Star Wars Outlaws PlayStation 5 Review

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Fast Facts

In a Galaxy Far, Far Away

Star Wars owns a small part of my heart. I grew up watching Star Wars films, playing video games and even playing with toys based on the franchise. There is just something about the world, its inhabitants and the stories that I love. I can even find things to like in some of the more recent, questionable Star Wars content. I was very excited when the initial trailer dropped for Star Wars Outlaws. A true, open-world Star Wars game. Count me in!

Star Wars Outlaws is a game set between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, in most people’s opinion, the ‘golden era’ of Star Wars. You play Kay Vess, a scoundrel of sorts who is trying to make her way in the world. We all know how these things go though, you get caught up in all sorts of shenanigans, weird jobs and galactic feuds.

A Price on your Head

Early on in the game you take on a dodgy job and end up with a ‘Death Mark’ on your head. You steal a ship, get off world and end up playing several factions off against each other while trying to rid yourself of this inevitable death sentence. Siding with factions while meandering the game’s main quest was certainly interesting, even if it seemed like it was just a way of getting certain rewards and restricting you from certain areas of the game most of the time.

I felt the story of Outlaws was serviceable. Outside of being Star Wars it would be very run of the mill, don’t get me wrong it had its moments but I think it was the setting and world-building of Star Wars that dragged it along. Cameos and being involved in a galaxy I know and loved did a lot of the heavy lifting here.

From a gameplay standpoint, Outlaws reminded me of Assassins Creed, especially the newer Assassins Creed games in the series. An open-world game with side quests, stealth and collectables. I did find visiting Star Wars locations fun, even if most of the stuff you were doing was standard open-world fare. My issues with Outlaws were not the world design or the general gameplay, I had issues with the stealth system and its inconsistencies.

Forced Stealth? Pfft.

During some forced stealth sections, which I hate, by the way, I would have massive inconsistencies in the stealth system. I could take out a Stormtrooper and one standing right next to him would not even notice, yet on another attempt, I would take out the same Stormtrooper and it alerted someone on the other side of the planet! It was very difficult to judge what to do and how the enemies would react, which in stealth sections made the game quite irritating. This is even more amplified when you instantly fail when spotted. News has been revealed recently that they are adjusting this system and even taking out most of the forced stealth sections, which would improve some aspects of the game.

I don’t mind stealth at all, but when it’s forced, it does rub me up the wrong way. I like to be stealthy but when I get spotted I like to just go in shooting or wailing on folk. If I die or get captured fair enough but just to fail when spotted feels antiquated to me and just not fun. You know, if it’s a game that is 100% stealth and that’s what the game is then sure, but I would probably not play that game anyway.

Varied, Fun Gameplay

Outside of all the stealth stuff, you have blaster gameplay which I found enjoyable enough and some speeder gameplay which funnily enough, I also found a bit spotty. Sometimes I would die jumping off large jumps and sometimes I would not. There was something entertaining though about pulling up to a base occupied by Stormtroopers on your speeder bike and scouring it for collectables and new side-content to delve into.

There are upgrades and loot galore, as you would expect in games like this. Your blaster is upgradeable with different shot types to help with puzzles and getting into and out of various locations. What I found impressive about these locations was how large and varied they were. Sometimes I was traversing underground, massive, space wrecks doing climbing puzzles and sometimes I was wading through piles of Stormtroopers in remote bases.

More Niggles

Your constant companion in Outlaws is a small Axolotl-type creature called Nix. Nix is used to pickpocket people, grab collectables, hit switches you can’t reach and does have a few combat-based abilities you can call upon. Again though, I found the button prompts and the whole system quite inconsistent. Sometimes it would take me pressing the button several times to get NIx to do what I wanted and sometimes it would happen the first time. While not as irksome as the inconsistent stealth system it was still slightly aggravating.

I appreciated the variety in the game. While none of the parts shone very brightly individually, the mixture of game systems, from space vehicle combat to climbing puzzles and from combat to stealth was welcomed. There was a lot to do and the variety was applaudable. I just felt overall each part was not strong enough by itself, was inconsistent most of the time and had too many technical issues.

It Certainly Looks and Sounds Like Star Wars

Graphically, I thought Ubisoft did a good job with Outlaws. While not being best-in-class, it all felt like Star Wars and that all I wanted. Traversing Tatooine and places I knew brought back memories and some of the new locations were well-designed. It certainly looked and felt like Star Wars. The sound work was also on par with familiar sounds hammering home the theme of the game and its world.

The technical issues I had, while minor, did take me out of the experience a few times. This is always jarring in a game like this, it breaks the immersion and reminds you that you are actually playing a game. I got stuck on NPCs, I had to restart the game a few times and just found the whole thing a little rough round the edges. It did improve with patches and steadily got better but it was never flawless.

Entertainment Amongst Ire

With all this being said I did enjoy my time with Outlaws, I just wish I had enjoyed it more. Technical issues and inconsistencies brought down what I thought was a varied and entertaining experience. As I said above, I love Star Wars and messing around in a Star Wars sandbox will always entertain me. I think I would have got a lot more out of it if it was less inconsistent and the stealth system was a tad more refined. I actually preferred the two recent games, Fallen Order and Survivor over this but they both felt like a more cohesive overall experience.

If you are in the market for a new Star Wars game, I cannot fully recommend it over the other two mentioned. However, if you love Star Wars and see this title on sale, it may be worth a punt. There is fun to be had in Outlaws, even amongst it’s niggly flaws.