[ramax]

Between the high marks given by the press and the atrocious reviews from youtubers. I wanted to make up my own mind.
First of all, it's a Starwars game, so in my case there's a certain hype about playing in this universe. Then I'm leaving without much hope, given the latest Ubisoft productions.

So what about this game?

Despite a sluggish, uninteresting start, what really stands out are the excellent graphics, both technically and artistically. The Starwars atmosphere is clearly present, enhanced by a high-performance graphics engine. And the soundtrack fits the universe like a movie OST.

A quick aside:

Like you, I've seen the Youtubers' videos showing the countless bugs in the game that make it ridiculous. Let me be very clear right away: I've only come across a few minor bugs that in no way hinder immersion in the universe.

Which leads me to believe that the bug videos come from the BETA version, and that they're being exploited for this trend of destroying a game, a product or someone just because it gets views.

After the overly scripted intro, it's almost open word:

I say "almost" because at the start, you're given a lot of guidance. And what bothers me, and this is typical of this kind of game, is that if you explore in "free" mode, you're sometimes stuck because an item or skill is missing. And that after having knocked out 40 opponents or spent two hours infiltrating an enemy base just because I was passing by, you'll be forced to go back later because it's part of the mission. And the enemies will have "repopulated" as if I'd never been there.

But the story is good! without being exceptional (but I'm only at the beginning). Here, no JEDI, no SITH, no force. And it's perfectly logical in the timeline in which the game is set: an era in which virtually all the JEDI have been killed. The story is set between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.



Here, the scenario tells the story of Kay Vess, a small-time criminal with little ambition, who must prepare the heist of the century. It's somewhere between Lara Croft for the gameplay style (only not as good) and GTA (only not as good) for the criminal atmosphere of syndicates, cartels, pirates... Only not as good, but the combination of the two in a Starwars universe is a great match!

We've got a dominant Empire, criminal syndicates looking to line their pockets, and a splintered Rebel Alliance. We feel small and fragile... but we're digging our own hole, creating a life for ourselves little by little.
In short, the story isn't about playing a princess who wants to save the universe, quite the opposite: we steal, we beat, we betray, we build our reputation in the criminal syndicates.

Starwars Outlaw is a Han SoloSimulator, and that's a really good idea! (There's no Chewie, but there is a little companion who's hyper-useful for gameplay: nyx).

Other highlights:

• The dubbing is entirely in French and of good quality. Especially that of our character.
• The companion, Nyx, makes the game more immersive, with interesting gameplay options.
• The variety of scenery.
• We're neither good nor bad, just trying to survive as best we can.
• We can play Sabbath and other games.
• There are spaceship battles.
• And lots of other things ... which I'll talk about later in this topic.

But there are a few weaknesses:

I can't climb simple rocks. The gameplay is poorly done. You get used to it, but it's sloppy. You find yourself circling a huge mountain to find a tree branch or a " climbable " rock (like in Tomb Rider).

You can't loot (collect weapons and items from enemies), or only very rarely. It's annoying too, when an enemy drops a weapon, in most cases you can't pick it up. And when you can't, you can't keep it, because once you've used it up, the weapon falls out. You have a weapon at the start of the game that you can upgrade. The same goes for vehicles, which you can't take from enemies or NPCs. It ruins the immersion.

No multiplayer. It's pathetic! The world is vast and it would have been so much more immersive than soulless NPCs.


The treasures you do find are decorative items, clothing or collectors' items. No legendary armor, no snipers, no gold-plated speeders... At least at the level I'm at: nothing exciting.
No minimap: I'm not one for excessive aids, but in town it's a bit of a mess and I keep hitting the "?" key to find out where I am.

The music is magnificent, but it's a pity there isn't a system for playing the music from the films! So I play the MP3s in the background when I travel.

I'm a bit worried that all the missions will sound the same. But I'm only on the first planet.

No JEDI, that's good. But still, I would have liked a DLC with a character with a saber :D

Conclusion:

Despite a slow start, I'm really hooked on this game, even though I've become hyper-selective and highly critical. I'll tell you a bit more when I'm a bit further into this exciting adventure!

[DoctorEldritch]

@ramax Thank you for this! And so thorough. I've been trying to decide if I should give this game a go or not, this makes it a bit easier.

About not being able to climb rocks, I remember there was a meme a long time ago when the first Witcher came out about Geralt not being able to climb the fences, he had to run around those. White Wolf, the scourge of monsters, could be stopped by a fence (much like the policeman in the first Sims). But there (and in Sims too) it was a technical limitation, something a project of this level really should not have, especially when you remember that they made Assassin's Creed where you can famously climb everything....

Lack of Jedi or Sith I find logical, they have their own thing going and neither would bother too much with frontier and upstart criminals like the main character. But I am hoping that the game could expand on less known aspects of the universe a bit, I mean, there are Force users tot aligned to those two spectrum factions. There are Grays, for example, who do not adhere Jedi Code and can call upon the Dark Side without being corrupted by it. It could be good to explore the stories of such characters in the turbulent setting of the syndicate-infested frontier. If Obsidian could do it in their KoTOR, then why not here?

What I find odd though is the combo of lack of abilities that hinder progress and lack of minimap. Lack of abilities and how they are revealed as you progress is a clear enough metroidivania element, but for it to work best, you need to be able to use the map, preferably with the option to leave markers (I will come back here later). If there is no minimap, then this whole premise falls apart, I could not keep in mind all the situations where I would need an ability I do not yet have to progress. I wonder why they did not include the minimap. With some luck, maybe some mod will make one?

Either way, I'll wait for a bit so you get a chance to form an opinion about the plot, many of the complaints I read in the reviews were about that aspect. Gameplay aside, I wonder how much merit may be in those plot-related complaints, so it will be interesting to know what you think.

[ramax]

@DoctorEldritch I'm well into the story, so far I'm still having fun.

[DoctorEldritch]

How much is "well", around 10 hours or so? The complaint I came across most often was that Kay Vess changes her motivations from self-serving gain to more altruistic helper seemingly without reason sometimes, which does not fit her character. This, and that the reputation system allows reputation farming so you can be friends with all 4 cartels. But if those are minor issues, then the game becomes more tempting.

[ramax]

@DoctorEldritch I'm 24 hours into the game and it's getting better and better.

And as magnificent as ever!

[DoctorEldritch]

@ramax Looks good, though I wish they included more iconic places. From what I gather, the only iconic planet on the list is the Tatooine. Sure, asking to visit Coruscant may be a tall order, an upstart smuggler has no business in the capital full of Empire forces, but considering her occupation and the overall game setting, visiting Nar Shaddaa would be more than logical and fitting. Missed opportunity there, I think.

Or they could play with easter egg game connections and visit Kashyyyk. Cal Kestis helped to fight the Empire there around 17 years prior, so Kay could visit it and overhear someone remembering him or visiting some places that he visited, that could be a nice nod towards the other game (especially since Cal did not return to Kashyyyk in Survivor).

Who knows, maybe DLCs will add something. Probably not Kashyyyk, but a criminal visiting Nar Shaddaa, come on, that's a no-brainer.

[ramax]

@DoctorEldritch I'm sure MASSIVE UBI has saved quite a bit of location and story for future DLC. It's obvious. Or coursement un 2

After considering the rendering of the visited planets and the quest, the NPCs, ... one more planet is maybe 4 to 6 months of work.

[DoctorEldritch]

@ramax I am not sure, they famously did not go the usual DLC route with AC Mirage as opposed to how they did before in other AC games. But you're right, seems they have some DLCs in the works. I only hope those would actually have some of the things I want.

Hmm, if that is this long for planets only, chances are they may not introduce new planets or locations and just add new quests on existing plants because it does not require quite as many resources to do?

[ramax]

@DoctorEldritch I think the time and energy is motivated by the license. What developer wouldn't love to work on a AAA Starwars? On a resume, it's a big plus.

What's more, UBI knows it has to sell more of its game (it's coming out on STEAM in 15 days), so it's a good opportunity to announce some really interesting DLC to sell the base game.

[DoctorEldritch]

@ramax I hope you're right. Star Wars has been filled with controversy and polarised opinions ever since the sequel trilogy came out. These days AAA Starwars project may not be as impressive in a resume as it was before, not if it does not measure up on the market. Hopefully, Outlaws manages to break bank.

Indeed, I am always for more developers announcing DLC plans in advance, makes planning easer for me. If they announce it, either to sell more or for any other reason, I say it's a good thing.