Star Wars Outlaws is the latest in Ubisoft‘s library of open world games (yes, this is an open world Star Wars game). Developed by Massive Entertainment, the makers of The Division games, you play as our leading character, Kay Vess, a scoundrel trying to survive in a galaxy that isn’t nice to people like her. That galaxy just happens to be the Star Wars universe, set between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. It shows a side of the Star Wars galaxy that isn’t explored as much as it could have been outside of the film “Solo” and the comics.
Whatever you might think of Ubisoft, making open world games is their forte. And whatever you may think about those games, they usually work. Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, The Division, and even Avatar were good games. They have their own problems, of course, but they worked and for the most part, had strong sales. They’re bringing that wealth of experience into the Star Wars universe that hasn’t had a narrative-driven action and adventure game featuring a non-Jedi protagonist since Star Wars Battlefront II’s story campaign in 2017.
This review is for the PlayStation 5 version of the game.
Star Wars Outlaws Trailer
A Beautifully Dirty Galaxy
Graphically speaking, Star Wars Outlaws is beautiful.The rock formations of Toshara, the snow-covered Kijimi, the lush greenery of Akiva, and the sands of Tatooine are all beautiful and for the previously existing planets in Star Wars like Tatooine, really feel very familiar. I know Star Wars fans have complained that the shows and the movies keep coming back to Tattooine or some dessert planet (among other things), but I was surprised at how “familiar” things felt when I got there, even though I’m in the middle of a speeder chase against factions I pissed off (and I pissed off more than one in true Han Solo fashion).
But my favorite location is space, seeing the debris field, the various ships coming and going (friendly or otherwise), the space stations you can dock in, and battles you can join is what I love doing whenever on-world activities gets too overwhelming. The planet looks beautiful, the sounds of the Tie Fighters screaming over you is always a delight, and in some orbits like Kijimi, there’s a nebula you can go through, complete with thunder and lightning.
Quality mode slightly improves resolution over frame-rate, but I did not feel any drop on the FPS. I started the game on Performance mode as I usually do, but I have since switched to Quality. The biggest difference is in the cutscenes, which I generally liked, but some of them seem to have facial animations, while others do not. I’m not sure why Ubisoft hasn’t fully embraced proper facial animations because it has been an issue in their games for years. Having great visuals can be undermined by poor face animations.
The Sounds of the Cantina
A Star Wars product has good sounds, whether it is the sound track, or the sound effects. Outlaws meets the grade in both, as the usual Star Wars SFX were used, and the sound track which was made specifically for the game, gives me the feels. It’s no John Williams or Michael Giacchino, but it gets your blood pumping.

Voice acting is generally good except one very important character. The aliens, are perfect, Jay Rincon as ND-5 deserves a shout-out for being able to put emotion into a droid. Caolan Byrne as Sliro is exquisitely evil, and Tamaryn Payne was able to make Lady Qi’ra her own, even though she tried to mimic Emilia Clarke’s portrayal of the character. Humberly Gonzalez put on a good performance as Kay Vess, although some lines of hers felt flat, but in general, she puts in the right emotion in her lines at the right places.
Gonzalez managed to convey Kay’s naivety and youth. Scoundrels in Star Wars are usually just “winging it” especially against crime lords like Jabba the Hutt. And it shows with how out of her element Kay is. We’re basically seeing an origin story, and Humberly Gonzalez made me care about Kay.
However, I should point out that Darth Vader’s voice sounds unrecognizable. It may be that they used a new VA for him, but they should probably have hired Scott Lawrence, the guy who voiced Vader in the Jedi games. The VA for Lando Calrissian, Lindsay Owen Pierre did OK, but there were times he sounded off.
Finally, it is the ambient music that really takes the cake in this game. When you enter Mos Eisley, the sounds really make you feel like you’re in that iconic location. When you enter an Imperial base or outpost, the SFX and the music brings you there as well. Oh, and punching into hyperspace sounded so good, it makes me feel like I am watching a Star Wars show on Disney+.
Gameplay
As of now, I’ve said nothing but praise on the game. So now we come to the gameplay, where things can be a bit subjective. The gameplay draws from both the Ubisoft formula that we’ve come to expect, and stuff that is clearly taken from other Star Wars games. It has platforming elements like in the recent Star Wars Jedi games, it has a working (but rather basic) shooter elements that are a mixture of Ubisoft shooters and Star Wars Battlefront, and there’s the side quests as is now normal in an Ubisoft open world.
Kay has a normal range of movements, from standing, walking, running, and crouch-walking. The animation is great on all of them, but I have noticed that she isn’t a particularly fast runner, and her crouch-walk which you’re going to use on stealth sections, is a bit too slow for my tastes until at least an ability upgrade. The shooting sections are OK, but I could use with some guide against enemies who are susceptible to specific shots. Droids and heavies are generally weak against Ion blasts, while everything else falls to the plasma (your basic blaster configuration).
Like any Ubisoft game, it has some “mini games” that either activities like Sabacc and betting on Fathier races, or mission critical gameplay like the data spike, and slicing (hacking). I personally liked the data spike mini-games because they’re rhythm based and aren’t that hard. The slicing took some time getting used to, but upon getting the upgraded slicing kit, things became a lot easier.
Stealth is great for the most part, but part of me wishes that there is a “snap to cover” mechanic like in The Division games. But a huge part of the stealth mechanic is Nix, your trusted partner. She can attack or distract guards, fetch items, sabotage alarms, and open doors for you. I’ve become so dependent on Nix that in a mission where she isn’t available, I had a somewhat hard time against guards.

There are some gameplay choices that felt weird, like you cannot really fight back during speeder chases except when your adrenaline is full and you can initiate your multiple shot ability. But what’s really painful is that you are more or less stuck with your default blaster. You can pick up other weapons but cannot keep them. I am guessing this is a narrative choice because Star Wars characters usually have their trademark weapons. But I would argue, that a Star Wars game, should also keep weapons variety in mind, because we’re not watching a show, or reading a comic, we’re playing a game.
And with that, I’ll continue on the topic of customization by bringing up Kay’s hairstyle. Kay will obtain a lot of outffits, both cosmetic, and with perks attached. But you cannot modify your hairstyle. I’m personally fine with the outfits that are available in the game, but it shouldn’t be difficult to also add hairstyle choices. I know Kay stores an important tool in her hair, but, you know, there are tons of hairstyles that allow for that.
The Star Wars Jedi games allowed us to customize Cal Kestis’ lightsaber down to its blade color, and we know what Cal Kestis’ canon lightsaber is. Same is true with hairstyle and facial hair that we can customize in Survivor. I know Star Wars as an IP cares a bit more about “canon” than your average title, but a video game should allow a bit more customization to engage players’ imagination. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate Kay’s hairstyle. I just think that options wouldn’t hurt.
Finally, I want to talk about the Reputation mechanic. Basically, as a low-level free agent scoundrel, Kay would have to deal with the biggest syndicates in her part of the galaxy, which happens to be the Pyke Syndicate, the Hutt Syndicate, Crimson Dawn, and the Ashiga (which was created for the game). All syndicates are dangerous, but all offer bonuses when you work for them. Earning their good will means that you can enter their territory unmolested, and their aligned merchants give you special upgrade parts for your blaster, speeder, or ship. But get on their bad side, and they’ll send death squads after you, and every time you enter their territory, they’re going to attack you on sight.
This mechanic makes things very lively at times. At the very least, you’re safe within towns, and with an upgraded speeder, ambushes get relatively manageable. I just wish there is an easier way to bribe each syndicate to ease up on you, and not have to grind your way back into their good graces. But that’s just a nitpick on my part. There is one other faction that is in the game that you regularly piss off, and that’s the Empire. The Stormtroopers in this game know how to shoot, and they like to swarm and overwhelm you with both numbers and firepower. Their Death Troopers are no joke as well.

Other technical stuff…
I personally have encountered some bugs in the game although not to the level of what some content creators of You Tube say. There is some screen tearing whenever I enter or leave a planet, and I think an NPC spawned right in front of me (a common Ubisoft bug).
The facial animations seem weird at times, and NPC dialogue sometimes initiates on top of an ongoing dialogue (but this one’s rare). As I said earlier, no FPS drops on my play-through, or if there was, I did not notice it.
There is also a game breaking bug on the PS5 that supposedly came with the Day 1 patch, but I was lucky enough to not be affected. It sucks from some Early Access folks because they paid top dollar to pay early, only to see their progress wiped or bugged beyond saving. In this regard, Ubisoft needs to do better.
A Young Girl Surviving in a Galaxy Far, Far Away…
Star Wars Outlaws’ strongest suit is its story, something that is true for most Star Wars video games around. You play as Kay Vess, a thief who got screwed after a job and is now on the run from the crime syndicate Zerek Besh who also out a Death Mark on her. With a stolen ship, The Trailblazer, Kay is taking her first steps into the life of a scoundrel, taking jobs from different factions to earn credits, earning either good will or anger depending on your actions.
She meets “experts”, people who teach her some abilities she can use, or upgrade her equipment to increase her chances of survival. Her promising careers comes into the attention of Jaylen Vrax who recruits her on a heist against Sliro, the leader of Zerek Besh and the man who placed the Death Mark on her.
She tries recruiting other people as well, ND-5, and old Clone Wars era commando droid who Jaylen “assigns” to her; Ank, demolitions expert; Gedeek, who is good with droids; Asara, a member of the Rebel Alliance who takes on the job to provide some “muscle”; and Riko Vess, Kay’s own mother who abandoned her in Canto Bight and who is one of the Galaxy’s best “slicers”.
On its own, the story of Star Wars Outlaws is not ground breaking. It isn’t going to win awards in writing, however, it is a good Star Wars story featuring characters that I have grown to like more and more as I spend more hours with them. Kay isn’t a hotshot: she’s relatively new to the trade, makes rash decisions, and often bites more than she can chew. But she is a good person, prioritizes her friends and crew, and has luck that would make Lando Calrissian and Han Solo blush.
Kay is not your “strong woman” type of character. She has weaknesses, gets overwhelmed in combat, and has serious abandonment issues. That’s why I like her. She’s annoying at times, but that’s because she’s so young, so inexperienced, and tries to play “scoundrel” with people who lives and breathes scoundrel. Her loyalty to her “crew” is commendable, and she is the type who will infiltrate an Imperial base just to rescue her crew. She is not a born leader, an expert combatant, or an expert pilot, and many times she’s saved either by her crew or just by sheer luck. But she has a lot of heart, and it is something this galaxy sorely needs more of.
I also really love ND-5, especially his banter with Kay. I love his arc and how he figured into the endgame. How he slowly learned to care for Kay more than his programming to serve Jaylen Vrax. The whole Trailblazer crew felt likeable, in fact, although I wish we got more development out of Ank outside her recruitment mission, especially since I find her “explosive” personality quite endearing.
Conclusion
Star Wars Outlaws is a fun game for Star Wars fans hoping for an adventure but are tired of being a Jedi. Is it GOTY? Of course not! It has faults in both its technical and gameplay aspects that hold it back. But that’s okay. Not all games worth playing are GOTY level. They don’t even have to be GOTY level to be fun.
This game is for Star Wars fans who are looking for a game to sink their time in without the benefits of a lightsaber or Force powers. There are very few games in the Star Wars universe that allow you to be a low-level scoundrel trying to survive amidst different crime syndicates. Fewer still, are games that allow you to feel what it’s like to live in it. Its Easter Eggs were tastefully placed, and make sense given the context.
You could drop by the Darklighter and Lars homesteads in Tatooine, now abandoned and in the case of the latter, still with blaster marks. It is there, and you can even miss it if you don’t know where to look.
Ubisoft has something going here, and if a sequel is greenlit, all Massive has to do is check on the feedback, fix the technical issues, and refine existing mechanics, and the next game will definitely be a winner.
But if it doesn’t, it’s OK. I had fun in my time as Kay Vess, lovable scoundrel, and the rest of the Trailblazer crew.