When it was announced that Ubisoft was going to make a Star Wars game, I was hopeful that it would be something fresh, something different to what we have gotten before. With the news that Massive Entertainment were leading the charge, the phrase ‘I’ve got a bad feeling about this’ did echo around me, as they were the folks who proved themselves to be masters of the online experience with The Division series, but having checked it out, that feeling has gone away.

After a brief introduction from the games creative director, Julian Gerighty, it was time to scope out what the game was all about. Included were three slices of the action, Tiny F not required, one was focused on space combat, another was more around stealth and the last was exploring, and we shall start there. In a moment, a little context around the games setting will help these missions make more sense. The game is set after the events on Hoth, where the Empire found the secret Rebel base and then took it over, there was a whole sequence about it. As the Empire proved victorious in that battle, the galaxy feels more dangerous, the threat of the Empire is now more profound, but while those with good intentions lay low, those with less than good are making moves. It is where Kay Vess makes her move, born on Canto Bight (the planet with the casino in The Last Jedi) she has been small time, but as the Empire grows so do the opportunities and Kay takes advantage of one of them. Only it doesn’t go to plan and she finds herself a very wanted individual and her only hope of getting out of this jam, pull off the biggest heist in the galaxy.

So, now you are caught up, let us talk about the gameplay. As I said there were three missions and exploring was the core of one of them. As Kay is a scoundrel, just like Han Solo, she has a few tools unique to her profession. She can use a data spike, slicing kit and even a grappling hook, but as we know all scoundrels love a good blaster. Her blaster is her most common tool, there are three modes to it, with the plasma module being the primary one, this is how you can blast enemies that get in your way. When your enemy has a shield up or is a pesky little droid, looking at you mousers, you can use the ion module. Stun is the final module and using it will take down a regular enemy in a single hit, but it has a cool down, so you will need to use it when it is most advantageous. Knowing when to use all three modules will be important, as the right type can make an encounter far easier, but remember stealth is always an option. Stealth is made all the more possible when you make use of Nix, who is always with you. Nix can ping the environment, highlighting nearby enemies and weapons, he can act as a lure to draw attention away from a point and he will even jump into the fray should Kay need a hand. With all that done, it’s time for missions.

The first mission was called The Wreck and has Kay exploring the ruins of a High Republic Cruiser, which was being scrapped, but the location of the wreck proved a little to dangerous so it was abandoned. The goal for Kay was to recover a Nav Computer for her own ship, but of course she had to locate it first and with a ship being out of action for ~150 years, there are some roadblocks in the way. In all honesty, the quickest way I can describe this mission to you is Uncharted, but Star Wars. Kay was able to make use of her grappling hook at times, but there was a lot of climbing, console activation and a few leaps of faith. Much like the aforementioned series, there were some light puzzles to be solved, like shooting some small power modules in order to get power to a door. Once Kay had gotten power restored to the ship, finding the bridge was made all the easier and a quick slice later and one nav computer was hers. The problem, she has a bounty on her and one of those pesky bounty hunters caught up to her, but as the mission came to an end, a familiar face came to Kay’s rescue.

The second mission was called False Flag and was probably the one that I was most excited for, as it was centred around space combat and flying. As someone who utterly adores the Rogue Squadron series, I have a fondness for any game that lets me fly, but if it is a Star Wars game then its even better. Before we could jump into a ship, we had to get to the ship, which is why we found Kay on board an Imperial space station. The goal was simple, load some cargo onto her ship, without being spotted and then get off the station, so stealth was key for Kay. There were Imperial officers walking about everywhere, Stormtroopers posted in places not easily approachable, it was quite a challenge. Once the place was cleared out, there was slicing to get into the system, then some hacking to get a door open and while all was going well, a guard on the other side of a door lead to Kay blasting out of the hangar, with Tie fighters in pursuit.

The game didn’t stop, there was no cutscene, no moment to catch your breath, getting out was the first step. Making a break for a massive debris field near the station gave Kay some cover to take out the Tie Fighters as the number of debris messed with their sensors. Being able to have the Trailblazer swap from speed to fight modes was great, as it meant if you wanted to just try to get away, that was an option. It isn’t just pulling the targeting reticule onto the screen, there is a distinct difference in the way that the ship flies, depending on the mode in. Once the Ties were dispatched, there was still a little goal to accomplish, slicing an Imperial relay node, as it stored the details about Kay and the Trailblazer. With that hacked, it was safe to leave the sector and complete the mission. While not completely free flying, if the game has you jumping in and out of space battles as much as you do on foot, I will be a very happy gamer.

The final mission was called The Relic and was simple enough, sneak into a hideout of the Crimson Dawn, take a relic that they stole and return it for a favour. As the mission started out, I got vibes from the recent Tomb Raider games, what with the snow and exploring, but eventually all that gave way to the insides of the hideout. Now as Kay is one, well two when you count Nix and you totally should, a gang hideout is not the place to go in guns blazing. Inside, I got vibes of Splinter Cell, sneaking around and watching guards to learn their patterns, before making a move. The Relic was contained within an energy field within the middle of a large room, so no sneaking up to get it would not be possible. Disabling the field was the only play, but when you take security offline inside of a gang hideout, they tend to get curious and that lead to a big gun battle. While the battle on the Imperial station was fairly straight forward, enemies mostly coming at Kay, here they were all around. So, there was a lot of diving in and out of cover, climbing and flanking, in order to stay ahead of the enemies.

Once they were taken down and the relic was obtained, there was nothing to do but to leave their base, except outside there were a lot more gang members, all intent on stopping Kay. It was during this battle that another move of Kay’s was put into action, Dead Eye, well I don’t know what they call it in the game, but it’s very much the same as the Dead Eye system from Red Dead Redemption. Once activated, there was a timer that counts down and Kay has a small number of marks she can make, once they are all used, triggering the end will have her take some shots with deadly aim. Now there was more, about returning the Relic to the Queen of the people it was stolen from, but in order to avoid any potential story spoilers, I won’t say anything about that part.

By the end, I was confident that I was going to enjoy the full game, not only does Star Wars Outlaws look like Star Wars, it has the right balance of humour and danger, that is also part of it. There were some newer locations used like Kijimi City, that is where Po Dameron ran Spice from and mentions of Canto Bight, but there was also time spent on Mirogana, with the promise of some Sabacc. I have been burnt by Star Wars games before, but this is one instance where I am happy to say that I don’t feel apprehensive about this one. The combat looks fun and has some tactical options, ship flying could rival that of Rogue Squadron and of course, planets to visit and explore are something I have wanted to do for a long time.

Star Wars Outlaws is set to release on August 30, but picking up the Gold Edition will net you the game 3 days early. Be sure to check out our Bargain Guide, in order to score the game at the best price possible.