Star Wars Outlaws, Ubisoft Massive’s new open-world action game based on an original story from the galaxy far, far away, just got a gameplay trailer. During the Ubisoft Forward Live event, the publisher dropped some key details about its story and characters, in addition to showing off its immersive maps that have become synonymous with the Ubisoft branding. The in-house Massive Entertainment leads development on the game, which lets players chart an intergalactic heist in the Outer Rim, as the Empire gradually expands its control across the galaxy. Star Wars Outlaws was first announced at the Xbox Games Showcase on June 11 and is slated to release sometime in 2024, across PC, PS5, and Xbox Series S/X.
The lengthy gameplay footage opens with Nix, an adorably furry axolotl-like alien stealing a rock-shaped artefact and handing it over to its partner-in-crime Kay Vess (Humberly González), a cunning scoundrel who has a bounty placed on her head after a job went wrong. During a Ubisoft press session, Julian Gerighty, creative director of Star Wars Outlaws claimed that the two are inseparable companions and that they rely on each other’s skills to survive. It’s a bit similar to the BD-1 droid from Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, where you can command Nix to press certain buttons or perform actions that would distract enemies. The gameplay largely demonstrates a stealth mission, which soon breaks out into all-out firefight, with Kay cycling between various blaster modules that let her either stun enemies or deal heavy damage to break down shields. While the blaster is her primary weapon, she can often pick up random weaponry laying around to make short work of enemies.
Star Wars Outlaws is an original arc set between Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars: Return of the Jedi movies, taking Kay and Nix on a journey across the underworld to take risky contracts and manage complex relationships with crime syndicates, hoping to pull the greatest heist in the galaxy. Being an open-world affair, the gameplay trailer also offers a look at Kay’s traversal option, which is a hovering motorcycle that has a few tricks up its gears. In addition to taking players from point A to point B, it comes equipped with a nitrous booster, giving a short burst of speed to evade enemies or to simply reach the destination quicker. Additionally, it appears as if you can briefly slow down time while riding the vehicle — akin to Dead Eye from Red Dead Redemption 2 — to target foes and unload a barrage of bullets into them.
“In our game, you’ll be able to discover a galaxy of opportunities as you explore distinct locations across the Outer Rim, that offer a range of different biomes, inhabitants, rewarding finds, impactful stories, and diversity of gameplay” Gerighty explained in the exclusive press footage. Star Wars Outlaws will be largely spread across three key experiences — dense cities bustling with NPCs and cantinas, vast open-world environments for exploration, and a space setting where you’ll engage in intense dogfights and even travel across the hyperspace. You’ll pilot your very own ship, the Trailblazer, which to Kay, means “freedom and it’s what allows her to finally escape and embark on this journey.”
Star Wars Outlaws will release sometime in 2024, across PC, PS5, and Xbox Series S/X.
