New Gameplay and Story structure, UI and Game Systems, Combat and Exploration possibilities, and all the little details! We are going to break down all of the Star Wars Outlaws footage and information revealed during the Ubisoft Forward live event!
Story Progress: Finding Experts
The ultimate goal of Kay Vess is to pull one of the biggest heists in galactic history, in order to do this she’s going to need the help of the most talented people available. You will have to find some of these experts to learn from them.
To find them, Kay must follow rumors or clues that lead to the specific location of these people. The crime world is an extremely competitive industry so it’s very likely that big criminal organizations are already hiring said individuals.
I doubt that crime syndicates follow galactic labor laws so there’s also a very big possibility that some of these experts must be freed from their current “employees”.
If this is the case, my guess is that only those who will join your actual crew will have some mission to unlock them.
Mechanics, slicers, gunslingers, scavengers, are just some of the experts available in Star Wars Outlaws. Ii will be your job to find the most fitting and qualified job of such importance.
Player Reputation in Star Wars Outlaws
Having a reputation in the underworld is what makes or breaks a deal. Smugglers, bounty hunters, hired guns, or anyone who wants to make it knows that their name must be known for the right (or wrong) things.
Star Wars Outlaws will emphasize this by having a reputation system that affects Kay’s relationship with every criminal organization. The better reputation, the more access to better-paid contracts.
Pyke Syndicates, Crimson Dawn, The Hutt Cartel, and every other group always want the best for their interests, but so does Kay.
There will be moments when you’ll have to decide which organization to benefit, but obviously, this could really hurt your hard-earned reputation with the losing party.
This goes both ways, none of them would even hesitate to double-cross you if that means that they’ll get some benefit from it so you better remember that loyalty isn’t always rewarded in this job.
High-stakes jobs come with a bigger payment, but what if you decide to double-cross them and keep all the loot for yourself?
This is going to be a possibility that comes with its respective risks. It’s going to be very interesting to see all the types of rewards that you can get by betraying your employers.
Just remember before doing something impulsive that you are not dealing with some minor thugs. These are the most powerful criminals in the galaxy and no one messes up with them without paying the price.
The proof of this is that Q’ira, the leader of Crimson Dawn herself will make a triumphal return in Star Wars Outlaws.
Reputation will also affect the prices of products sold by merchants. Most of them are affiliated with a syndicate, the better reputation you have, the better deal you will get from the merchant.
What is the Wanted System
As the previous segment states, any stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking nerf-herder who wants to make it in the big leagues must have a reputation. But being recognized because of your illegal activities also brings the attention of the Galactic Empire.
They tolerate the existence of criminals as long as they don’t interfere with Imperial operations but let’s be honest, there are very few things that are more profitable than stealing from the Empire.
Once you mess with the Galactic Empire, they will send multiple troops after you. Stormtroopers, an AT-ST, TIE Fighters, Death Troopers, and maybe something even worse.
HUD and UI Overview and Breakdown
The User Interface of Star Wars Outlaws is minimal and extremely discrete. The main objective appears at the top-right of the screen while most of the remaining elements show up at the bottom of the screen in a white color that doesn’t break the immersion.
The icons on the left are different actions that Nix can do, the left D-pad opens up the inventory, the right D-pad calls Kay’s Speeder, and the icons on the far right display the firing mode.
It’s a simple but practical display of only the most necessary actions. I consider this very good approach because I don’t like when UI elements are too “in your face”. As a user of an ultrawide monitor, it really excites me to think that I will be very immersed in the game.
The trailer only showed the map and menu for a bit but it’s more than enough. The map shows the limits of an area with blue outer lines. A marker also indicates the location of an objective and a small description appears next to it.
At the top, we can see the number of credits available. And right next to it all the available sections of the menu: Vehicles, Equipment, Abilities, Map, Journal, Reputation, and Databank.
Your main objective and nearby points of interest will appear at the small bar that is located at the top of the screen. There are different icons for different objectives, which makes them very easy to identify.
When an icon is at the center of the bar, the distance you must travel to get there is going to appear. In the image below you can see that it’s 29m.
Just like other elements of the UI, the HP is very discrete and easy to miss in the gameplay footage. It’s at the bottom of the screen and only appears when Kay is engaged in combat. It will start as a small bar and will increase its size as you progress through the game.
Exploration opportunities in Star Wars Outlaws
Ubisoft states that this is “the first-ever open-world Star Wars game” and this is just not true. Star Wars: Galaxies, and Star Wars: The Old Republic are well-established games with SWG pioneering the open-world concept for the franchise more than twenty years ago. Even Star Wars: Jedi Survivor, which only came out last year is also considered an open-world game.
Source: Kuokka77, YouTube
Now that I addressed that unfortunate statement we can move on to the interesting part. There are no loading screens! At least when traveling from planet to planet. You can get in your ship, fly to the atmosphere, and jump into hyperspace for a few seconds before reaching the next destination.
Planets might have more than one available landing spot located in different areas. The game will also show your reputation with the syndicate that operates on said planet. This will be helpful to help us consider how to behave appropriately.
We still don’t know the full roster of available planets and space stations but the trailer shows different environments. Jungle, desert, savannah, freezing mountains, Imperial installations, underworld markets, and asteroid fields.
Planets are going to be explorable with an upgradeable speeder but the information on that is extremely limited. Maybe speed, maneuverability, and some sort of combat mechanics will unlock but for that we must wait for further information.
What was shown is just the tip of the iceberg and I’m sure that many surprises await us in the deeper corners of the available locations.
Combat Experience on the ground and in space
Space combat seems to be pretty straightforward. Just pilot the EML 850 Light Freighter, aim at enemies, and shoot them down with missiles or turrets while using the thrusters to pull off some fancy maneuver. The same thing that we experienced when playing space battles in Battlefront II.
Kay Vess isn’t Force-sensitive, so compared to Cal Kestis her combat abilities are very limited. Armed with just a blaster we will need to be extremely smart in how we use the resources and environment in our favor.
Finding cover, using Nix to distract the enemies, or shooting explosive materials are some of the many things that will be required to finish the dangerous jobs.
Kay’s blaster has three firing modes: stun, standard, and charged. The first one is for a non-lethal approach, the second is just your regular blaster shot and the last appears to be explosive.
When reloading the blaster you will see a bar with black, yellow, and blue sections. Pressing the reload button when the marker is in the blue section will load it instantly. If you played Battlefront II then you’re already familiar with this mechanic.
There will be times when we are forced to fight and there aren’t many things that we can use to our advantage. When this happens, the skills learned from different experts might save us from a tough situation.
New characters and some old faces
It looks like there will be many different enemies to fight. Droids, wildlife, Imperial soldiers, deathly monsters, and all the different hired guns that serve the different crime syndicates.
But not everything is bad news for Kay Vess, there are many other characters who are potential allies. The most notorious one is our favorite cheater, Lando Calrissian.
The man definitely has a reputation and many contacts, so his help could be extremely useful. That is if somehow you manage to convince him…
I’d dare to say that Nix, the small axolotl-like creature is without a doubt the most valuable asset of Kay Vess. It can detect nearby enemies, create distractions without getting caught, and even aid in the middle of a fight while also serving as a funny/cute character.
Star Wars Outlaws is available in three editions and is set to release on August 30, 2024 for all major platforms.
