Considering the marketing behind it, the Star Wars license, and being an open-world game with triple-A production values, it’s somewhat surprising that Star Wars Outlaws underperformed as it did. Then again, with all the other factors at play, like bigger upcoming releases, the property being cold, and lack of polish in many areas, it probably isn’t. Regardless, even the most ardent fans can’t deny that Outlaws fell short in several gameplay avenues at launch.
Developer Massive Entertainment has been working extensively to improve it. Its last few title updates don’t just tout improvements to the enemy AI, Speeder, and movement – they also revamp combat and stealth. Weak points, improved death animations for enemies, carrying around scavenged weapons for longer periods, no more stealth insta-fails (for most quests), smoother cover usage – the list goes on. While all these changes bring Outlaws to a somewhat more appealing baseline, it needs some compelling content. Sadly, Wild Card isn’t exactly it.
” It’s also a shame that the cards dealt and hands played remain the same on reloading since the lack of Shift Tokens and usage of new abilities like double-drawing and planting cards on opponents to frame them as cheaters added some tension.”
The DLC is marketed as Kay entering a high-stakes Sabacc tournament and running into Lando Calrissian, but other things are afoot. However, it’s Thorden, Toshara’s governor (for all those exclaiming, “Who?”), that blackmails her into entering as payback for liberating his bookkeeper. The prize for winning the tournament is a map to Okala Five, a moon of unknown value. Kay’s goal is to find the Merinia where it’s held and use the Imperial Credits fronted by Thorden to win. As for Lando, he’s working to retrieve the map for the Rebel Alliance, leveraging his underworld contacts to enter the tournament and eventually team up with Vess.
As acceptable as the setup sounds, there are some pacing problems. While locating the Merinia involves an admittedly annoying shuttle chase and typical space battle against some grunts, the next few steps to meet Lando and win back his special chip drag the pacing down with all the planet-hopping. The dialogue isn’t terrible throughout, though there are some stinkers, like a player telling Kay that Lando is always welcome when he wants to lose his – pause for emphasis – cape. Kay’s flat response? “You can tell him that yourself.”
Kay’s overall demeanor in some parts, especially when trying to talk her way through situations, also feels less like a swash-buckling scoundrel and more like a nervous high schooler trying to convince someone of their fake license. Lando, by comparison, comes across better, skirting a fine line between charismatic and sleazy while still having his heart in the right place. I could have done without the constant, “Lando tells Kay to do the heavy lifting, Kay whines and does it anyway” dynamic that occurs multiple times, if only it quickly felt played out. There’s also a sudden “twist” that feels flat, thrown in for the sake of upping the stakes.
There are some decent exchanges to be had, such as when Kay does her own little blackmail to enter the tournament or a conversation between Lando and Thorden that comes across as natural. However, if the base game’s story didn’t impress, Wild Card doesn’t aspire to much more.
The mission design isn’t too shabby in some areas like the immersive sim-lite tasks to obtain the player list onboard the Merinia and then to find an invitation that suits Kay. The approach lacks skill checks or the like, relying more on listening in, gathering clues, talking to individuals, and compiling evidence, but it works for the most part.
Then there’s the actual tournament, which feels less like a proper bracket and more like skipping straight to the grand finals. It’s also a shame that the cards dealt and hands played remain the same on reloading since the lack of Shift Tokens and usage of new abilities like double-drawing and planting cards on opponents to frame them as cheaters added some tension.
“I didn’t experience any performance issues, there are still many notable bugs like floating animations when climbing from one bar to the other, Kay’s hair occasionally jittering on load-in, and at least one cutscene where the lighting and colors seemed washed out.”
Aside from these aspects, the DLC is much of what you’d expect from Outlaws – lots of running, gunning, and sneaking (with at least two harrowing escape sequences). Some platforming sections, especially when infiltrating an Imperial base for the final mission, also flow seamlessly enough. Activating two elevators simultaneously, crossing over to the other to avoid powerful wind turbines and carefully platforming felt solid. The same goes for carefully sneaking past multiple droids to activate a crane that passes through a barrier, creating a chance to slip through to your objective. Sadly, it all culminates in a rather tepid boss fight (and calling it as such is being very generous).
The lack of fail conditions on stealth and improved combat is felt immediately, especially when you dispatch some Stormtrooper jabronie after they raise the alarm, seize their weapon and start blasting. Aiming feels better, with all the two-handed rifles feeling much more powerful. Though I didn’t find myself leveraging weak points all that much (at least, not that I noticed), Kay’s Blaster Modules felt like they packed a better punch. Though the cover system isn’t the most intuitive compared to, say, The Division, manually sliding in and popping out for a few shots feels seamless enough.
Unfortunately, the AI still needs some work. When sneaking around, enemies often have tunnel vision, failing to see Kay out of their periphery. Other times, she can be right in front and provoke no response. One of my favorite moments saw the AI seemingly bugging out as I casually walked up to a Stormtrooper and cleaned his clock without so much as a “What was that noise?”
The overall polish also leaves something to be desired. Though I didn’t experience any performance issues, there are still many notable bugs like floating animations when climbing from one bar to the other, Kay’s hair occasionally jittering on load-in, and at least one cutscene where the lighting and colors seemed washed out.
One open-world event involved tackling a Pirate Camp started with invisible lookouts who kept saying they saw something. Even after taking out the other enemies and stealing the loot, the others never materialized and continued wondering about suspicious noises even as I left.
“At about three and a half hours, it provides a concise experience, yet I felt like the last hour could have gone further, perhaps further exploring the fallout of the quest.”
Also, while the title update touted improved facial expressions and animations in dialogue scenes, the overall results didn’t impress. Whether an indictment on the base game or it’s simply not sizable of a leap is another question entirely. The visuals and environmental design are otherwise pretty good – the Imperial Fortress, with its obscene scale, offers some stunning sights, especially in the lighting department.
While I appreciate all the changes and improvements, Star Wars Outlaws has its work cut out. It’s reached a point where the combat and movement are acceptable, even enjoyable – now it needs to reinforce the stealth with better AI and continue squashing bugs. If you enjoyed the base game, the latest title update undeniably makes it better, but this should have been the launch experience.
As for the DLC, it isn’t a terrible adventure to embark on, but it’s also nothing remarkable, much less memorable beyond the Sabacc tournament. At about three and a half hours, it provides a concise experience, yet I felt like the last hour could have gone further, perhaps further exploring the fallout of the quest. I would have also appreciated more unique mechanics and sections alongside more Sabacc.
Wild Card is an above-average side story for current players and despite a few noteworthy spots, it won’t garner many new players for Outlaws. Those on the fence may also want to wait even longer for other improvements and new features. Massive Entertainment is putting in the work, but there’s still a long way to go.
This game was reviewed on PC.
