The surprise hit of the year?
“Star Wars Outlaws” offers a criminally good adventure
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The Death Star is destroyed, the Empire must reorganize itself. The best time for criminals in the Star Wars cosmos begins. “Star Wars Outlaws”, an open world implementation without any Jedi Knights, takes place in this setting. Can this work?
The Star Wars universe is a guarantee of success – actually. Disney has also shown how not to do it with some series spin-offs like Boba Fett or Obi-Wan Kenobi. People were all the more skeptical when Ubisoft announced “Star Wars Outlaws” as an open-world epic. The developers Ubisoft and Massive Entertainment allow players to immerse themselves in the world of smugglers, thieves and space pirates and consciously forego the dark and light side of the force – and thus also Jedi Knights. ntv.de tested whether the video game for PC, PS5 and Xbox lives up to the high hopes.
The Death Star is destroyed, the Empire must reorganize itself. The best time for illegal business is found by criminal cartels who now want to make big money. Of course, the criminal groups don't begrudge each other anything and so boss Sliro from the Zerek Besh syndicate tries to eliminate his competitors. Protagonist Kay Vess stumbles into the middle of these power games: she unknowingly steals Sliro's favorite spaceship, who from then on chases her through the galaxies. To get rid of the cartel, she must carry out the heist of her life.
The four cartels (Pykes, Hutts, Crimson Dawn, Ashiga Clan) are an animating element in the game. Each mission has an impact on Kay's reputation among the criminal organizations: sabotaging one clan's facility will make another happy. In some cases you can still decide in the quest who you play against each other. A mood bar then shows whether, in the worst case, a cartel has just put a bounty on Kay or, in the best case, whether it is granting discounts to traders and new orders are available. Since many city sections and regions on the planet are controlled by the syndicates, reputation determines whether Kay can pass through these areas safely or whether it ends in shootouts and chases on the hover gliders.
As an outlaw in “Star Wars Outlaws” you don't have Jedi powers, but you do have a cuddly companion in the alien creature Nix who can steal objects, pull levers or distract opponents. The mix of gremlin and house cat is not only useful, but also regularly exudes the typical Star Wars charm. For example, when Kay and Nix eat the traditional dish of the respective planet at the street food stand in quick-time events.
In the best cantinas in the galaxy
There's no shortage of blaster action in Outlaws.
(Photo: Ubisoft)
Outlaws doesn't lack charm anyway. Orchestral music accompanies exciting action sequences; the whirring of the lightsabers is missing, but there is no lack of the pew pew of the blasters. In addition, Massive Entertainment delivers exactly the right mix of new planets/biomes and familiar anchor points. So you start on the planet Toshara, which is unknown in the Star Wars cosmos, but over the course of the story you also find yourself in Mos Eisley on Tatooine and walk through what is probably the most famous cantina in the entire Star Wars universe.
The franchise didn't exist as an open world before. And you don't really get an open world feeling at the beginning, because it takes a few hours to explain the gameplay mechanics before you can move freely through the galaxy. After all: There is a fast travel function with which you can even jump back and forth between planets.
When it comes to the gameplay area, Ubisoft plays it safe and is based on its well-known titles such as “Watch Dogs” or “Assassin’s Creed”. For the most part, in the third-person shooter you sneak through the facilities of the syndicates or the empire, occasionally having to solve climbing passages and occasionally hacker mini-games or other symbol puzzles. There is a lot of loot to be found, but it only improves your blaster and spaceship.
No skill tree, just experts
The spaceship “Bahnbrecher” travels to different planets.
(Photo: Ubisoft)
When it comes to Kay's skills, there is no skill tree, just experts. In other words, characters that you get to know over the course of the story. For example, a hacker can make the heroine move more nimbly, a mechanic can teach her how to jump with a glider. This always requires a mix of collected materials and orders to be completed. This is also refreshingly simple and not necessary if you just want to start playing.
Although the gameplay mechanics are not particularly new, the mix is right here too. Ultimately, the story is so good that you definitely want to continue. The excursions into space also provide variety. Each planet has nearby asteroid fields peppered with space stations and pirate hideouts. Accordingly, there are also battles between spaceships. This has enormous retro charm when you're chasing tie fighters.
“Star Wars: Outlaws” ultimately proves that it works without the Skywalkers and the Jedi Knights. A video game that authentically fits well into the Star Wars universe and provides hours of entertainment – that's what the fans wanted. And Ubisoft fulfilled the wish criminally well.
“Star Wars Outlaws” is available for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.
