Massive have nailed the feeling of what makes a Star Wars game great, with cities and planets that have never felt more real
STAR WARS OUTLAWS had me giddy in points.
I was walking down the dusty streets of Mos Eisley, past the hanger where the Millenium Falcon would have been parked up.
The two stormtroopers stationed in the exact spot where Obi-Wan told them, no these aren't the droids you're looking for.
Walking into the cantina and spotting the blaster mark on the wall which confirmed who shot first.
Lots of little details make this visit to the galaxy far far away one of the most memorable of the last couple of years, but these cities felt real in a way I've never experience before, teeming and lived in.
With heaps of fun environments to explore and a story that moves along at a perfect pace, this open world game from Ubisoft's Massive Entertainment feels expansive and intimate at the same time.
Open world games can tend towards a laundry list of hundreds of little tasks to complete, it was one of the major comments we saw when previewing STAR WARS OUTLAWS earlier this year, the fatigue for a basically endless world is real.
There are four planets you can visit in OUTLAWS, each at a slightly different scale. Toshara is land of prairies and mesas, Tattoine sandy rocky and unforgiving, Kijimi is a packed snowy city and Akiva is a drenched jungle. If you throw in the more linear casino city of Canto Bight which bookends the whole experience that makes it five.
So it feels pretty manageable, you can tackle each area as you prefer or follow the story as it takes you across the galaxy.
The open world segments have a few breadcrumbs and intel here and there, but I do think the culmination of the open world design mastered by The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is evident here. Take a path towards your objective but if you get distracted and something catches your eye go for it!
Some of the smaller areas like Kijimi or many of the Imperial bases and space stations are more linear but there is always multiple different paths to explore.
You know how in most games you walk the opposite way to see if you've missed any secrets? Often in OUTLAWS you find a completely different approach to the same objective location and that's so fun.
Most of all OUTLAWS has captured the vibe of a Star Wars universe, it's the world I imagined in a time before endless spinoffs and TV shows and it's just super fun to play in this space.
Kay Vess, her merqaal companion Nix must travel across these worlds securing work with the shady cartels that inhabit the dark shadow cast by the Galactic Empire, meeting new and familiar faces from the greater Star Wars universe.
Rock into town, pick up a few quests, head off into the wilds and get paid. Chase the highest credits and screw over your client or take a smaller cut and reap the reputational rewards.
You aren't a super powerful Jedi. Kay is in contrast to previous games pretty vulnerable to getting blasted so you'll be ducking behind cover looking for your moment.
Stealth is essential for the early parts of any encounter, it feels pretty similar to a modern Assassin's Creed game in parts, you've got to work your angles, memorise timing and use your gadgets or Nix to get the advantage.
But you know what? Massive is totally fine if you botch the sneaky approach and need to fight your way out, the plan going awry is a classing part of Star Wars and it's really fun.
It feels pretty forgiving too, if you make a mistake on a mission that says "don't set off the alarm" it's not an instant game over if you get spotted, you can use the environment or damage the alarms to buy yourself a few extra chances.
Nix is an essential part of this, I know I definitely came into the game thinking maybe I'll use Nix occasionally but he has so much utility which can be improved throughout the game.
For example, if you pick up an upgrade by completing certain tasks in the game and Nix can pull the pin on the Thermal Detonator on a Storm Trooper's belt. KA-BOOM!! It's goofy but it never got old.
Ducking behind cover you can send Nix out to retrieve health or a more powerful weapon, destroy an explosive barrel or fill a hallway with smoke.
Kay might not be a Jedi, but she does have that superpower that makes each enemy encounter fun to play.
Ubisoft did a lot to talk up the four cartels you'll be dealing with, Crimson Dawn, The Hutts, The Pyke Syndicate and the new Ashiga Clan.
While the story will wind you through each of their overlapping turf you're free to pick up any jobs you like, building up reputation to unlock new gear and new jobs.
These cartels are broadly pretty happy with you sniping and cutting into each other, it just seems to be the name of the game, all is fair in the teeming underworld it seems.
Normally most jobs are pretty binary, gain rep with one criminal organisation and then lose some with the other in an almost one for one trade, but there are some opportunities to gain a small amount of rep without cheesing off the other crew. You can take on jobs that target the Empire directly or do sneaky missions like planting listening devices in one gang's base.
What this game doesn't do, and to be fair this is pretty true for all of Star Wars, is confront the nature of organised crime. If you're looking for a Godfather-like exploration of tested loyalties, this isn't it.
You are helping crooks swindle money off gamblers, participating in rigged card games. It doesn't really pause at all to look at the actual cost supporting these organisations has.
That's fine, but Andor is still going to be the high-water mark in my opinion for complex stories told in this universe.
You can make a few story choices throughout the main story which shapes how the narrative unfolds which is pretty cool, but I didn't find myself sitting there pondering what if supported these bad guys instead of those bad guys.
Universal accessibility settings are one of my absolute favourite new design features in modern games and proved essential for smoothing out one of the most frustrating parts of this game, lockpicking.
I know mileage will vary but for a game that is pretty happy with you making a mistake here and there in all other aspects in the pursuit of fun, the rhythm based lockpick moment was so frustrating.
Turns out I've got no rhythm. Like at all. Hitting a repeating pattern of button inputs failed me repeatedly.
Lucky I was able to turn this down in complexity and improve the readability because it's essential to progress, I'd be really interested to see how other people fare when faced with the same mechanic.
The other minigame is hacking or slicing computers, that's pretty much Wordle with symbols or numbers if you adjust another accessibility setting and that's much more doable.
The fact that all major studios now are embracing these configurable experiences is a wonderful excellent thing, because if I never have to pick another lock, I'll be very very happy.
STAR WARS OUTLAWS is a fantastic world to visit with complex locations teeming with life, the fun of exploring the galaxy with blaster in hand or in the cockpit of your starfighter is one that kept me smiling all the way through.
It's open world exploration with out the laundry list of tasks and a game I can't wait to revisit again and again starting fights with Imps or Pykes or Hutts.
A copy of STAR WARS OUTLAWS on PlayStation 5 was provided to SIFTER for the purpose of this review
