Star Wars Outlaws review: Anything for Nix

I will admit that I’m not the biggest Star Wars fan. I’ve definitely missed one or two of the most recent movies, all of the shows, and I’ve fallen off most of the video games before completion. From the moment I saw the Star Wars Outlaws trailers, though, it had a different vibe. Something about it was drawing me in. Now that I’ve had a chance to play it all the way through, I’m happy to report that Outlaws is pure fun from start to finish.

Kay Vess, huh?

Outlaws begins kind of like recent Assassin’s Creed or Far Cry games. You play as Kay Vess, stuck on Cantonica with Nix, your Merqaal companion who is equal parts adorable and useful. Together, the two of you set out to leave Cantonica and explore the galaxy. Of course, to do this you must rob the evil syndicate leader who lives in a nearby palace. Everything goes wrong, as you’d expect, but Kay Vess somehow ends up escaping with the syndicate leader’s ship, the Trailblazer, eventually crashing on Toshara.

Things begin to open up a bit at this point, although you’re still not free to explore other worlds at your leisure. You must first complete several quests that help you get the Trailblazer fixed up with a hyperdrive to jump to other planets. You are free to explore Toshara, however, and there are oodles of quests and activities to dig into on this planet.

Uncharted territory

It was during the first few hours that I really started to get a feel for the way Outlaws was going to allow me to play. It’s a mix of stealth and Blaster-blazing combat, with plenty of player choice on how to approach most missions. There are some forced stealth encounters, but for the most part you’ll be free to play the way you want. I started off using stealth tactics, but quickly grew tired of sneaking around and doubling the time it takes to complete objectives. Before long I was getting the feel for Kay’s Blaster and Nix’s abilities, and any time the game was allowing me to shoot my way through, that was my approach. There were times when Outlaws felt a little like an Uncharted game for me, with plenty of parkour, environmental puzzles, and exploration of nifty little locations to fill the space between fights.

Light Uncharted vibes notwithstanding, Outlaws is a Star Wars game through and through. All the necessary boxes are checked in that regard, including space battles against TIE fighters, chaotic fights against Stormtroopers, Jabba, and a few other surprises that I don’t want to spoil for fans looking forward to this one. What impressed me the most, though, is that Outlaws is a game that you can enjoy whether you’re a big fan or you’re just looking for a good time. It nails the vibes of allowing the player to be an outlaw in the underworld, letting you assemble a memorable crew for your journey without ever losing that sense of fun and adventure.

A lot to take in

It’s easy to be overwhelmed with all that’s going on when things start to open up and you can explore different planets with the Trailblazer. You’ve got a faction reputation system that lets you pick and choose whose good graces you’ll be in, and who will hunt you down for working against them. I loved this system, and most of the quests that involved factions gave me a choice in how to navigate those relationships the way I wanted. Depending on how a faction feels about you, they will either let you walk right into their base, or consider you a trespasser. Their vendors will also give you better deals if they like you, and even give you access to their restricted stocks. 

Each planet also consists of a large city that will usually be home to one of the factions and filled with things to do. You have gambling opportunities, arcade games to play, treasures to find, and more side quests than you can hold in a duffle bag. You can even play a little food minigame with Nix to earn buffs for use during gameplay. These cities are where Outlaws feels most alive, and each has a different yet equally gorgeous vibe. For years now, Ubisoft has been showing off with the graphical prowess of its games, and this is no exception. The cinematics are particularly gorgeous. 

The dark side

Outlaws as an open world game is a complicated conversation. It’s satisfying to go where you want when you want but exploring outside of populated areas fell flat for me. There might be a handful of towns on each planet outside of the main city, or a few Empire outposts to mess with but, overall, that sense of discovery and wonder pulling me to explore every nook and cranny is missing. I'm interested to see how hardcore Star Wars fans feel about it, but I maintain that this open world falls well short of the best in class. I did enjoy bombing around on my speeder, but Outlaws’ open world isn’t what makes it great.

While I stuck mostly to playing through the main missions and side quests, things began to get a little repetitive with the sneaking through vents or having to adhere to an objective that wouldn’t let me raise an alarm. There were times I would fail that objective repeatedly, and it quickly got old having to reset back at the start of a large room where I had to sneak to the other side. What got me through these lulls was Nix. Nix is not only adorable, but you can utilize his skills to tip the scales in your favor during stealth or combat. This little rascal can sabotage alarms, set barrels to blow up, steal from enemies, fetch things, and much more. He's an integral part of Kay's journey and I found myself heavily invested in their bond.  

Lastly, I didn't love the ship combat in Outlaws. This was something that I wanted to love but just never got there. There were only a few ship battles during the main campaign, and Massive Entertainment definitely saved the best for last but, overall, dogfighting with TIE fighters wasn’t satisfying to me. I’m not sure if it was the lack of a first-person perspective, or the controls, but something just felt off. The sound of those battles in space was incredible, but otherwise I found these encounters to be clunky and annoying. 

Worth the trip

Outlaws is at its best when it’s telling you a story. I was immediately invested in Kay and Nix and loved going on this journey with them. I didn’t skip a single cinematic or hurry through dialogue and, as a casual Star Wars fan, I would say that’s a big win for the folks at Massive Entertainment. There were certainly some places where the gameplay felt repetitive, but climbing, grappling, and taking out my foes in chaotic battles with my Blaster always felt satisfying. Working with Nix to solve puzzles or stealth through areas was a treat. Now that I’ve beaten the story, I’m not sure I’ll spend much time in the open world, but Outlaws did such a good job that I’m thinking of digging into some of the movies and television shows I’ve been passing on. That’s about as big a compliment as I can give the story.

Star Wars Outlaws will be available on August 30, 2024, for the PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S platforms. A PC digital download code was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.

Bill Lavoy

Managing Editor

Bill, who is also known as Rumpo, is a lifelong gamer and Toronto Maple Leafs fan. He made his mark early in his career through guide writing and a deep understanding of editorial SEO. He enjoys putting in the work to create a great content, be it a wild feature or grinding out an in-depth collectible guide. Tweet him @RumpoPlays if you have a question or comment about one of his articles.