The Star Wars universe has always been more than just Jedi and Sith. The cantinas, spaceports, and underworld haunts glimpsed briefly in the films hint at a galaxy of rogues and scoundrels making their way between the cracks of galactic conflict. Star Wars Outlaws finally promises to let us live that fantasy—a proper open-world adventure where your choices as an up-and-coming outlaw actually matter. As someone who's always been more fascinated by the Mos Eisley Cantina than the Jedi Temple, I approached this game with cautious optimism.

As a longtime fan of Star Wars: The Old Republic and its rich storytelling, particularly its smuggler storyline, I was curious how Outlaws would differentiate itself. SWTOR's smuggler eventually becomes a significant player in the galactic conflict—a hero whose roguish exterior belies their ultimate importance to the fate of the galaxy. In contrast, Outlaws takes a refreshingly different approach. This isn't a story about becoming the unexpected savior who rubs shoulders with Jedi Masters and Supreme Chancellors. It's a true "Han Solo simulator" without all the baggage that entails; no predestined heroism, no ultimately noble heart hiding beneath the scoundrel exterior. You're just trying to survive and maybe get rich in a galaxy that barely notices your existence, and that authentic small-scale approach is exactly what makes the game work.

A Perfect Timeline Placement

Outlaws takes place in the relatively untapped period between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi—a goldmine of storytelling potential. The Empire is at the height of its power after crushing the Rebellion at Hoth, while crime syndicates flourish in the resulting power vacuum. This setting proves inspired, allowing the game to reference familiar elements without being constrained by established events.

The timeline placement also brilliantly explains the absence of overwhelming Force-user presence. You'll encounter hints of the greater galactic conflict, but this story rightfully focuses on the criminal underworld operating in the shadows of that war. Massive Entertainment has found the perfect balance—you feel the weight of the Empire's oppression without the story being consumed by it.

Populated with new planets alongside familiar locales, the game expands the Star Wars universe in meaningful ways. The new worlds blend seamlessly with established canon, each with distinct ecosystems, cultures, and underworld factions. From the neon-lit streets of Canto Bight to the dangerous wilderness of untamed frontier worlds, the environments feel authentically Star Wars while offering fresh perspectives.

Reputation Systems That Actually Matter

The heart of Outlaws is its reputation system with various crime syndicates, and it's here that the game truly shines. Unlike many games with superficial faction mechanics, your standing with organizations like the Hutt Cartel, Crimson Dawn, or Pyke Syndicate meaningfully affects gameplay. Favor with one group might lock you out of another's territory entirely, forcing genuine choices rather than letting you become everyone's favorite smuggler.

This system creates genuine tension in mission decisions. Do you betray your current employer for a bigger payday, knowing it might make an entire sector of the galaxy hostile? The game doesn't telegraph these choices with obvious good/evil meters—instead, you navigate a moral gray area where pragmatism often trumps ideology.

The way different syndicates control different regions creates a dynamic gameplay loop. You might find yourself taking odd jobs for a previously snubbed organization just to regain enough standing to safely dock at their spaceports. This organic consequence system gives your decisions weight that many RPGs promise but few deliver.

Combat and Stealth: Competent but Familiar

The moment-to-moment gameplay in Outlaws feels like a refined version of systems we've seen in other Ubisoft titles. The cover-based shooting works well enough, with a satisfying variety of blasters, each with distinct feeling and handling. However, you only get to keep your blaster you start the game with. Everything else is tempory and at times very frustating. Stealth mechanics offer a viable alternative approach to many encounters, though they rarely innovate beyond the standard distraction-and-takedown formula.

Where the combat does shine is in its integration with your companion and the environment. Your companion can be directed to interact with specific elements, creating opportunities for clever ambushes or diversions. Environmental interactions—from shooting steam pipes to triggering security systems against enemies—add a layer of creativity to encounters.

The game's version of "Eagle Vision"—your scanner that highlights interactive objects and enemy positions—feels somewhat overused and occasionally reduces the tension of infiltration. Still, it's a necessary concession for navigating the complex environments and fits within the established universe as standard bounty hunter tech.

Your Ship, Your Story

The starship mechanics represent some of the game's strongest elements. Your customizable ship serves as both your home base and your primary means of transportation between planets. Unlike many games where vehicles feel like mere transportation tools, your ship in Outlaws becomes an extension of your character's identity through meaningful customization and upgrades. As long as you concider a new paint job meaningful.

Space travel strikes an excellent balance between accessibility and depth. The dogfighting isn't as complex as dedicated flight simulators, but it offers enough challenge and tactical options to remain engaging throughout. The seamless transitions from ground to space particularly impress—you can go from a cantina brawl to orbital escape without a loading screen in sight.

The game also features a surprising amount of authentic-feeling "space trucker" gameplay. Smuggling contraband past Imperial checkpoints requires actual strategy and nerve, with sensor management and identification falsification systems that make you feel like a proper smuggler rather than just a courier with a quest marker.

Visual and Audio Excellence

Technically, Outlaws is a triumph. The visual design perfectly captures that lived-in, slightly grimy Star Wars aesthetic that made the original trilogy so believable. Character models are expressive, environments are richly detailed, and the lighting—particularly in neon-soaked underworld districts—creates a palpable atmosphere.

The sound design deserves special praise. From the distinctive hum of different blasters to the ambient chatter in cantinas, the audio brings this universe to life. While not composed by John Williams, the soundtrack captures the essence of Star Wars music while appropriately emphasizing the frontier/western themes that underpin the smuggler fantasy.

Family-Friendly Underworld

It's worth noting that Outlaws occupies a unique space in the Star Wars gaming spectrum when it comes to maturity level. The game sits comfortably between the all-ages approach of LEGO Star Wars and the more mature tone of the Fallen Order/Knight series. Despite focusing on the criminal underworld, the game maintains a distinctly Star Wars-appropriate approach to its content. There are no romantic subplots or relationships to pursue, no seedy brothels to visit, and even the most hardened criminals keep their language remarkably "clean" by underworld standards. While the game deals with themes of theft, smuggling, and organized crime, it does so in the same spirit as the films—suggesting rather than explicitly showing the darker aspects of this world. This makes Outlaws accessible to tweens and teens while still providing enough depth and moral complexity to engage adult players, hitting that sweet spot that Star Wars traditionally occupies in entertainment.

This family-friendly approach wasn't without controversy. Prior to release, Outlaws faced significant backlash from certain corners of the internet. The announcement of Kay Vess as a non-customizable female protagonist triggered predictable outrage from online communities that seem perpetually aggrieved by diverse casting choices. Criticisms of Kay's appearance—that she wasn't conventionally attractive enough—revealed more about the critics than the character design, which actually fits perfectly with the scrappy, practical aesthetic of the original Star Wars trilogy.

Many of these same detractors claimed they wanted a more "mature" Star Wars game—something closer to what the canceled Star Wars 1313 project once promised. That game, which would have followed a young Boba Fett through the criminal underworld of Coruscant's Level 1313, was planned to have a darker, more adult tone before Disney acquired Lucasfilm and it was ultimately shelved. The disappointment around 1313's cancellation is understandable, but the comparison misses what makes Star Wars enduring—its ability to tell stories that appeal across generations. Outlaws understands this fundamental aspect of the franchise, delivering a game that, like the original films, children can enjoy while adults appreciate its deeper themes. The choice to make a game that doesn't rely on gratuitous content isn't a limitation but rather an authentic expression of what Star Wars has always been about.

Verdict: A Scoundrel's Delight

Star Wars Outlaws isn't revolutionary in its gameplay mechanics, but it excels in creating an authentic Star Wars underworld experience wrapped in systems that meaningfully support that fantasy. The reputation dynamics, ship customization, and world design come together to create something greater than the sum of its familiar parts.

What makes Outlaws special is its commitment to the small-scale smuggler fantasy. Unlike SWTOR's smuggler story, which ultimately pulls you into galaxy-spanning importance, Outlaws is content to let you exist in the margins. There's something refreshing about a Star Wars game that doesn't insist you're secretly important to the fate of the galaxy. Your victories and failures matter to you and your immediate associates, but the Skywalker saga continues unaffected by your adventures—and that's precisely the point.

For Star Wars fans who've always wanted to forge their own path as a galactic outlaw, this game delivers on its core promise. It successfully translates the fantasy of being a space scoundrel—making deals, betraying the wrong people, and narrowly escaping the consequences—into engaging gameplay loops with meaningful choices.

While it borrows heavily from the Ubisoft open-world formula, the authentic Star Wars wrapper and genuinely consequential reputation system elevate it above being just another licensed game. For anyone who's ever wanted their own Millennium Falcon and a life outside the black-and-white conflict of Rebels versus Empire, Outlaws offers a convincing simulation of the scoundrel's life without forcing you to eventually become a hero of the Rebellion.

Rating: 8/10