One of the biggest surprises of Summer Game Fest on the whole, being a highlight of both the Xbox Showcase and Ubisoft Forward presentation,Star Wars Outlawshas finally been officially confirmed, and given a tentative 2024 release window. While aUbisoft Massive open-worldStar Warsgamehas been confirmed to be in development for some time now, fans have practically nothing else to go on, not sure of the game’s time setting, protagonist, or general gameplay style.
Well, thanks to a surprisingly lengthy gameplay reveal, fans now have a much better idea of what type of gameStar Wars Outlawsis shaping up to be, and the initial response has been a very positive one. A story-driven, third-person, open-world shooter,Star Wars Outlawsisn’t quite the fully-fledged RPG some fans were hoping for, but it also won’t be quite as linear as recent titles likeStar Wars Jedi: Survivor. But there’s one aspect ofStar Wars Outlawsthat could end up following in the footsteps ofMarvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy.
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Star Wars Outlaws' Choices Might Follow in Guardians of the Galaxy’s Footsteps
Though it didn’t quite get the responseEidos-Montreal and Square Enixwere hoping for,Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxywas a pretty great narrative-driven single-player game. Putting the player in the illustrious boots of Star-Lord,Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxyhad a linear structure overall, but players could affect certain moments of gameplay or story with their dialogue choices. While dialogue options were constant inGuardians of the Galaxy, only a few key decisions properly affected gameplay, and these were immediately identifiable by the appearance of a pink diamond around Star-Lord’s icon in the center of the two options.
These important choices usually came just before a major story or action sequence, and would lead to one of two outcomes. For instance, early on inMarvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, players are given the choice to either hide Rocket’s tech from the Nova Corps, or hide a mysterious alien llama. Choosing the tech will give the player a new weapon during ship combat but will result in an 8000 credit fine, while choosing the llama will result in a 7000 credit fine and will skip a prison-breaking minigame later on. Another choice later on sees the playerchoose to either sell Groot or Rocket. Choosing Groot leads to a stealth mission, while stealing Rocket leads to an all-out firefight.
While every player ofMarvel’s Guardians of the Galaxyexperienced the same overall story, these infrequent choices still allowed for a more diverse playthrough. Based on what fans have seen fromStar Wars Outlawsso far, it seems likely that it’ll follow inGuardians of the Galaxy’s footsteps with regard to its own narrative choices. Unlikeother open-endedStar WarsRPGs,Star Wars: Outlawswon’t let players create their own characters. Instead, players will take control of Kay Vess, a character that seemingly already has a clearly defined background, and clearly defined motivations. Similarly,Star Wars Outlawshas an overarching story, with Kay Vess attempting to pull off the biggest heist the galaxy has ever seen.
WithStar Wars Outlawsalready having a clearly defined character and overarching story, and with it presumably being canon, it’s unlikely that the player will be making too many choices that truly affect the narrative. Instead, it’s much more likely thatStar Wars Outlawswill useGuardians of the Galaxy’s method of introducing a few diverging paths along the main story, resulting in some alternate action sequences like either engaging in a speeder chase or blaster firefight depending on the player’s dialogue choice. Fans already saw a hint of that inStar Wars Outlaws' gameplay trailer, with the player choosing to refuse an Imperial officer their bribe, resulting in the Empire coming after them.
Star Wars Outlawsis coming to PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S in 2024.
