Is it worth playing Star Wars Outlaws in 2025?

Star Wars Outlaws was released last year for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, but the reception has been less than stellar. Massive Entertainment and Ubisoft wanted to deliver an original story set within a galaxy far, far away. However, the developers might have bitten off more than they could chew.

After being hyped as Red Dead Redemption 2 in space based on the initial gameplay preview, Outlaws fell flat, with some fans blaming its messy release. However, is it worth grabbing it in 2025? Despite its flaws, there are redeeming qualities that are worth admiring.

Disclaimer: This article is subjective and based on the writer's opinion.

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Star Wars Outlaws is a disturbance in the Force

The flaws outshine the best parts of this open-world adventure (Image via Ubisoft)

Rather than taking on the role of a Force-user or rebel hero, players are introduced to Kay Vess, a scoundrel who has nothing to do with the Galactic Civil War. This offers a unique opportunity to look into the lives of innocent civilians amidst the conflict. Star Wars Outlaws is set between Episodes 5 and 6 and heavily focuses on the criminal underworld.

Taking place at the height of the Galactic Civil War, this project offers a glimpse of how bad life used to be under the Empire's regime. Early gameplay shared by the developers showed Kay taking on goons in intense firefights and navigating the world on her Speeder.

Players can even pledge their allegiance and offer services to different factions by taking on odd jobs to help build their reputation.

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This game carries the Ubisoft DNA

Exploration could have been much more appealing if the developers worked out the kinks (Image via Ubisoft)

The open world is similarly structured to recent Assassin's Creed games, which can be convenient for players. Kay can visit any location to interact with local NPCs, though the open-world activities are not very varied and can get boring after a while. Moreover, Ubisoft has entered murky waters, especially about the lackluster quality of its recent projects. This was especially felt in the first few days when Star Wars Outlaws launched with obvious performance issues.

However, if players can overlook the performance issues, the single-player campaign can be a redeeming factor. On top of that, Kay's companion, Nyx, adds a unique twist to the gameplay, as it can distract enemies, steal items, and even open locked doors on command. This comes in handy, especially during stealth sections.

Nevertheless, combat and stealth are a bit tricky as enemies can easily detect Kay despite her best efforts to conceal herself. Firefights also feel very unfair at times since Kay is easily outgunned and overwhelmed by the number of enemies the game throws at her. Naturally, moments like this can ruin the immersion and hassle players to restart stealth encounters from square one.

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Conclusion

Star Wars Outlaws is not the perfect open-world experience that fans have been asking for, but it is the only one they have. Moreover, Ubisoft is committed to improving the project by releasing regular optimization updates and new story content. Hence, with new expansions on the horizon and the promise of improvements, grabbing a copy of Star Wars Outlaws today is not a bad investment.