Star Wars Outlaws – Everything You Should Know Before Buying

As a seasoned gamer with decades of experience under my belt, I must say that the latest addition to the Star Wars universe, “Star Wars Outlaws,” has certainly piqued my interest. With its intriguing storyline, new characters like Lando Calrissian adding a twist to the plot, and the promise of exciting expansion packs, it’s shaping up to be quite the adventure.

Before diving into the details, we’re just about two weeks away from the official release of “Star Wars Outlaws” on Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC (August 30th to be exact). There are still several aspects to explore, such as the game’s unique world design, mini-games, difficulty settings, and the season pass plan. Here’s a list of 15 additional facts to help you get ready for the upcoming launch on August 30th.

Limited Exploration at the Start

In Star Wars Outlaws, you’ll find five exciting locations to discover, but not all of them are accessible at the start. Your adventure begins as Kay crash-lands on Toshara, and only after advancing through the story can you freely explore and conquer other worlds. The game emphasizes exploration, with Toshara being partially uncharted, shrouded in mystery due to a veil of unknowns hiding what lies beyond its edges. Unraveling the world involves visiting cantinas, eavesdropping on conversations, and taking on various tasks, all of which help unfold the world’s secrets and reveal hidden treasures.

Ghost of Tsushima as the Biggest Reference

In designing Outlaws, various open-world games have served as inspirations, with Red Dead Redemption being one such example. However, Ghost of Tsushima by Sucker Punch emerged as a significant guiding influence. According to Gerighty, “My main reference was Ghost of Tsushima, which draws inspiration more from the Kurosawa school than Westerns, and George Lucas’ John Ford-inspired works.”

“The narrative, setting, characters – they all seamlessly tie into the gameplay, creating an immersive experience that makes you feel like a samurai ninja in feudal Japan. This concept served as one of our main inspirations.”

World Scale

According to creative director Julian Gerighty, it only takes approximately four to five minutes to traverse Toshara on a speeder. However, the development team put considerable thought into the game’s overall size. Game director Mathias Karlson emphasized that the game should be “grand in scope, encompassing everything from the tiniest details to the largest expanses.” This means you can engage in games like Sabacc within a cantina, stroll through the streets, hop on your speeder or drive across the landscape, store your bike inside your own spaceship, launch into space effortlessly, and explore that particular region.

“Scaling Tatooine calls for more deliberate consideration than flashy architecture. In our game, it appears and functions distinctly. Its vast sand dunes and expansive vistas give it a breath of life, making it simple to spot even minor irregularities on the horizon. These could potentially offer opportunities unlike the crowded, frostbitten streets of Kijimi.”

Massive aims for the game to begin modestly, gradually expanding in scope much like Gerighty outlines. However, they also strive to instill a feeling that everything is expanding, not only the grandeur of the cosmos, but the potential for your character’s growth and opportunities as well.

Can’t Kill Civilians or Steal Their Vehicles

Regrettably, players seeking chaos similar to that found in ‘Grand Theft Auto’ might feel let down. As YouTube content creator JorRaptor shared after playing ‘Outlaws’ for four hours, civilians can’t be robbed of vehicles (who will swiftly run you over without a second thought). Moreover, they can’t be harmed at all; instead, you should channel your aggressive tendencies towards the Syndicates and Empire agents who are out to get you.

Contract Brokers and Raising Reputation

As a gamer, here’s my take on it: The impact of the Syndicates I choose on the storyline is yet to unfold, but boosting their standing seems quite straightforward. JorRaptor pointed out that contract brokers dish out limitless contracts for this very purpose, and some faction perks even come with exclusive outfits. However, the objectives might not be overly creative, but advancing reputation levels will open up riskier options, presumably leading to better rewards.

Living Space Events

There’s been a lot of discussion about global happenings and new occurrences in various places. But it’s not just the world events that are worth exploring; there are also local activities taking place near certain locations. These involve situations like smuggler ships being checked by the Empire, which you can get involved with, or Syndicate ships under attack from rival groups. You might also stumble upon wrecked ships emitting distress signals and find yourself in tricky situations. While the exact scope of activities hasn’t been fully revealed yet, Gerighty hinted at “plenty to keep busy,” “hidden mysteries to uncover” and opportunities for exploration.

Explorer Mode

Explorer Mode, which hasn’t been demonstrated yet, will disable the guiding yellow markings used in platforming areas, providing less direction for climbing sections. This feature offers a balance between immersive exploration and structured guidance within the game, appealing to those seeking a more natural experience while still catering to players who prefer a more guided approach.

Replicating the Original Trilogy’s Cinematography

Between “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi,” it’s no wonder that many recognizable sights and sounds can be found in “Outlaws.” Yet, Massive Entertainment has added a unique 21:9 cinematic mode to enhance the experience. As revealed to IGN in July, creative director Julian Gerighty mentioned that effects such as film grain, vignetting, chromatic aberration, and barrel distortion are used to achieve an authentic 1970s aesthetic.

Difficulty Presets and Custom Settings

If you’re looking for a tougher test or wanting to experience Stormtroopers’ infamous aiming skills directly, the game Outlaws offers various levels of challenge. Massive didn’t detail all the options, but they mentioned a Story Mode that’s “extra lenient.” You can also tailor settings such as Wanted level, enemy difficulty, Kay’s health, auto ledge grabbing, auto-dismounting after grappling, health regeneration for your Speeder, and even tweak the mini-game difficulty.

Sabacc, Arcade Cabinets, and Fathier Racing

Incidentally, it’s worth mentioning that the game Star Wars Outlaws has been confirmed to include three distinct mini-games. One of these is a card game called Sabacc, where you can bet in-game currency and even use Nyx to peek at other players’ cards. Additionally, there are arcade cabinets that offer classic shoot ’em up and racing games, and you can also gamble credits on Fathier Racing, which resembles horse racing.

25 to 30 hours for Story Completion

Regarding the scope of “Outlaws”, Massive Entertainment intends for players to complete the story in approximately 25 to 30 hours. If you choose an extensive playstyle, which some might view as excessive, it could take around 50 to 60 hours. Gerighty clarified to VGC last June that it’s not a game with 200 hours of gameplay like “Assassin’s Creed”, enabling the team to concentrate on fine details and manage the project more efficiently, even with a smaller team.

Season Pass Roadmap

A Ubisoft game wouldn’t be complete without the absence of a season pass. At its release, Star Wars Outlaws offers an exclusive Jabba the Hutt mission and Character Pack featuring a Han Solo-style outfit for Kay. The debut story expansion, titled Wild Card, arrives in October. Here, players find Kay participating in a thrilling Sabacc tournament. A familiar face from the series, Lando Calrissian, is present as well, though it appears he has his own objectives to pursue.

In addition to their rewards, players will also be given two fresh packs – the Hunter’s Legacy Bundle and the Cartel Ronin Bundle, filled with new attire and cosmetics for the Speeder and Trailblazer. A Pirate’s Fortune, set to release in Spring 2025, is the second story expansion. This expansion introduces a meeting with Hondo Ohnaka, a notorious space pirate who requires assistance in managing a rival gang.

PC Requirements

If you found the PC requirements for playing Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora challenging, then be prepared as Star Wars Outlaws demands even more. To run this game smoothly, you’ll need a system with Windows 10/11 64-bit, DirectX 12, and a solid-state drive that can accommodate at least 65 GB of space. Even at the Low graphics setting and resolution of 1080p/30 FPS, you’ll require an AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz or an Intel Core i7-8700K processor, 16 GB of RAM, and either an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 (6 GB), AMD RX 5600XT (6 GB) GPU, or the Intel Arc A750 (8 GB, with ReBAR enabled).

To achieve gameplay at 1080p/60 FPS on High settings, a Ryzen 5 5600X with a speed of 3.7 GHz or an Intel Core i5-10400 running at 2.9 GHz, along with 16 GB of RAM and either a GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (8 GB) or Radeon RX 6700 XT (12 GB), would suffice. For 4K/60 FPS gameplay at Ultra settings, a more powerful system is necessary: a Ryzen 7 5800X3D operating at 3.4 GHz or an Intel Core i7-12700K running at 3.8 GHz, paired with 16 GB of RAM and either a top-tier GeForce RTX 4080 (16 GB), Radeon RX 7900 XTX (24 GB), or a similar graphics card. Lastly, it’s essential to set the upscaler to Quality mode for optimal performance.

Nvidia DLSS 3.5 Support

Individuals utilizing compatible hardware can take advantage of Nvidia’s DLSS 3.5, which includes Ray Reconstruction, to enhance realism even further. As demonstrated in Nvidia’s promotional video, this technology improves ray tracing and lighting effects significantly while maintaining strong performance. For a thorough evaluation, it is advisable to examine high-definition footage closely, but the initial findings suggest positive outcomes.

4K and HDR10 Support on Consoles

At the moment, Massive hasn’t explicitly disclosed the graphical settings for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S yet. Nevertheless, it’s been confirmed through the Xbox Store that the game will support 4K Ultra HD and HDR10. It seems likely that Quality and Performance modes will be accessible at launch, offering a potential 4K/30 FPS and 60 FPS experience on the Xbox Series X and PS5. Additionally, it would be quite appealing if they added a 40 FPS mode similar to Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora after the game’s release.

DualSense Features

Exciting news for PS5 gamers! The new game “Star Wars Outlaws” takes advantage of the DualSense controller’s adaptive triggers and motion aiming capabilities. In the game settings, you can customize not only the intensity of the triggers but also the sensitivity, smoothing strength, and other aspects related to motion aiming for a more personalized gaming experience.

2024-08-19 22:42

Read More