First announced in January of 2021, Massive Entertainment’s upcoming open-world Star Wars game was officially revealed as Star Wars: Outlaws at Xbox Games Showcase 2023 with a slick CGI cinematic trailer (seen below). I’ve always enjoyed these, and often got very hyped by them back in the day, but I’ve since cooled on them and always wait for gameplay before getting too excited for a game. We didn’t have too wait long from the first trailer thankfully, as the Ubisoft Forward 2023 showcase delivered our first glimpse of scoundrel Kay Vess and (the cutest) Nix in action for Outlaws and it looks absolutely incredible, combing Grand Theft Auto and No Man’s Sky and putting it into a Star Wars game. It’s like something out of a dream, as I’ve been hoping for something like this for a long time and my hype for its release is through the atmosphere. You can see the full gameplay walkthrough above, as it’d be rude to hide it below the cut, but there some additional details below!
It’s even more incredible to think, as of this moment, despite some recent issues with Ubisoft Games not always hitting their release dates and windows, we might see Outlaws NEXT YEAR! Outlaws will star Kay Vess, voiced by Humberly Gonzalez, and her little creature partner in crime Nix (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker, because of course), as she gets involved in, “…the Outer Rim’s biggest heist.” Set between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, an era already quite packed with story thanks to last three years of Star Wars comics by Marvel, players will explore open-world areas of many planets, dealing with criminal syndicates, the Empire, and more, using credits, influence, and reputation…or even a blaster. From what I’ve already seen, I’m already hooked, as it really looks to take Grand Theft Auto sensibilities, like an Imperial wanted meter, big map you can explore seamlessly, and cities and outposts with a variety of denizens of the galaxy, then adding in a dose of No Man’s Sky, where you can jump into your ship, fly to outer space, get into dogfights, and jump to hyperspace to the next destination, all without a traditional loading screen, and offering RPG-like storyline choices to top it all off. If the final product truly looks and plays like what we see here, my dogs are going to hate me for not taking them on more walks.
The gameplay walkthrough ends with Kay going to visit Akiva, a planet first introduced in the Aftermath Trilogy back in 2015, while a sizzle-reel trailer afterwards shows off another familiar location, Kijimi, first seen The Rise of Skywalker. Will we meet characters from those stories at these planets, like the Wexley family or Zorii Bliss and the Spice Runners? With the story involving the syndicates, I hope this game will acknowledge some of the recent comic events, which saw Qi’ra return as the head of Crimson Dawn with a plan to kill the Sith ruling the Empire, as it was quite the big deal and it would feel weird if it wasn’t mentioned at all, but I have a good feeling it will because most games lately heavily like to reference publishing material. My biggest hope for Outlaws when it comes to cameos or mentions? Doctor Aphra, as she’d fit in just right for a story like this, though I’d understand it if she isn’t because she’s been quite busy lately either being possessed by an ancient AI or kidnapping Luke Skywalker!
Regardless, I am all in on Outlaws and can’t wait to see more as we lead up to its 2024 release.
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Twitter @MynockManor and Instagram @mynockmanor.