Star Wars Outlaws is one of the most impressive bits of Star Wars media I’ve seen in a long time, and as someone who holds the original trilogy in high-regard, I adored having the chance to feel a part of that world.

Admittedly I was sceptical when I heard Ubisoft were going to produce a Star Wars game, not because I thought it couldn’t be done, it just felt like an odd departure from the more grounded worlds of Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry or Ghost Recon to name a few.

Check out our video preview for Star Wars Outlaws below

However after playing the game for a few hours and speaking with some of the talent behind it, I feel like I can confidently say Ubisoft is cooking with this one, and I can’t wait to see how the rest of the game holds up when it launches in August.

My preview took me on a whistle stop tour of the game’s story, open-world, starship exploration and the more close-knit communities found in the Outer Rim.

It’s refreshing to have a story set in the Outer Rim, as usually the edge of the Star Wars galaxy serves as more of a side quest area rather than a pivotal location in the story. This matters because the Outer Rim is where most of the character is, filled with backwater worlds just trying to survive in any way they can.

That’s where Kay Vess comes in, a new character determined to find her place in the universe and make enough credits to live a free life, with her adorable sidekick critter Nix. Kay is quick-witted, resourceful, talented, and most importantly, she’s not a force user. When she’s in trouble she can’t wave her hand and Jedi mind-trick her way out of a conflict, and I love that as it makes both herself and the worlds you explore feel that little bit more relatable.

Speaking of the worlds, from what I played I want to say that Star Wars Outlaws is the closest any Star Wars game has gotten to making you feel like you’re in the films. It does this through its background characters, which I found out were affectionately referred to as “background weirdos” on the set of the films.

As you walk through the streets characters will be chatting, arguing, placing bets, peddling goods, or tending to droids. The game felt alive and the best part is it didn’t stop. This wasn’t some scripted showcase designed to introduce you to the new location, it felt just as lifelike on my first visit as it did on my 10th.

Ubisoft

I’ll never forget the feeling of strolling into the cantina for the first time and instantly having flashbacks to the Mos Eisley scene in Episode IV. They’re not just sets either, they contain NPCs who’ll give you jobs to do and you can listen in to conversations to learn more about the planet and what else it might offer. Some even have a game parlour where you can play sabacc, a high-stakes card game that I lost a good 30 minutes to because it was that much fun.

The best way to describe my time with the worlds of Star Wars Outlaws is it showed me rather than told me. I could see from walking around the affluence or lack thereof of the different districts, and who held the majority of the power based on what kind of troops were marching around. It’s one of the most fluid and dynamic Star Wars games I’ve seen, and it was great to be part of a galaxy that actually felt like it was lived in.

This dynamism extended into the exploration and combat as well. I could only explore one planet during my time with the game, but even after three hours of zooming around on a speeder bike it still didn’t feel like I’d scratched the surface of what there was to see.

Whether it was ramping up my wanted level, racing other speeder bikes or just taking in the sights of an alien sky, the open-world gameplay felt compelling but never outstayed its welcome. It felt like just the right size too, big enough where it feels like there’s a lot to see but not too big where it’s a pain to traverse.

Moving onto the story missions I played, it’s clear a lot of thought went into player expression. It had major Uncharted meets Red Dead Redemption energy whilst again making you feel like you were part of the films. The more talented players could probably sneak through entire missions without being caught, but for those players whose stealth is not their strong suit you’ll find blasting away to be just as effective if not a little more challenging. My average encounter felt like that bit in Episode IV where Luke, Han and Chewbacca infiltrate the Death Star, all going well until one minor slip-up led to firefight after firefight.

Ubisoft

Both the stealth and action were incredibly fun, mostly because of Kay’s trusty companion Nix. The little critter isn’t just there to look cute, he’s also an integral part of your survival. Kay can command Nix to open doors, distract enemies, set off explosives, fetch weapons and more.

One of my favourite manoeuvres was encountering a stormtrooper duo, sending Nix to attack one while I took down the other, which bought me just enough time to dispatch the second one Nix had jumped down. During shootouts he’s most useful when he’s bringing you back powerful weapons the enemies have dropped, like heavy blasters and grenade launchers. Also yes, you can pet him and he loves it.

Flying your starship was also good fun, and if you’ve played Star Wars Battlefront 2 or Star Wars Squadrons you’ll get a hang of the controls almost instantly as they’re basically the same. As you progress through the game you’ll find vendors who can upgrade your ship for a price, as well as others who can upgrade your blaster or speeder. You’ll also put together your own crew, with my favourite being none other than the oddly fit droid ND-5, who made sparing appearances throughout my demo but stole the show every time.

The last thing worth touching on is the faction system. As any Star Wars fan will tell you, the Outer Rim is a wretched hive of scum and villainy and while the Empire is “in charge” it’s the crime syndicates that hold the most power that far out into the galaxy. During missions the player is given a choice of either helping or sabotaging some of these factions, and I was surprised to see just how important these decisions were later in the demo.

Every faction tends to have a hideout of some kind, and if your standing with them is good you can walk in and out with no eyebrows raised, which is great if another faction has tasked you with stealing from them. If you’re standing is bad it’ll be a restricted area, meaning you’ll have to sneak in if you want anything from them, and if you encounter them out in the open-world they’ll shoot you on site. I tended to help out the Hutt Syndicate when I could, but sometimes you’ll need to play devil’s advocate for an easier life in the galaxy.

Ubisoft

From mission to mission it seemed like the factions you sided the most with could be important later down the line, so I’ll be interested to see what impact if any they have on the late-game story.

So far Star Wars Outlaws has completely blown me away. I was thoroughly impressed with the level of detail Ubisoft has seemingly put into the game, and even more so at how seamless everything seemed to fit into the existing Star Wars canon. I only saw two planets during the preview as well as a few bonus areas, and even after several hours it felt like there was so much more to see and do.

Hopefully the full game builds off those opening few hours, and I’m excited to see the rest of Kay, Nix and ND-5’s story shape out, as well as what surprises await on the game’s other planets.