Star Wars Outlaws

[J4MES OX4D 10,039]

Looks pretty decent from Ubisoft and a bit more interesting than EA's Jedi games at first glance especially from a mechanics standpoint.  

 

[Luseth 1,962]

I love anything Star Wars, my only concern is the Ubisoft formula, it was feeling very tired the last few games and if they have applied it here just with a Star Wars skin it's really going to be disappointing. I will be waiting for reviews before buying ^_^

[J4MES OX4D 10,039]

Star Wars Outlaws' $110 and $130 editions prompt a collective sigh from potential players tired of season passes and ill-advised early access periods | PC Gamer

WWW.PCGAMER.COM

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I've got a bad feeling about this.

 

[phil bottle 9,770]

1 hour ago, J4MES OX4D said:

Star Wars Outlaws' $110 and $130 editions prompt a collective sigh from potential players tired of season passes and ill-advised early access periods | PC Gamer

WWW.PCGAMER.COM

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I've got a bad feeling about this.

 

I agree, these things tend to set precedents and probably a glimpse of things to come in the gaming industry. 

 

Pirating or waiting for sales is how I'll be going if that's the case 🥳 

 

[WelchyTV 455]

I don’t like the idea of selling season passes as part of deluxe editions etc, especially for games we have no idea are even good or not! 
 

Even when God of War 2018, my favourite game of all time, had the sequel Ragnarok coming out I refused to buy any deluxe edition. Just give me my £70 standard version and I’m happy.

 

For Star Wars Outlaws, I want to see a bit more before I commit £70, but I probably will! 

[J4MES OX4D 10,039]

16 hours ago, phil bottle said:

I agree, these things tend to set precedents and probably a glimpse of things to come in the gaming industry. 

 

Pirating or waiting for sales is how I'll be going if that's the case 🥳 

 

This sorta thing has been around for many years yet yet publishers keep adopting it yet it surely doesn't benefit sales in the long run. Some games have had such convoluted pre-release/puchase aspects in play which just alienate players so much, rather than spending even the base game rate, they wait for a sale as you say. Who could forget EA's epic fail charts..

 

The thing that pisses me off with this $70/$110/$130 garbage is that the people that are paying the standard base game rate are actually getting the game 3 days late and are missing out on content as well as risking spoilers. Those that are getting ripped off paying $110 get to essentially play the game on time (even though it says 'early access' and are paying $40 extra for one shitty mission and a low-effort .pdf. 

 

I think Ubisoft are slyly trying to push people to their garbage subscription service where you can play the entire thing for $15. Might not be a bad one-off shout especially for a one and done Ubisoft single player title. Games like Baldurs Gate 3 keep it simple - £50 and the entire game is yours with no bullshit or having to miss out on stuff because you didn't pay £30-40 more. 

[J4MES OX4D 10,039]

Current build looks like a PS3 game in places

 

[J4MES OX4D 10,039]

PS5 players who overpaid Ubisoft $110 to play the game early now either have to restart their game from scratch or face game breaking bugs down the line that will corrupt their save or progress regardless. I don't have any sympathy really for affected users - you blindly buy into another generic Ubi rip-off and this is what you deserve

Early Star Wars Outlaws PS5 players paid $110 only to have Ubisoft issue a new patch and tell them to start a new save file or face game-breaking bugs | GamesRadar+

WWW.GAMESRADAR.COM

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"If you continue on a prior save you will unfortunately face issues and progression blockers"

 

[Luseth 1,962]

And yet I am having a wonderful time with the game you miserable sod 😛

 

Yes it is a Ubisoft game and yes it has issues that shouldn't really occur in a triple A title, however for anyone that enjoys the Star wars universe, in particular the feel and tone of Star Wars a new hope you will enjoy this game.

 

The good and bad things I have come across from my play so far -

 

Good -

1. World building, the tone of some of the areas and the way things have been crafted it really makes you feel like you are in the star wars Universe. It feels alive with so much going on, sort of on par with the witcher 3 which I loved.
2. The little companion Nix, he gives you quite a few options for how you approach certain scenarios and can really help you in a bit of a pinch. You can send him to attack or distract an enemy, steal from them, open doors or vents or go and pick you up a weapon an enemy may have dropped while you are hunkered down behind cover.
3. There is a lot to do, this can be a good and bad thing. I have found myself oh so many times wondering through the town or the Cantina and overhearing something from a conversation and finding a new treasure trove or little quest to carry out.
4. The voice acting and writing is pretty well done, it's a story I think I am going to enjoy.

Bad -

1. The game breaking update that requires you to start again. Crap if you paid obscene amounts of money to play the game 3 days early. That said I think doing that is idiotic in the first place so similar to you James I have no sympathy. Having received the game on launch, updating right away and getting stuck in this is a non-issue for me.
2. The stealth thing is irritating, I am not a big fan of stealth in games and I feel like this game over relies on it. Some of the best moments have been where I have tried to be stealth, fucked it up and then felt like Han Solo must have felt having a shootout against the empire on the death star only to escape at the last second down a cliff face.
3. You can't shoot while on a speeder bike, this one baffles me. Empire troops can shoot at you while chasing you but you can't shoot back other than some cinematic moment which is on a timed cool down. So the only thing you can do is try to outrun them, seem's a real oversight this one.

I think this is typical of people and the industry, a game that has a big IP or brand associated with it and people make money out of producing videos and reviews and such for criticising it. I have heard people say that if it wasn't a Star Wars game then it wouldn't have sold any copies at all but I feel if it had not been a Star wars game it wouldn't be crucified in the manner it is. It's a comfortable 7.5 / 10 for me as a game and it falls down a half point for the bad points above otherwise I would have given it an 8, I can see myself getting a lot of hours out of this game.

[Luseth 1,962]

Oh sorry, one more negative, the lockpicking.

 

Why does everyone feel the need to put lockpicking into a game, and why change it and make it worse each time!

[WelchyTV 455]

Beat this game last night, bought a month of Ubisoft+ so I could play it on the cheap. Basically only completed the main missions and did very little side stuff. Took me 15 hours.

In my opinion, it’s a good game. I had my fun with it but certainly wouldn’t consider it one of the greats, and I much prefer the Jedi games! Once I had accepted that this is basically a stealth game I found it more enjoyable. That being said, there are plenty of better stealth games out there!!

 

I’m going to be reviewing it on my podcast this week and wanted to know if anyone else had beaten it yet and would be willing to share their thoughts so I can share them on the podcast? 
 

If you’d rather me not mention your username just let me know! 

[Luseth 1,962]

I did play it @WelchyTV but honestly I did end up drifting away with other games being released but that's not a great sign as it did not keep me engaged quite enough.

 

It looks visually great and I quite liked the protagonist as well as the little critter and what you could do with him such as distracting cameras or guards. I think one thing this game suffers with which is an issue of modern day games is the size. There is a lot of filler and really it's not needed, I got distracted doing all that but then that's why I fell away from the game.

 

I was enjoying it and I love the Star Wars universe, I thought some of the worlds were well done though one thing that gripes me with space games and Starfield is the same, why does a planet have to have a theme i.e. why does it have to be a woodland planet or a desert planet. Why can't there be a blend of all like planet Earth.

 

The stealth was probably my biggest gripe, sometimes I just wanted to go in all guns blazing and the game wouldn't allow me to which seemed utterly bizarre, like you would begin stealth and maybe get found but then it would fail you and you would have to do it again. Even if in the films often a stealth moment would become some hero dazzling display, last gasp gun fights as they escape.

 

The best thing about the game though are some of the towns / cities, they really felt alive with loads of things going on and they really were brilliant!

[WelchyTV 455]

Thanks @Luseth, are you happy for me to read these points out on the podcast? 
 

I have to say I agree with most of what you said, particularly the stealth. Your point about planets having a theme is interesting too and never really thought of it that way. It makes sense for a platformer like Mario or Astro Bot to have themed levels, but when it comes to large scale planets they should have some variety in environments. 
 

I guess the counter argument to that is that not many planets are going to have the same conditions as Earth, due to distances from their Sun etc.

 

I 100% agree about the filler though, I know people like their games to be huge 100 hour experiences so they feel they have got their moneys worth, however I prefer a much tighter experience! 

[Luseth 1,962]

1 hour ago, WelchyTV said:

Thanks @Luseth, are you happy for me to read these points out on the podcast? 
 

 

Of course, feel free!

 

1 hour ago, WelchyTV said:

I 100% agree about the filler though, I know people like their games to be huge 100 hour experiences so they feel they have got their moneys worth, however I prefer a much tighter experience! 

 

Yup, it's an age and responsibilities thing. Games of this size were great for us in our late teens and early 20's where you could go to college / uni or your part time job while living with your parents then come home and game to your hearts content. Then you get your own home which might need work or chores doing, then if you have kids you have their needs to meet and all of a sudden these tasks are eating into your own time. This means that generally you want more efficient and tighter experiences where you can enjoy the storytelling, the world and gameplay and then move onto the next thing rather than it feeling like another chore in your daily grind.

 

I don't think some developers yet appreciate this, the average age of someone who plays video games today is something like 35... Which means many of us are in the same boat and it does not feel like Triple A titles really cater for that and is probably why some of the indie games we see today with shorter experiences are doing so well 🙂