Enthusing the mentality and appeal of rogue characters in the "Star Wars" mythos such as Han Solo, Lando Calrissian, Boba Fett and the Mandalorian, "Star Wars Outlaws" — due out Friday — revels in exploring the bountiful riches of the franchise's grey area, where heroism and villainy can be bought and sold in favor of personal gain.
Abounding in rich culture, subtle social commentary and indulgent escapism, the effort from Ubisoft, Lucasfilm Games and Massive Entertainment heaps on fan service in a canonical entry that revisits memorable locations and characters while also heaping on a delightful dollop of realms and creatures previously unknown.
That such a morally ambiguous effort — along with the recently released film "Deadpool and Wolverine: — gets the Disney stamp of approval marks the corporation's willingness to embrace the scummier fringes of its properties as well as its core white knights. This is a game that dares you to challenge perceived norms and stretch moral boundaries in the name of a barrier-free exploration of situational ethics.
The open-world venture has you play as new character Kay Vess, a bitter scoundrel who seeks to scrap together the means to outwit all sides of the military industrial complex and the underworld in order to survive and thrive in a galaxy far, far away. You start off by scrounging for credits in a seedy back alley in order to pay a sketchy repairman to fix a device that will allow you to hack appliances.
How you choose to approach the task varies depending on the amount of exploration, grinding and risk you can stomach. You can gamble your savings -- probably only the right move if you can catch a hot tip on the fixed race on which you'll bet — sell scavenged merchandise or endeavor at odd jobs.
You are then tasked to infiltrate a night club, sneaking your way past security with a combination of sweet talk and false innuendo, with the goal of obtaining a forged security card that seems to be your ticket out of the slums.
I had a blas playing as Kay, and feel that the story would translate well to a miniseries format on Disney+. There were enough familiar locales and icons to satisfy my fanboy side, and enough new content — all of which was seamlessly integrated, rather than forced — to intrigue my yearning to explore.
The freedom of choice of how you choose to navigate this quirky netherworld is captivating, making "Star Wars Outlaws" a first-of-its-kind effort in the franchise's video game oeuvre, and I enjoyed the ride. This is a game that thoroughly understands how much untapped exuberance there is in George Lucas's creation. I’ve never had so much fun in a Star Wars game.
Publisher provided review code.
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