Ubisoft Massive is almost ready to let PS5 players become a notorious scoundrel in its first open-world Star Wars game, launching on PS5 on August 30. Crash-landing on the lush but dangerous moon Toshara, I spent some time playing as rookie scoundrel Kay Vess, meeting her little friend Nix, exploring visual options inspired by the original trilogy, and taking on missions for criminal organizations.
Nix, the lovely companion
Kay’s furry and adorable companion, Nix (“not a pet,” voice actor Dee Bradley Baker emphasizes) has earned a loyal and adoring following. Yes, the doe-eyed Merqaal is genuinely helpful, from distracting guards with his cuteness (or causing explosions), and picking up weapons, to pointing out interactive elements in the environment… but it’s Nix’s little touches that have won fans across the galaxy.
Power up your speeder and Nix is forced to hang on for dear life, his little tail and hind legs thrashing in the air. If you aim Kay’s gun at him, he’ll playfully mimic being shot and roll over to play dead, causing Kay to giggle and encourage his performance.
Star Wars at its peak
Outlaws does the open world Star Wars thing in its own way, delivering rich, responsive environments that are alive and fun to explore. Floating fishing nets ripple in the wind. Broken spacecraft fragments litter lakes, mountains, and wet farms. And yes, you can pet… well, animals much more exotic than dogs, and even feed some of the native fauna of Toshara.
Ubisoft Massive has also created explorable viewpoints where you can stop and watch the beautiful but deadly world pass by. The landscapes are beautiful enough to encourage players to seek them all out.
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Captures the feel of the original trilogy
The Star Wars Outlaws team knew that setting the game somewhere between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi was a big deal, and spent a lot of extra parsecs to make the game feel true to the source material.
To that end, you can select a special 21.9 cinema mode that creates a widescreen effect and simulates the lens Lucasfilm used when shooting Episodes 4 through 6. The result is a grainy, nostalgic image with modern high definition.
Variety is the spice of life
Whether it’s overhearing the hottest gossip or approaching mob bosses for a job, there are plenty of objectives to tackle in Outlaws.
One mission, New Tricks, involves hunting down an ion module for your blaster to disrupt some nasty electrical systems. The mission starts with hunting down the right merchant, then moves on to an adventure through the bustling city of Mirogana and into the rugged wilderness.
Meanwhile, the Hutt’s mission requires you to steal a client list, but at any time you can deviate from the current mission to sneak into an outpost, “cut” through an encrypted information database, race a speeder, infiltrate a mysterious hideout, or help the townspeople repel armed robbers (…or not. You’re an outlaw, after all).
Whether you’re eager to use your gun or enjoy exploring the Outer Rim, there are plenty of bad places filled with crime and bad guys to explore when Star Wars Outlaws launches on PS5 on August 30.
