‘Star Wars Outlaws’ finally lets fans play as the scoundrel (review)

If you’ve ever played a game set in the galaxy far, far away, there’s a very good chance you found yourself beneath the robes of a brave, lightsaber-wielding Jedi. But while the Force-flinging power fantasies fulfilled in entries like last year’s excellent “Star Wars Jedi: Survivor” are a ton of fun, sometimes you just prefer the comfort of a good blaster by your side.

Enter the recently released “Star Wars Outlaws,” an open-world action-adventure that forgoes hokey religions and elegant weapons in favor of a good old fashioned scoundrel story set between the events of “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi.” With Han Solo encased in carbonite during that time period, scrappy protagonist Kay Vess essentially fills in for the iconic character, navigating the galaxy’s criminal underworld in a fashion that’d make the scruffy-looking Nerf herder proud.

For players, this means utilizing plenty of familiar sandbox game systems and mechanics – from combat and character progression to stealth and platforming – but within the beloved universe George Lucas created nearly 50 years ago. Specifically, Kay’s quest to remove a bounty from her head and pull off the ultimate heist takes her to familiar franchise locales, such as Tatooine and Canto Bight, as well as to some entirely new areas, like Toshara.

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Spread across a massive, mostly open map, these moons and planets – which also include Kijimi and Akiva – offer seemingly unlimited opportunities for fans to fully immerse themselves in the sci-fi saga’s lesser-seen, crime-filled corners. Whether you’re tackling a critical objective, like stealthily infiltrating a heavily-guarded Hutt Cartel base, or maybe just killing time hanging out in a dimly lit cantina, “Outlaws” never feels less authentic to its scum-and-villainy source material.

But while the spot-on world-building, incredible attention to detail, and oozing atmosphere consistently make you feel like you’re starring in an original trilogy side-story, the gameplay can occasionally pull you from that fantasy. Most of the action – from exchanging blaster bolts with enemies to cruising around on Kay’s speeder bike – does a decent job supporting the setting and story. Some repetitive mini-games, like hacking and lock-picking, however, can become tedious, while a rigid stealth system might have you repeating some missions more than you’d like.

More novel, polished elements, like character progression and an engaging reputation system fare much better. The former trades the usual crowded skill trees for a more organic approach that sees you evolving your skills and abilities by seeking out mentor-like “experts,” while the latter tasks you with carefully balancing your standing among the various crime families.

Along Kay’s journey, you’ll both betray and align with a variety of these unsavory sorts, including the Pyke Syndicate, Hutt Cartel, and Crimson Dawn faction. But more than just narrative window dressing, these relationships affect everything, from the resources and intel you can access to how welcome – or unwelcome – you might be on certain areas of the map. It’s not a particularly deep system, but one that perfectly supports the underbelly-focused story, while also making you feel like you have some agency over your precarious standing within it.

Where an encounter with a Hutt henchman could potentially lead to a fresh bounty on your head, your interactions with Kay’s sidekick Nix are always amiable. The cute, merqual companion plays a huge role in the game, providing plenty of lighthearted moments – like Kay and Nix adorably sharing a meal atop a cantina counter – that’ll have you holstering your blaster in favor of accessing the game’s photo mode.

But don’t let the little guy’s huggable facade fool you, as Nix is every bit the troublemaker Kay is. Players can command the tiny creature to steal, distract, attack, hack, and otherwise make your enemies look as dumb as Bantha fodder. Even when being bad though, the faithful friend never sheds its playful personality. In fact, don’t be surprised if you needlessly direct Nix to cause a distraction just so you can watch him adorably play dead for the security cameras. Much more than a useful gameplay mechanic, Nix is a Chewbacca-like friend that’s always got your back.

When not playing with your pet, double-crossing criminals, or otherwise authoring your own underworld adventures, you’ll discover plenty of other activities and interactions that feel authentically “Star Wars.” Whether following the main campaign or venturing off the beaten path, you could find yourself attempting to best Lando Calrissian in a high stakes game of Sabacc, battling a Rancor beneath Jabba’s palace, or blasting TIE fighters to bits from the cockpit of your ship – which you also seamlessly pilot between planets.

Like the Millennium Falcon, “Outlaws” is much more than the sum of its parts and definitely earns a spot on our best Star Wars games list. Sure, it could benefit from a bit more polish, but similar to the iconic “hunk of junk,” it comes through when it really counts. For Han Solo fans who’ve been waiting for an interactive adventure that celebrates the seedier side of the sci-fi saga, this scrappy scoundrel simulator is just what the medical droid ordered.