Although I didn’t become a huge Star Wars fan until later in life — during or after college — I have always enjoyed immersing myself in a Star Wars video game. Since becoming a Star Wars geek, I have consumed all forms of Star Wars — all of the films, the many shows (live action and animated), comics and books, and even some documentaries. Any time I visit Walt Disney World, I walk around Batuu (in Hollywood Studios) to live in that universe.

About a year ago, during the initial reveal of Star Wars Outlaws I thought, Yes! More Star Wars. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this game and explore new areas of the galaxy. Still, there was a bit of hesitation since it was a Ubisoft game. I mostly had high hopes, but felt a bit worried that they might try to merge Star Wars with one of their popular, pre-existing franchises (like Assassin’s Creed or Far Cry). Those big Ubisoft franchises are great, but I wanted a unique Star Wars experience.

I have still yet to play Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora (another Ubisoft title based on a major franchise), but I have heard some comments of it being very much a Far Cry on Pandora. After about twenty hours of gameplay in Star Wars Outlaws, I can see some comparisons to The Division and previous Ubisoft franchises, but this is still very much its own game and I am currently fully immersed in Star Wars Outlaws.

Early Access Misfire

Before I get into my thoughts on Star Wars Outlaws, I can’t ignore the major “Big Bantha in the Room” (or Early Access kerfuffle). I had a plan of sharing my thoughts on this game last week, but after having to restart my save I decided to push my initial coverage to today.

I, like many PlayStation 5 players with Early Access to Star Wars Outlaws, received an email encouraging me to restart my game due to a patch issue. It felt like a big setback at the time, but now (one week later), I’ve mostly forgotten about my “first draft” with this game.

If you are also a PlayStation 5 player, you may have received two emails. The first was a bit confusing.

EMAIL I

This first email made me question whether I needed to start a brand new game or create a new save of my current game. I eventually decided it would be easier to create a new game now before moving any further into the story and running into some game-breaking issue.

EMAIL II

“We are following up on the previous email we sent you regarding “Issues with an outdated version on PlayStation 5”.

We fully acknowledge that asking you to start a new game is not the best experience, especially during the Early Access period, and for that we apologize.

To make your return to the Outer Rim a little more special, we are granting you an in-game Trailblazer trinket as well as 100 Ubisoft Connect Units (to redeem for in-game rewards, for example). We are actively working on adding the Ubisoft Connect Units to your account so you can use these as soon as possible, and you can collect the Trinket from the delivery crate in the back of the Trailblazer once you reach Toshara.

We appreciate your patience, and we hope you enjoy the game.”

This next email solidified that I did the right thing by restarting Star Wars Outlaws.

I was not super upset by having to restart my progress for two reasons. First, I was only a few hours into the game, and while replaying those “tutorial” missions can get annoying, I got back to where I had been rather quickly. Second, have you ever rewatched a movie and thought, Wow, I didn’t notice that the first time. By replaying the opening of Star Wars Outlaws I was able to pay closer attention to story beats I didn’t know were important previously. I didn’t pay much attention to the opening sequence that first time.

The main reason I let this whole kerfuffle slide is that Ubisoft granted me early access in the form of a review code for Star Wars Outlaws (Ultimate Edition). I do know that if I had paid extra to gain early access to a game, and had to deal with this two days into my progress I would be more upset.

I understand those players who paid almost double the price of the base game just to gain early access and the extra bits being angry. Ubisoft did try to soften the blow with 100 Ubisoft credits and an in-game trinket. I initially thought these were 100 in-game credits, which isn’t much, but it’s actually for the Ubisoft store and can be redeemed for 20% off of a Ubisoft store purchase. I’m not sure if that 20% off is the equivalent of the entrance fee to early access, but it’s definitely better than 100 in-game credits.

Now that that’s out of the way let’s get back to the game.

What makes a Star Wars Story?

There are many stories in the Star Wars universe that rely heavily on the Jedi, the Sith, the Force and those bigger concepts specific to Star Wars. The team at Respawn has created an amazing game series with Star Wars Jedi (Fallen Order and Survivor). Both follow the story of Cal Kestis, a Jedi trying to survive during the aftermath of Order 66. I would even love to see more of Cal’s story on the big screen – especially for non-gamers who are missing out.

In my twenty hours of gameplay in Star Wars Outlaws, I have yet to hear of the Jedi or Sith. I haven’t seen a lightsaber, and there’s been no mention of the Force. This is what I think Ubisoft did right for this game. They went to a completely different part of the Star Wars Universe. Star Wars Outlaws takes place during the original trilogy, while the Star Wars Jedi games take place during the prequels. Star Wars Outlaws is set in the crime-filled underworld, where the Empire plays the part of law enforcement, and the real “bad guys” are the different crime syndicates you interact with.

In fact, you yourself play as “bad girl” Kay Vess who is slowly rising through the criminal ranks. As Kay, you get to choose which crime organizations you want to help, hurt, and screw over – and these relationships are constantly changing. There are tough decisions to be made throughout the game that test your loyalty with multiple groups at the same time.

When it comes to the Star Wars film and television stories, this game most closely resembles SOLO: A Star Wars Story. The logo for Star Wars Outlaws along with the menu layout and overall graphic design follow the same general guidelines as SOLO. Han Solo’s first love, Qi’ra, is even a big part of the story, as she has now risen to the top of the criminal underworld.

Early on, there was a small nod to the Resistance, where Kay was asked to join. She instead asked, “How much does it pay?” Which told me this is not her deal. I’m not too far into the game so the Resistance can make their way back into this story. Kay is no saint, but she also isn’t evil. She’s just looking out for herself and her pal, Nix — the cutest little critter in the galaxy.

Ubisoft made the right choice when deciding to make a Star Wars game focused on the criminal world. A world that we are familiar with and have met many characters from, but we rarely get a chance to dive so deep into this world. There are familiar criminal organizations in the game — the Hutts and Crimson Dawn. There are even known planets — Tatooine and Kijimi. We now get to learn more about these semi-familiar locations and groups from a different point of view.

This side of Star Wars is fun to explore because of the superficial friendships and shocking betrayals. When you think of the relationship between Han Solo and Lando Calrissian in the movies, it’s the same kind of thing. Yes, they are “friends,” but they will still sell each other out for a better deal any day of the week. I’ve already been hurt by some of my “close friends” in Star Wars Outlaws, but that’s why I have taken on a new strategy, TRUST NO ONE.

The Story Continues…

As I stated above I am only about twenty hours into the story of Star Wars Outlaws, but I am very much immersed in this world. I want to explore every location I visit. Any time a new mission on a new world is presented I want to tie up my loose ends before leaving the current planet.

There’s so much I’m enjoying in Star Wars Outlaws from exploring secret areas, to speeder chases, to space combat. I still have much to do and I will return with more on Star Wars Outlaws after I’ve finished the story of Kay Vess.

For now, I will say that my doubts were wrong. Ubisoft has done a great job of creating a game in the Star Wars universe that feels unique.

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*myVGBC.com was given a review code for Star Wars Outlaws by the publisher.