Engine Primed – Star Wars Outlaws at Ubisoft Forward

The Leadup to August

On Monday, the Ubisoft Forward event graced fans with some decent gameplay of their biggest and brightest upcoming titles. Positive reactions online suggest many left the livestream feeling good about what’s inbound from the publisher. That is unless you were waiting for a Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell remaster. If that’s the case, you may still be misty-eyed. Too soon? Probably.

Most important to me, however, was the ten-minute-long look at Star Wars Outlaws. I feel confident in saying that the deep dive settled some fears I had about the game in general. Activities look dynamic, there seems to be no shortage of content, and the gameplay loop looks fun. I’ll break down the things I felt were most important in this article. Check out the Outlaws’ Ubisoft Forward showcase below, if you haven’t already:

Travel and Traversal

One of my biggest questions (and concerns) for Star Wars Outlaws has been its travel and traversal system. Thankfully, the footage shown at Ubisoft Forward shed further light on the situation. While landing on planets looks somewhat similar to Starfield, players will only be able to land at specific landing sites. With zone-based maps, this was to be expected.

As players enter the atmosphere of a planet, a loading screen in the clouds acts as a seamless landing segway. It was really nice to see this play out during the event. As an aside, choosing systems to jump to with hyperdrive also looked incredibly simple, which is great. The corresponding hyperdrive jump animation was just as seamless and smooth as the landing.

Travel and Traversal, Continued

The zone maps themselves are still somewhat of a mystery, but the urban settlements themselves look densely packed and explorable. Outlaws has made no claims of having thousands of full planets to explore. This is perfectly fine. As long as there’s plenty to do at each stop along my journey, I’ll be content. I’m sure the planned narrative expansions announced with the season pass will also expand on locations to visit.

Lively Environments

As I’ve alluded to in previous Outlaws coverage, the Star Wars universe’s soul needs to be properly captured in corresponding media. The imposing nature of the Empire’s outposts, the chaos of alien-filled streets and cantinas. The vibe needs to be right to be able to capture the hearts and minds of Star Wars gamers. Judging by everything shown off, Ubisoft/Massive have passed the vibe check. Maybe some will think this opinion is stupid, but it does matter. Don’t believe me? Search up simple nightclub comparisons between Starfield and Cyberpunk 2077. There is a stark difference in vibe. A game teeming with rich lore and countless alien species, using cantinas as main points of interest? I sure as hell hope they don’t feel like the Astral Lounge.

Even the brief instances where Kay walked through her ship, the Pioneer, made me excited to explore this world. The over-engineered panel arrays and ship system controls. The worn-out amenities in the lounge areas. The apparent care they took in making the player vehicle a tangible location in its own right, is commendable. Developers could’ve easily made the ship non-accessible to save time. Instead, it will act as a hub and home between segments of action. This adds to the bandito immersion and emulates ship-centric hubs seen in Star Wars: The Old Republic!

Lively Environments, Continued

Can we just take an extra minute to appreciate the look and feel of Tatooine in this game? Though it’s routinely considered a Podunk planet in Star Wars, it’s nothing short of iconic to fans. As Mathias Karlson noted in the video, Kay will be able to explore never-before-seen areas of Mos Eisley. He said recreating the city was a “dream come true” for the team. If there’s one thing that matters to hardcore Star Wars fans, it’s worldbuilding and lore. Being able to visit such iconic locations, like Mos Eisley, and reenact scenes from the silver screen is nice. Going a step further and adding a new, unexplored element to these places is invaluable.

I know, I’m clearly sitting first-class on the hype train for this game. That said, I can’t hammer home the point about look and feel enough. The attention to detail matters in a big way to people who are invested in the franchise. I’m sure simply walking around and exploring settlements, both known and unknown, will enthrall me for a long time. I’ll stop gushing before Disney greenlights a Star Wars pedestrian simulator.

Elusive Experts

From the start of the gameplay that was unveiled, it walked viewers through the “Experts” system. Experts will be scattered across the explorable area in-game and finding them will unlock new abilities for Kay. This is a cool way of incorporating a skill progression tree into the game. The spread-out nature of these individuals also pushes the player to engage in a lot of meaningful, targeted exploration. The outlaw turns into somewhat of an intergalactic detective, it seems.

I think the expert-locating skill progression system will lend itself well to the game. Tracking down these experts will undoubtedly result in the ‘one more thing’ effect of any open-world RPG. That is, the player sets out on a quest and gets sidetracked by 1000 other things to do along the way. Getting sidetracked isn’t exclusive to ground areas, either! This event gave us a glimpse at spatial encounters to tackle if we so choose. But be careful, even these happenings can affect your standing with the various criminal organizations.

Combat in Flight, Combat on Foot

Ship combat shown off in the orbital encounter looked good. It looks to be more arcade-like than space-sim-like. The ship moved very freely, and the shooting mechanics looked rather simple. There’s nothing wrong with this at all. Remember, a Star Wars open-world game doesn’t need to take itself too seriously. It’s not a space sim, and it shouldn’t get bogged down trying to act like one.

Further combat seen while tracking down the gunslinging expert saw Kay act stealthy. The hand-to-hand combat doesn’t look all that great. This was displayed when Nix jumped on a Rodian, and Kay opted for an Indiana Jones-esque knockout blow. Using the blaster pistol on the run and behind cover, though, seemed fairly smooth. I do like the feature of using stun mode, blaster mode, and overcharge mode to dispatch enemies differently. Did I also catch a glimpse of a system similar to Dead-Eye towards the end? I think so.

The Formula for Enjoyment is Here

Criticisms of Ubisoft’s open worlds in years past haven’t been unwarranted. Lately, I think they’ve begun adjusting the formula to become less predictable. The fact of the matter is that the license to develop a Star Wars game doesn’t get handed out to just anyone. These games are pitched, vetted, and developed with guidance from Disney. Ubisoft/Massive was picked because they do this particular thing well, and Star Wars needed an open-world game.

I think this game could be really fun, and it looks like devs are leaning on lore-rich environmental immersion. From everything that’s been shown so far, the formula for a good Star Wars title is present. Of course, the strength of the main story remains to be seen. Overall, I think review scores should be pretty favorable for this one. Over two months still remain until Star Wars Outlaws’ release. My stance is unchanged. I will be present on launch day to navigate the nefarious underbelly of this universe.