us through tunnels, ventilation ducts, empty hangars, and warehouses full of boxes, which could be from any science fiction story. ‘Outlaws’ wisely limits us to five planets, but there are filler levels and caves full of yellow ledges, hook icons, and lazy linear labyrinths.

But when the game gets its sandbox right, it excels. The game’s planets have a setting that rivals the best games in the franchise and a style that is rarely seen, since we will go to taverns, betting shops, and criminal dens outside of both the rebels and the Empire, as well as large open spaces. Vess will receive offers to join the rebels, but she will prefer to move for her own interests.

We’re dealing with a simple story, far from the moral ambiguities of ‘Watch Dogs’ (by avoiding Ubi franchises), but with some technical complexity. We enjoyed how it seamlessly transitioned between mechanics and environments, creating a thousand-carat adventure that all sandboxes should strive for. Ubi’s logo reflects its strengths (visuals, varied scenarios, personal planets, meticulous details, from Nix’s animations to jugable arcade machines) and weaknesses (perplexing design, mechanical details to clean).

Half-baked phases include stealth phases (with enemies whose perception oscillates between total blindness and seeing through walls), puzzles to open locks and unlock computers (some rhythmic, others piece guessing in the style of “Wordle” that tire quickly), and space combat phases, the weakest of the set. Due to their nearly automatic aiming, vehicles rarely pose challenges, and when they do, they do so arbitrarily.

In addition, there are bugs: puzzles that solve themselves, enemies that don’t see us, arbitrary deaths, sudden visual quality drops, saving game issues, etc. These are patchable issues, but they make one wish the game had arrived a month later and more polished.

The charismatic characters that have barely been mentioned (the hitwoman who pursues Kay or the android ND-5, among others) and the fact that it’s fun to explore (especially with the speeder) and let the narrative generate unexpected variables make ‘Outlaws’ a remarkable game.

Players who prefer role-playing sandboxes will likely be disappointed with the limited character improvement options, which are replaced here by a simple, accessible, but well-designed system: experts that allow us to improve our characters by completing small missions, with the attendant diversity and danger. ‘Outlaws’ offers a few unforgettable hours for those who want a simple adventure without Jedi.

Ubi’s ambitious ‘Star Wars

Ubi Soft delivers a mixed bag with a standout game for franchise fans.

By nr39r

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