Most Star Wars games have us swinging lightsabers or hurling Force powers, but Star Wars Outlaws strides into the cantina, drops into a booth with its blaster at the ready, and argues that firepower and street smarts are just as thrilling. This open-world—or more accurately, open-worlds—adventure delivers fast-paced gunfights and a morally grey underworld, channeling the spirit of the galaxy’s most infamous scoundrels. However, much like its smuggler inspirations, it’s a mixed bag. While it boasts an engaging sense of adventure and some impressive set pieces, it also stumbles with rough edges and occasional letdowns.
Set between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, the game takes place at the peak of Imperial dominance. Han Solo, the quintessential rogue, is still frozen in carbonite, leaving us to step into the boots of Kay Vass—a resourceful thief raised in the seedy underbelly of Canto Bight. Kay is a natural when it comes to picking locks and pocketing valuables, but much like Dash Rendar and pre-Jedi Kyle Katarn, she never quite shakes off the shadow of Han, remaining a familiar type of lovable outlaw.
Kay’s ever-present companion, the mischievous and oddly dexterous Nix, proves invaluable both in and out of trouble. Their story kicks off with a heist gone wrong, leading them to crash-land on the stunning yet perilous planet of Toshara, a savanna world teeming with danger. From there, the duo embarks on a 20-hour journey filled with high-stakes rescues and shady dealings, traversing four main planets and the chaotic space in between. Their ultimate goal? To unite a crew of fellow criminals, settle a failed job, and erase the bounty placed on Kay’s head by Sliro, a ruthless casino boss. Though Sliro serves as the primary antagonist, he lacks the sheer menace of figures like Emperor Palpatine or Grand Admiral Thrawn, appearing mostly in cutscenes rather than as a constant presence.
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Even so, Outlaws delivers an entertaining narrative, weaving through iconic locations like the dungeons beneath Jabba’s Palace on Tatooine and introducing new ones, such as the wreckage of a High Republic cruiser on Toshara. Along the way, Kay encounters a rogue’s gallery of colorful criminals, including a Sullustan mobster who casually dishes out orders while resting his feet on a carbonite-frozen relative—because, of course, testing on Captain Solo proved the process was safe.
While Solo: A Star Wars Story explored similar smuggler-centric themes on the big screen with mixed results, Outlaws feels like fresh ground for a game. It steps away from the eternal struggle between Jedi and Sith, instead embracing a crime story that plays out in the shadow of the Empire and the Rebellion, much like Andor. The result is a high-energy heist narrative that fits naturally into the Star Wars universe, complete with double-crosses that pile up faster than tangled HDMI cables behind a TV. By the time the story reaches its exhilarating finale, Kay has evolved from a self-serving rogue into something more.
A Galaxy of Opportunities—With Limits
While Kay’s mission is on a smaller scale than, say, blowing up a Death Star, the environments she explores are impressively vast. This isn’t No Man’s Skywalker or Starfield Wars, so you won’t be landing anywhere you please, but the open-world areas are diverse. From Tatooine’s infamous dunes to the lush jungles of Akiva—where rivers can serve as highways once you upgrade your speeder—each location has its own unique flavor.
That speeder, by the way, is Kay’s only means of ground transportation. Despite the bustling cities filled with landspeeders, dewbacks, and even AT-STs, none of them are rideable. Compared to open-world titans like Grand Theft Auto V, where almost any vehicle can be hijacked, or Tears of the Kingdom, where creativity reigns supreme, Outlaws feels oddly restrictive. The speeder’s upgrades, such as a water-skimming ability and a bunny-hop function, add some variety, but the overall lack of transportation options is noticeable.
Stealth and Strategy
A major part of Outlaws revolves around sneaking into Imperial strongholds and crime syndicate bases. Each infiltration offers multiple entry points—you might crawl through an air vent or use a grappling hook to scale a wall. Scouting the area with binoculars beforehand helps plan an approach, making stealth a key component of gameplay.
Nix plays a crucial role in these sneaky maneuvers, functioning almost like a furry, space-faring drone. He can flip switches, distract guards, and even claw at enemies’ faces, setting them up for Kay’s takedowns. The game even features fun downtime activities where you can treat Nix to meals at street vendors, enhancing his abilities.
Kay herself has a solid skillset for infiltration, though some mechanics feel uneven. The slicing minigame—used to disable cameras and turrets—can be frustrating, resembling a puzzle in an alien language (though a numerical conversion helps). On the other hand, the lockpicking system is surprisingly engaging, using a rhythm-based approach that’s both simple and satisfying.
Stealth, however, can be hit-or-miss. Sometimes it’s laughably easy, like when enemies march one by one into the same hiding spot only to be knocked out. Other times, alarms seem to go off at random, shattering any carefully planned approach.
Smuggler’s Shootouts
Combat in Outlaws sticks to a familiar formula: cover-based shooting, punchy blaster effects, and lots of conveniently placed red barrels. It’s effective but hardly groundbreaking—more Basic Blaster than Bad Batch. Kay’s signature Adrenaline Rush ability, which slows time and lets her mark multiple targets for rapid execution, mirrors Red Dead Redemption’s Dead Eye, adding a stylish but familiar edge to firefights.
Secondary weapons, such as blaster rifles and heavy cannons, can be picked up but are frustratingly disposable. Climbing a ladder? Dropped. Crawling through a vent? Dropped. Even a melee attack forces Kay to abandon whatever extra firepower she’s holding, which can be irritating when trying to use sniper rifles or other powerful weapons.
Speeder combat is even more restrictive. There’s no free-aiming—Kay has to wait for an adrenaline meter to charge before firing at pursuers in slow motion. While this leads to some hilarious moments—like enemies crashing into cliffs—it often feels clunky and out of step with the game’s otherwise fluid mechanics.
Space Dogfights
No Star Wars game is complete without space combat, and Outlaws delivers high-speed dogfights in Kay’s ship, the Trailblazer. Battles against TIE Fighters feel authentic, offering a fun distraction from the planet-side action. While upgrading the ship with auto-turrets and rapid-fire cannons adds some depth, the overall difficulty remains fairly static, making space battles more of an occasional thrill than a constant challenge.
Resource gathering in space is also optional, as Kay’s inventory rarely feels lacking. Unlike games with strict inventory management, Outlaws lets you hoard crafting materials without worrying about weight limits—a welcome change for those tired of micromanaging loot.
Verdict
Kay’s ship might be called the Trailblazer, but Star Wars Outlaws isn’t exactly breaking new ground. It’s more like the Millennium Falcon—cobbled together, a little rough around the edges, but undeniably fun when it all comes together. While the game borrows heavily from existing open-world formulas, it nails the Star Wars atmosphere, delivering a high-energy crime story filled with moral dilemmas and thrilling heists.
The syndicate system adds meaningful choices to missions, and Nix brings both charm and practical advantages to gameplay. However, clunky stealth, repetitive combat, and some frustrating design choices hold it back. Technical hiccups at launch also dampen the experience, making the odds of a smooth ride… well, let’s just say you probably don’t want to hear them.
