What parents need to know
In Star Wars Outlaws, you play as Kay Vess, a young thief who finds herself with the powerful criminal syndicate Zerek Besh after a robbery goes wrong.
Vess then meets Jaylen Vrax and his droid ND-5, and together they assemble a crew aboard the Trailblazer ship in hopes of saving themselves from the threat.
Star Wars Outlaws is first and foremost a stealth game.
Kay Vess is a thief, and with the help of her alien pet Nix, she infiltrates enemy bases (whether they belong to the Empire or criminal syndicates) in order to steal treasure and information.
With Nix’s help, she can distract enemies, knock them out, hack into doors, computers, and other electronic equipment, and create diversions of all kinds.
Our heroine is well equipped with a laser rifle, but usually, enemies will quickly get rid of everything if we don’t show stealth.
In any case, the game often forces us not to be spotted, under penalty of failure.
Apart from these action and stealth sequences, the thief can also explore a handful of planets: Cantonica, the moon of Toshara, Tatooine, Akiva, and Kijimi.
She can explore the wide expanses of these planets on her speeder, or visit cities.
In the cities, there are merchants, games, and many members of the underworld of the Star Wars universe with whom you can exchange information.
The title has a reputation system.
Depending on the choices you make and who you betray, your reputation with the four criminal organizations in the game (the Pykes, the Hutt, the Scarlet Dawn, and the Ashiga clan) will fluctuate, which has an influence on the areas you can visit and do business with.
For example, if our reputation is too low with an organization, its members will shoot us on sight, we will ban access to their neighborhoods and refuse to offer us jobs.
You can also move around in space ships and participate in space battles.
Details
Level of experience required
| Age | 3+ | 7+ | 12+ | 16+ | 18+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beginners |  |
|
 |
|
|
| Intermediate | |
|
|
|
|
| Experienced | |
|
|
|
|
Evaluation
Violence is part of Kay Vess’ daily life.
She attacks enemies in melee as well as with her laser rifle.
That being said, the graphic representation of violence remains quite sober.
There is no blood or very graphic violence.
Defeated enemies collapse to the ground.
No such content.
You have to know how to read to progress in the adventure.
There are sometimes a few insults, but usually the game is not rude.
Kay Vess is in the criminal world.
Even though she is portrayed as a person with a noble background, she nevertheless participates in several criminal activities throughout the adventure.
She is also not particularly interested in the plight of the rebels, and she does not feel responsible for taking on the empire.
One can also bet and play games of chance (with play money).
As a stealth game, Star Wars Outlaws can be quite harsh.
There are many missions where our detection leads to instant failure.
However, the level of difficulty is adjustable.
The game offers a lot of options to help players with motor, visual, or auditory limitations.
The base game offers a lot of content, but it’s priced relatively high at $89.99.
Downloadable content is even more expensive.
Local game modes
There is only a single-player mode in which we follow the adventures of Kay Vess.
Online Game Modes
No online game mode.
Expansions/Add-ons (DLC)
At the time of writing, a season pass is offered.
She offers an exclusive mission and an additional costume.
It also includes two story DLCs, as well as cosmetic bundles that will be released in Fall 2024 and Spring 2025.
The ultimate version also features additional cosmetic content and a digital artbook .
The base game retails for $89.99 CAD.
The season pass costs $55 and the Ultimate Edition costs $169.99 CAD.
Our opinion
Star Wars Outlaws seems to have suffered from the expectations placed on it.
It seems that many players were expecting an open world with a game system reminiscent of Uncharted, which is not exactly what Ubisoft’s title offers.
Star Wars Outlaws does indeed take some of the platforming and shooting mechanics of the franchise starring Nathan Drake, but the comparisons stop there.
Star Wars Outlaws is first and foremost a stealth game.
It is also a title that requires a great deal of involvement from the player before being revealed.
It reveals its different mechanics gradually, perhaps a little too slowly for impatient players.
At first, our infiltration options are limited, we are more or less free to do what we do, and exploration is restricted.
However, if we persevere, Star Wars Outlaws proves to be very rich.
The mechanics are complex and varied, and the story is gripping.
The author of these lines is not particularly a fan of the Star Wars universe, but has come to love being part of this universe in the context of the game.
We take pleasure in managing our reputation with the unions, selling our services to the highest bidder and betraying whoever they can.
The space combat is enjoyable, and the infiltration, once you unlock a few more tools, turns into an exciting challenge.
It is a pity that the planets are not larger and richer.
There is usually only one major city per planet.
We would have liked exploration to be more rewarded.
Another small cloud in the picture: when it was released, many bugs undermined the experience.
A month later, while many bugs were fixed, the fact remains that our experience was interrupted a few times by technical problems that forced us to restart the game.
That being said, overall, Star Wars Outlaws is a demanding but satisfying game.
Those who are willing to put in the hours to invest in its universe will be rewarded with a unique and rich experience.
