I’m almost certain that I recommended Star Wars Desperados to my friend Manky Kev when we were about 14 years old. “All the Star Wars games are about Jedi or fighter pilots, and they are the most boring assholes in the entire saga,” I state, unequivocally, to the eloquence of someone three times my age. “You want a game where you can play the bad guy, but be a good bad guy, not a Sith, and it’s an open world like GTA. You’re Han Solo, but before he starts fighting with Jedi Knights and fighter pilots Before mixing together.
I remember this very clearly. Manjicave threatened to kick me in the head if I said any more Star Wars nonsense, but that idea has faded over time. Apparently, though, someone at Ubisoft took it away from me and every other ’90s teenager who loved Star Wars and Grand Theft Auto and wanted to mash them together.
Yes, after decades of shifting gamer tastes, the merging of genres, and the general rise of Ubisoft’s Open World Formula™, it’s possible to compare Watch_Dogsy’s 24th Disney acquisition to Grand Theft Auto It would be a bit excessive. boss baby. You can’t even steal someone else’s accelerator. I checked and there are no hints. Ubisoft is so serious about getting you involved in the high-speed bike upgrade system that a technically minded career criminal like Kai Weiss would rather legally spend his money on a better vehicle than just, you know, pinch one.
but you able Freely explore the Star Wars galaxy (some large, walled-off sections) aboard your trusty ship. Pull off a grand heist and cleanse your palate with some petty theft. Participate in a personal NPC narrated story about a little guy with a gambling problem. Play arcade games at the bar. Betrayal of the big local cheese. When reaching bustling centers and doing these activities, you have to abide by most of the same travel rules as in GTA: There are wide open roads to enjoy, but others use them. Sometimes they’re the police, or anyone considered an authority in a particular area of the galaxy, and you’ve reached a wanted level.
The great space highway to distant places is – at least in one instance we know of – locked behind story doors. Your access to the entire city depends on your loyalty to the faction it controls. You rise through the criminal ranks working for various mobsters, a journey punctuated by cutscenes directed by a director fond of the Doujin TV series of the time, which are filled with enough goofy humor to make you almost forget about everyone. What a bunch of horrible bastards. Yes, this is Ubisoft, and yes, it’s clear that the Outlaws gets most of its DNA from the Stables Assassin’s Creed and watch dogsbut if you want a succinct summary, Andor is honestly no better than any of them.
While it’s a cliche at this point (although arguably never followed properly), a large part of Desperado’s appeal lies in its bold lack of lightsaber action. This is not about the eons of battle for freedom or the conquest of civilization by lads in robes, their ways superficially incompatible but often indistinguishable (Well), it’s about people who have to live in places like the Star Wars galaxy that don’t have high microbial populations, or whose last name is Skywalker. In short; people whose lives suck, but would be even worse if they were straight.
It’s unlikely that Kay Weiss and her little lizard dog Nix saw or heard the lightsaber being extended. Ubisoft wouldn’t be doing this if they could tap into the core appeal here. In other words, even if you do it, it will only be done once and it will scare them half to death. Just like it will. as it should. Likewise, the average pickpocket on the streets of Dundee is unlikely to feel the thrust of a £3,000,000 cruise missile or know which buttons work.
While Kai and Vix are closer to Han and Chewie than Luke and Leia, they never tire of sneaking around. Minute-by-minute gameplay is most prevalent on the enemy side. obviously. You have the usual options: sneaking around with sneaky (good players), gunning down (idiot players, who are simply idiots, how do they get dressed in the morning), or the secret third way, which starts with sneaking (good) intentions, And then give up on them because the game sucks or you played it badly and missed something.
Nix, your little pup, fills the void of drones and gadgets in Watch Dogs 2, and Assassin’s Creed Eagle Vision. He can be sent to open doors, he can distract the bad guys, or he can give you a headache and let the important things shine. But unlike how Ubisoft described him, he was a cute little baby who I wanted to hug and give him snacks.
That’s it. real. Star Wars Outlaws is Ubisoft’s take on Star Wars. You already instinctively know if this is your glass of blue milk. But I can offer this with additional insight: Before this hands-on session, Outlaws was barely considered a blip on the release schedule in my mind. I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing, but it’s not an exciting prospect. Perhaps because it represents a nexus of franchise fatigue – Ubisoft’s much-criticized open-world template being applied to a media property that has been put into production overdrive in recent years, with wildly different results. Whatever the reason, that’s just how we are.
but now? I am excited. I can’t wait to fully immerse myself in it.childhood dream war games, and That It was a lasting impression that shattered my decades of tempered expectations. Whether it will be the monkey’s paw remains to be seen. We will, as always, reserve appropriate judgment pending review.
Star Wars Outlaws will be released on August 30 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PC.
