‘Star Wars Outlaws’: loving the laser action and the classic film references

In a galaxy far, far away…

As I’m playing Star Wars Outlaws, I’m recalling that as a child, my Mum would insist that we were “a Star Wars family”. It felt kind of special. Instead of reprimanding me for excessive gaming, she’d inspire me to play, being a huge gamer herself. And Star Wars games were often on the agenda.

Set within the Star Wars universe, naturally, Outlaws falls somewhere between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi in the universe’s timeline.

The game takes you on a journey across the galaxy following its key protagonists, Kay Vess and her travelling companion, Nix. (According to Wookiepedia, Nix is a “merqaal companion” – to me he looks more like a small dog-sized feathered axolotl – and a cute one at that!).

Kay, like most young people, is navigating her way through the universe, and with that of course comes major obstacles and challenges.

The game overall is huge, spanning four explorable worlds and a further, story-focused planet. In fact, just twenty hours into gameplay and still I can see that Kay and Nix have quite the journey ahead of them. Which is a great thing for an avid gamer like me.

From what I’ve played so far, there’s a nice balance of the somewhat familiar and the fascinatingly new. With elements that reference Star Wars movies – and games – of old, this game is visually stunning, with a vast array of settings and activities to partake in on each planet.

I spent hours exploring the first of these worlds, Toshara, unlocking tools and upgrades, and completing side quests. Or following a rumour I had overhead, before finally heading off to put together a team of experts that are not only central to the story, but key to unlocking new abilities throughout the game.

Kay on her Speeder zipping across Toshara terra.

Starting a little later in playing than some gamers, I fortunately avoided a lot of bugs that existed in its earlier incarnations, although I have had two separate occasions in which I’ve fallen through the floor while rolling. But hey, better to be playing on PS5 than on PC which comes with its own set of dramas. Thankfully, a most recent update has seen to any bugs and certain elements of stealth.

Overall, I’m having a blast with this game: blasting my enemies; blasting off in the Trailblazer (Kay’s ship); or just blasting tunes in the background while I’m exploring a planet or three on my Speeder.

I can’t wait to experience what happens next as Kay comes into herself more as an outlawed scoundrel. In fact, it’s around the twenty-hour gameplay mark that you really get introduced to some colourful characters.

I’m taking my time with this game, enjoying it at my own pace and, yes, I can see online that my Star Wars family is hooked on it, too.

Ben Roccamante

Star Wars Outlaws is available now for PS5, Xbox Series X|S,  PC and Amazon Luna.

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