FragFriend published my review!
Click here to read the updated and extended version.
Original Post:
This game made a great first impression on me. The first hour or two was tight, with an exciting story, varied gameplay, and just seeming like a fun adventure. I was really enjoying it. Even Toshara I was having a lot of fun with the addition of the speeder, open world, and faction system. Mirogana is a mostly well designed city (I got lost more than a few times) with an especially great overall vibe and interesting faction base headquarters that changed as you allied with factions. I started the game off doing every mission and treasure hunt on Toshara and enjoyed my time there. But, I was starting to see the limitations of gameplay. The world was beautiful and seemed exciting but it felt like you were existing alongside it rather than it. You couldn’t climb much in the open world, limiting exploration, and in the city you could hardly interact with anything. NPC’s wouldn’t notice or react to you and at times it felt like walking through a (beautiful) demo rather than existing in a game. I also was lamenting the lack of fluidity in movement. The rope and climbing felt slow and clunkier than Uncharted (which I was really hoping the game would be like). Not to mention not as exciting in terms of paths, setpieces, or even Uncharted’s famous stumbling during climbs.
Still, I was enjoying the game despite these faults and I was excited when I got my spaceship, the space gameplay feeling like what I wished Starfield’s space stuff played like. I had a lot of fun doing the exciting mission on foot gameplay at the end of the first section.
Once I got to Kijimi however the limitations and faults began to show even more. The city wasn’t very beautiful (though it wasn’t supposed to be, so this can be forgiven) and the interactivity was very limited. Still, the “outside” of the city sections were exciting and adventure filled and I was having a good time. The world was made with love that you could see in things like the cute eating a meal with Nix that the developers didn’t have to do but still devoted time to. And the game still felt very Star Wars.
The next two planets made me feel a lot more disappointed than they opened the game up. The gameplay was still the same, with the gunplay getting tired and the stealth beginning to show its cracks. More than that, the worlds just didn’t feel great. Akiva was largely the same throughout, just lots of green and water and the interconnectedness of the map didn’t amaze me like the level design in the Jedi games did. Tattooine even moreso, just a whole load of desert (which makes sense of course). But these are two of the game’s four planets and they feel like single biomes (really, all the planets were, I came to realize) and none of them really felt beautiful to me on my 1440p maxed out settings. I was really disappointed by the time I got to Tattooine, with even Mos Eisley boring me, and I am a huge Star Wars fan.
The game never really evolved, just stayed more of the same with the addition of a couple of biomes. Uncharted and the Jedi games had consistent base gameplay too, but those were a hell of a lot more fun. Outlaws started off fun but never thrilled me and grew weary over time as I saw more of the classic Ubisoft “sneak onto enemy bases” gameplay that I’d seen in many Assassin’s Creed games and the new Avatar game. And the story was really just not that good, most of all because of the characters. ND5 was a pretty boring main companion, seeming a bit too much like a generic human-type droid and none of the experts were featured enough for me to care about them. I was waiting for the story to really get exciting, and then I was just disappointed as I realized what the game’s version of exciting story meant. Not to mention, the factions were less of a factor than I’d been led to believe. Sure, I had the Pikes chasing me everywhere I went and I could walk onto any Crimson Dawn or Hutt base and buy cool gear but the exclusive missions I played were just more contracts. Steal this cargo, interrupt this weapons deal, yadda yadda yadda.
All of which brings us to the final section of the game. Here the gameplay felt more of the same, and it was more apparent than ever that the “setpieces” were really just basic levels – they didn’t alter with explosions or the floor breaking like Uncharted or the Jedi games and the explosions were just kind of eh. The gameplay was more of the same – sneak your way around a mostly linear base with some rooms to really play around with the game’s mediocre stealth that might change into a shootout where you need to make sure no alarms get raised. And most of all, the story just did not do it for me. I was not attached to any of the characters, even disliking some, was not really afraid of the villain, and saw most of the twists coming. It was disappointing to say the least.
And that’s where I left it. I may do more contracts and play around with the faction system while I seek out to fully upgrade my abilities/speeder/weapons but that’s mostly because I haven’t settled on what game to play next (until GoW Ragnarok releases on PC next week). I love Star Wars, but did not love this game. It felt repetitive and limited, with little to no excitement or variation with the setpieces. I was a big defender of this game at first but came to agree with a lot of the criticisms I saw, as well as how it still felt pretty “Ubisoft like” with its stealth mechanics and repetitive base structure. Which could be ok – Ghost of Tsushima had repetitive base structure , but it at also had exciting story and terrific gameplay. I cared about the world and was happy to be in it. With Outlaws, I was really only happy to be in it because it was Star Wars. Otherwise, I may have dropped the game midway through.
Final rating: 5.5 (with a Star Wars cushion)
I definitely don’t regret playing it and had fun with it, but that fun withered and I was very ready to put it down by the end.
Edit: All this and I haven’t even mentioned the technical bugs! I experienced crashes, 5-10) as well as a frequent glitch where it would be like a second camera would shake along with the first. This would usually only last a cutscene, but sometimes (maybe 3 times) lingered into gameplay and I had to restart the game. Game is pretty demanding, much more so than the Jedi games, though it is newer.
And lastly (probably), this game has a cinematic perspective so it is ultra widescreen and has black bars on top and bottom if you’re on a normal display. This really bothered me. You can zoom in to fill the screen, but this cuts off the sides of the screen and (to me) feels awkward.
My least favorite parts of the game were the interactivity, story, platforming, and set pieces (or lack thereof). Gunplay and stealth weren’t bad but weren’t enough to compensate for these deficiencies.
31 Comments
I think that’s my issue as to why I haven’t bought the game myself.
I was a fan of Ubisoft for years dating back to the days of splinter cell. Assassins creed and Far Cry were major games that really brought something new to the community but I started to notice a pattern that every time Ubisoft find a formula that works they just stick with it. Assassin creed games all feel the same as well as far cry now. I skipped on avatar because I knew it would just be a reskin of far cry and reading the reviews I wasn’t completely wrong.
Looking at this Star Wars game I really wanted to be wrong and believe it was going to be something new but it just feels like all the other Ubisoft games. If you really peel back the face of Star Wars and see it as a neutral entity it’s really no different to their other stuff, it’s because it’s Star Wars we feel that wanting/connection to it.
I could honestly have a game thrown in front of me and know it was a Ubisoft game simply by how it played.
Very good review! I was hoping to hear a good spoiler free opinion on this before I tried it, and this has convinced me to wait until its discounted. Loved the Jedi games, but I generally think that Respawn is a better developer than Ubisoft anyway. Sad to hear it suffers from some of the same chronic flaws as the Assassin’s Creed games, but I’m glad to have been forewarned.
My only complaint was going to be that for a Starwars fan, you seem pretty consistent in your unforgivable insistence that Starwars is two words. That said, I looked it up and discovered that in fact I was the one who is wrong, and thus my entire worldview is irrevocably shattered and I have you to blame. 9/10 review. One point removed for forcing me to feel shame and disgust.
So another classic Ubisoft game. 5/10 on release. 7/10 when it’s fully fixed & on sale
So I’m about 12 hours in with 12 days of + left and I feel almost exactly as you described. Maybe it’s because I’m playing Astrobot where everything you do is satisfying and has fanfare but there’s just no feeling of excitement or accomplishment. I feel like I accidentally completed the missions. Combat is like the same battle every time.
Bummer, I had this pre downloaded and was hyped even though I shouldn’t have been. And as you said, I don’t really care about the characters or the story. Oh no I have a mark on my head and whine about nearly everything.
Brilliant review, think I agree with virtually everything you said.
In a lot of ways, Outlaws reminds me of Assassin’s Creed 1 in that the game has a lot of potential to be brilliant and even sets a mostly great foundation, and for those first few hours is incredibly fun and immersive – but then you get over the novelty of existing in this world and realize the game itself isn’t all that great, it struggles to establish it’s identity, there’s quite a few broken systems, mechanics don’t feel fine tuned, and the world feels quite barren.
I’d love to see a sequel, I think now a foundation has been set of what a Ubisoft open world Star Wars game plays like, they can put their entire focus into making a great game – but I feel like for the gameplay loop they’re going for, they should focus less on Uncharted kr Red Dead and maybe look at something like Deus Ex: Human Revolution or Hitman 2016 for inspiration on how to handle stealth
> these are two of the game’s four planets and they feel like single biomes (really, all the planets were, I came to realize)
Every planet in Star Wars is a single biome for some reason. It’s tradition.
Personally I’ve been loving it. The stealth can be pretty challenging at times but the AI hasn’t seemed broken to me. You just have to be careful about sight lines and the sounds you make while moving. Exploring every planet has felt immersive and more like I’m in the Star Wars universe than any other SW game I’ve played. Personally I’ve been enjoying it a ton.
Man, remember when reviews were completely honest like this, and were written to give an unbiased opinion & impression on a game for anyone out there to read.
Thanks a lot for taking the time to post this, OP!
I have noticed over the years that it feels like each segment is made by a different team of varying competence and quality. One section can be quite good, while others are atrocious
I agree. The more you play, the more the core gameplay is just kind of boring…it’s decent, it has it’s moments (esp during story missions) but almost all the side stuff is so routine. The Ubisoft genes really show themselves here. Story is also not super exciting, probably because of the all the distractions. I might have a different opinion if I just played the main story, but you’d be at a serious disadvantage.
I think I may just stop playing. Tried it on Ubisoft+ and got a good 15 hours in it. Really don’t think I’ll be missing out on much. Def not as fun as the Jedi games, IMO. their gameplay loop was much better.
I’m probably just going to wait for it to be on sale and hopefully by then it won’t have so many issues
This subreddit has already made their minds up based on which opinions they upvote and which ones they silence or accuse of being paid accounts. Personally Outlaws was a flawed but nevertheless exciting entry that made me hopeful for a sequel. Nothing mindblowing, but still a good step forward for Ubisoft open-world design in how it organically encouraged exploration. 7/10
Thanks for the review
I had it vaguely on a radar as someone who isn’t much of a Star wars fan so it’s probably not for me haha
I agree with pretty much everything you said, OP. Tatooine stuck out to me when I was in Mos Eisley at how lifeless it felt. There were NPCs but you didn’t get the sense they were living their lives, they were all just standing in place like theme park animatronics. It was so strange I’ve never experienced anything like that before. It felt like an abandoned town.
I’m about 10 hours in, and I’ve enjoyed it so far. I’ll mimic what you said, but I’m still a fan. The biggest glaring frustration is getting to a place on the map. The cliffs make it such a chore to go anywhere.
I agree mostly with everything but I don’t get your take that everything has to be ‘beautiful’. It just doesn’t.
>but that fun withered and I was very ready to put it down by the end
Unfortunately my experience with nearly every Ubi game in the last 10 years.
It’s okay, in the words of the Zanman. Sometimes you have to play the 6s so the 10s hit harder.
I was excited for this game until I saw Ubisoft. Why do their games always look great in the previews but end up being so disappointing?
Hell of a review, thank you
I just always have to thunk of MGS V when it comes to a stealth game like this and that was like what 10 years ago? How comes ubisoft didn’t manage to make anything even close to that in terms of gameplay. So much wasted potential.
I think that’s Ubisoft to a ‘T.’ To quote Hedberg: “they’re like pancakes; excited at the start but half-way through you’re sick of ’em.”
It would be interesting if they took the license and made games in the different genres that Ubisoft makes games in like make a Far Cry version or the crew version for example
Why has no one mentioned the cinematic black bars? My dude, removing them does NOT cut off the sides. Instead, it shows more of the top and bottom. It FEELS like the sides get cut off, because it’s an effective visual trick, but the cinematic bars just show less info on the top and bottom, and doesn’t show more on the sides.
Heartily disagree with most of this. The game is great, not perfect, but absolutely definitely not a fucking 5. To me this is more of an 8.5
The game has had so much unnecessary criticism… Because it’s both star wars and Ubisoft it’s over criticised.
The game is fucking great.
I just got to the blandness recently and read this comment. Good on you for sticking with it. Very helpful review!
So basically your average Ubisoft game again.
Just as expected. Good review though, better than most game journalists 👍
>But these are two of the game’s four planets and they feel like single biomes (really, all the planets were, I came to realize)
This is a feature of Star Wars in general. Most of the planets seen throughout all the media are single biome worlds: a city planet, an ocean planet, a forest planet, a desert planet, a rocky planet, a swamp planet, an ice planet. There’s even a cloud planet.
One of the few notable exceptions is Naboo, where we get to see verdant plains, a forest and an ocean.
Kijimi is easily the weakest location in the game, and the fact that you can’t leave the one small section of the city makes it even more so.
I really wish they hadn’t felt the need to include Tattooine, but I get that they had to have Jabba, so there wasn’t much of a way around that. Akira was interesting, but would have been better served if they had allowed us to traverse the jungle more, instead of just the established paths (more like Endor, I guess). I think there was definitely room to give us more in terms of locations, and I’m hoping we get more in the dlc, but we’ll have to wait and see.
Gameplay seems solid, if a little shallow, and I feel the story makes up for some of the weaker design elements. Overall, I’m thoroughly enjoying it and I’m glad to see more of some of the lesser explored elements of Star Wars.
It has a few issues but other than that I have had a lot of fun with Star Wars Outlaws and I’m looking forward to the DLC.
Before I get mass downvoted, please forgive my lack of game development knowledge or graphics is general.
When I play ubi games I am very shocked at the detail and poor character models. I played
Mirage and the cutscenes, NPCs and other characters apart from basim were very very crap.
GTA V has been out for a long time but that game is somehow a better looking game?
Can someone help explain how that is possible. Are the mechanics in mirage, outlaws that exist that take up valuable resources that gta doesn’t have so they can dedicate that to better character rendering?
Additionally if we take a very high quality game like RDR2 or Horizon FW or Cyberpunk and combine them to make a hybrid perfect open world game will there be a time in the future that even the worse hardware available will run the game and still look very good?
Is that how graphics and GPU can eventually develop?
While I appreciated the world and the design of being more sneaky than combat, the stealth felt boring.