Roundup: Here’s What The Critics Are Saying About Ubisoft’s Star Wars Outlaws

Well, reviews for Star Wars Outlaws are now out in the wild – including the Pure Xbox write-up from our resident Star Wars space blaster PJ O’Reilly. So, we’re here to round up some of the general impressions for Ubisoft’s upcoming Star Wars adventure, starting out with a summary of our PX review.

Without further ado, here’s what the critics are saying about Star Wars Outlaws:

Pure Xbox (8/10)

“Star Wars Outlaws has been a thoroughly welcome surprise. We expected a great big open world dullard of a thing, but instead we’ve got clever stealth systems, excellent level design, fun combat and a wise refining of the usual collectathon and busywork mechanics. Kay Vess and Nix make a highly competent stealth/death squad, the whole thing looks and sounds great and you even get to take off from planets, fly into space and blow stuff up. What it lacks in new mechanics or originality in gameplay, it makes up for with vibes. It’s got it where it counts, kid.”

GamingTrend (8.5/10)

“Star Wars Outlaws might play things a bit safe, but the solid foundation leads to a fantastic adventure. The gameplay is tremendous, with some of the most engaging stealth mechanics I’ve enjoyed in a game in a while. Add in some great characters, fun side missions, and a gorgeous open world, and Star Wars Outlaws is a great trip across the stars.”

TheSixthAxis (8/10)

“Star Wars Outlaws is an open world scoundrel-’em-up that clearly builds on Ubisoft’s familiar format, but that’s not a bad thing. The rep system in particular is interesting, as the constant fluctuations belie any kind of loyalty you might show otherwise, but most importantly, this game lets you just be in the enduring Star Wars Universe. It’s not perfect, but stealing for crime syndicates, fighting the Empire, speeding across alien landscapes, and so much more is a dream come true.”

Dexerto (8/10)

“While Star Wars: Outlaws soars thanks to its spectacular open-world design, letting you loose across multiple gargantuan planets all brought to life with immense attention to detail, a safe and rather by-the-books narrative brings the package down from being an all-time great.”

PC Gamer (7.3/10)

“Outlaws is everything good and bad about big-budget open world excess. There’s so much going on between its main quests, sidequests, gear quests, rumors, treasure hunts, and contracts, and yet fundamental fun videogame stuff like getting from place to place falls flat. One hour I’m totally engrossed eavesdropping on Stormtroopers plotting to fix the Fathier races, and the next I’m moaning at yet another boring climbing section.”

IGN (7/10)

“It’s ironic that Kay’s ship is called the Trailblazer, since there’s actually not a whole lot of ideas in Star Wars Outlaws that haven’t been done before in other action and open-world adventures. Instead, it’s quite like the Millenium Falcon: a bucket of bolts held together with repurposed parts and prone to breaking down, but at its best it’s more than capable of jolting your pleasure centres into Star Wars fan hyperspace.”

GamesRadar (7/10)

“I’ve sacrificed my time to Star Wars: Galaxies and The Old Republic, fallen in love with the ‘Jedi’ games in all their forms, and played countless other games set in this franchise. But it’s Star Wars Outlaws that truly made me feel a part of this universe for the very first time, and that has to count for something – even if I hope to never see the inside of another Imperial ventilation system in my lifetime.”

VGC (3/5)

“Star Wars Outlaws is a pulpy, Uncharted-style adventure that doesn’t quite fulfil its potential. Kay and Nix lead a great cast through a well-paced, punchy story, but the game’s Reputation system, and syndacite storyline in general feels undercooked.”

Eurogamer (2/5)

“The result is a series of quite painful comparisons: it lacks the branching, open stealth of an Arkham game, the systemic options of a Dishonored or the incisive, relentlessly satisfying speed of picking enemies off in Assassin’s Creed. It lacks the linear polish and charisma of Uncharted. Lacks the animation flow to its yellow-ledge platforming next to a Horizon, or the sheer joy of taking platforming and making it into an actual game in itself, as in Star Wars Jedi.”

For the most part, then, Massive Entertainment seems to have done a fairly good job at making the first-ever open world Star Wars game. The title is currently at a 77 on Metacritic and holds a score of 76 on Open Critic – a solid rating overall.

How do you gauge the review scores so far? Tell us what you’re thinking down below.