Just finished playing the fantastic open-world stealth game Star Wars: Outlaws, from Ubisoft, specifically their internal studio Massive. I just wanted to take a sec to shout about it, because GOD DAMN what a great game. I can honestly say it is one of the best narrative experiences I’ve played in the hundreds of games over dozens of years I’ve been a gamer. Why?

The world is perfectly Star Wars
The game itself is built on a great compulsion loop.
The story and the writing are about as good as game writing gets.

I know there are a lot of internet incel types who will cry about one thing or another, but the base truth is that this is a sensational game and I’d encourage everyone to give it a spin.

The twist: I actually rage quit Outlaws the first time and maybe or maybe not but definitely yelled at the person who recommended I play it because one of the first things you do is play a Quick Time Event-driven cutscene where you eat with your little space pet. While this game overall is great, that moment is just about the furthest thing from my taste in games. I’m not the biggest QTE fan and I’ll admit that right at that moment I was realizing this wasn’t The Division-meets-Star Wars. That in and of itself was massively disappointing and the QTE eating scene just pushed me to The Dark Side.

I uninstalled, moved onto the next game in my queue…

…and then found myself drawn by some unseen force back to the world.

*Did I mention it’s got some strong X-Wing Alliance vibes?*

The QTEs are still dumb and I was still disappointed that I wasn’t playing The Division-meets-Star Wars, but once I gave the game a chance, I came to the realization that it’s actually Assassin’s Creed-meets-Star Wars…and maybe, just maybe creates a whole that’s greater than the sum of its parts.

Once you start sneaking around the galaxy, making friends, making enemies, balancing your rep with the factions, getting some FANTASTIC Star Wars character cameos, and generally becoming a pretty bad ass smuggler…yeah…for the real ones who stick around, it’s a super rewarding experience. The story is great and the writing to realize that story is fantastic, from snappy cutscenes that don’t overstay their welcome, to quest dialog that transforms fetch quests into HOLY SHIT I AM BASICALLY HAN SOLO, to lore that is dense with fan service, yet easy to digest as you’re playing and perfectly paced. This is a rare combination in games and not something I’ve really seen since from Ubisoft at this level since The Division 1 or Black Flag.

I hope the gaming community eventually finds this gem, starts playing more, gets into the season passes and Ubisoft realizes that they actually have the next great tentpole franchise in their often great, sometimes confounding portfolio. I’m confident the talented people up top will get there…and maybe turn off the QTE’s by default next time.

My Love Letter to Star Wars: Outlaws

CODIE: A Spiral Frontier Novelette