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Star Wars: Outlaws is completely unoriginal, but that’s kind-of the best part

Star Wars on TV, movies and games have the same problem.

The original trilogy was an unprecedented blend of edgy Western, brooding Samurai film, and cutting-edge Sci-Fi that made for transformative popcorn entertainment that was a true pop-culture phenomenon.

They make a lot of money from most of the things they do, but in terms of cultural influence, especially during the Disney era, Lucasfilm has only managed to replicate anything close to this level of success a handful of times, most recently with The Mandalorian; It’s a sci-fi soup of The Lone Ranger, Seven Samurai, and old-fashioned practical effects.

With this legacy steeped in John Wayne, John Ford, and Flash Gordon nostalgia since the late 70s, new Star Wars media has the unique prerequisite of being authentically “Star Wars-y” before it can even try. conveys his ideas.

This can pull the project towards both the Dark Side and the Force, as it renders a lot of Star Wars material inherently derivative and ineffective, poking fun at the wet dolls, goons, and sliding doors we all find more comfortable with its design. Relative to the inside of Towntown. However, since it’s the path to everyone’s happy place—even if it’s no bigger than a rat—when something actually touches that air, it indeed nails

After post-use rework, Star Wars: Outlaws is a perfect example of this. It doesn’t do much that’s new or exciting per se, but there are so many Star Wars hallmarks that it gets right that it quietly One of the best, windiest, most action-packed and cheat games you can play on holidays (even if it’s properly mixed to begin with, retaining the rest of the weirdness).

This is especially true if you live in a cold, snowy climate or wish you could do this for Christmas. As you settle into your hole with the Outlaws, your mission takes you to the cold, slick, and cobbled streets of Kijimi (home of Babu Frick, the only redeeming character of the later trilogy). It’s great when it’s snowing and you’re wearing a Hoth cosplay puffer jacket.

But to get a proper post-patch feel, the first thing you should do is immediately revert one of the major changes.

One of my favorite things about Star Wars: Outlaws is that it plays with a letterboxed, widescreen aspect ratio that instantly grounds all the action and exploration in Star Wars’ unique old-yet-cinematic aesthetic. It turns the flat, arid landscapes of Toshara and Tatooine into stills from the movies instead of another Ubisoft open world.

The amount of fluffy activities scattered around the main planets is mercifully limited, though I definitely started ignoring the random quest givers as I wandered from place to place because I owed them a high five.

But the moment that really sold me on Outlaws was Tatooine. Needing some new parts for my blaster, I found a merchant on the map, set off and ran around the corner to meet them, only to be confronted by a 3 foot unadulterated Jawa from femur to yellow golf ball eyes.

Can you imagine how much better other open world games would be if traders were Jawas? Like in Far Cry 6 or something, you’ve just come around the corner and it’s a little Jawa standing in a box behind the counter. “Umpeen! Wow!” handing over a new muffler, he said – it would be great.

Either way, these little moments of Star Wars -y exploration are all over Outlaws , making it feel like a wonderfully lived-in representation of a galaxy far, far away. The cities and spaceports are perfectly populated with big bangs and deep cuts, along with great movie characters and Easter Eggs I won’t spoil.

There are elements of the Outlaws gameplay that I don’t like. I think it’s the second worst communication lock-down mini-game I’ve ever played (after Kingdom Come: Salvation) from Aurebesh to visual cues in the more difficult-to-read platforming sections, and some mechanics and design have a surprisingly low floor, which is very disconcerting when seen. But when things ultimately go wrong, Han, Luke, and Leia are reminded of their escape from the Star Destroyer as the Stormtroopers collect their explosives. and accidentally shoots them with one hand.

Now, after a rough first release, I feel like Star Wars: Outlaws ranks up there with a lot of Disney Star Wars. It’s a delicious but gorgeously and lushly produced caper that’s too flawed in release to capture the cultural consciousness like its predecessors, but is just pure, run-of-the-mill fun when stripped of the pressure. This is Star Wars for your eyes-only entertainment under the covers pulled up to your nose.

Unfortunately, it’s not enough to feed the gears of a AAA gaming machine, but that’s a problem for Ubisoft to solve, not the gaming community. If you need me, I’ll replace the Jawa three rolls of Bantha wool with a power converter.

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