Star Wars Outlaws vs Starfield: Similarities and differences explained

Ubisoft's Star Wars Outlaws is the French company's latest attempt at an open-world game, and it has been gaining immense popularity over the past few days. Controlling Kay Vess, players can traverse multiple unique planets and environments as they progress through the title's story.

A game that Outlaws is often compared with is Bethesda's Starfield, which was released in 2023. Due to both being set in space, players often draw parallels between the two. Here, we will be comparing some similarities and differences between the two games.

---

Similarities between Star Wars Outlaws and Starfield

1) Difficulty settings

Both games offer players various difficulty options (Image via Bethesda)

Both games offer the player myriad difficulty settings to choose from. Star Wars Outlaws offers four presets: Explorer, Adventurer, Outlaw, and Scoundrel, which are arranged here in ascending order of difficulty. Players can also customize individual difficulty settings, which allows for a personalized experience.

Similarly, in Starfield, they are provided with five options: Very Easy, Easy, Normal, Hard, and Very Hard. Although not much creativity has been put into naming, Starfield also offers players many difficulty presets to choose from.

---

2) Skill upgrades

Both games offer skill upgrades for the player (Image via Ubisoft)

Star Wars Outlaws offers players a chance to level up Kay in a way unlike other games, wherein they must interact with and complete missions for different NPCs to be able to unlock skills. These NPCs include established names like Lando Calrissian, Temmin Wexley, and more.

In Starfield, players can also upgrade the protagonist's stats. There are five categories to upgrade: Physical, Social, Combat, Science, and Tech. Within each tier are four levels of mastery for each category, Novice, Advanced, Expert, and Master.

---

3) Reputation system

Both games feature a reputation system for the player (Image via Ubisoft)

Both games feature a reputation system. Within Outlaws, players can choose to build up Kay's reputation with certain factions by completing tasks that they assign. Should Kay be successful with these tasks, her reputation within the faction increases and she is offered perks like free ammo refills at their home bases.

Similarly, Starfield also employs a reputation system for the protagonist. These are called Constellation, Crimson Fleet, United Colonies, Ryujin Industries, and Freestar Collective. Players can choose to side with or betray a faction by completing certain missions assigned to them, which can heavily affect their reputation.

---

4) Spaceship customization

Both games allow the player's ship to be customized (Image via Bethesda)

Both games offer players a chance to customize the spaceships with which they traverse the universe. In Starfield, they can customize almost every aspect of their intergalactic spacecraft, although the key for this is to have a ship technician at their disposal. Different modules and parts can be added and removed at will.

In Outlaws, players can customize Kay's Trailblazer ship in any way they would like to. They can customize the paint finish, the style of the trail left by the ship, and also the trinket present above the control console in the ship's cockpit.

---

Differences between Star Wars Outlaws and Starfield

1) New Game+

Outlaws does not offer a NG+ mode (Image via Ubisoft)

Star Wars Outlaws does not offer players the opportunity to replay in a New Game+ setting. This feature is not currently implemented, although Ubisoft might add it via a future title update.

Starfield, however, does offer the player an opportunity to replay the story in a New Game+ setting. They have the choice on whether to carry over the existing story progression into NG+ or not. Additionally, only the purchased skills will transfer into this mode, while items like weapons and earned credits will not.

---

2) Availability

Starfield is only available on Microsoft devices (Image via Bethesda)

Star Wars Outlaws was released on August 30, 2024, on all three major home gaming platforms, namely the PlayStation 5, PC, and the Xbox Series X/S. This makes it very accessible for players across different platforms.

However, Starfield is only available on Microsoft devices, namely the Xbox Series X/S and Windows PC. This decision was made after Microsoft's 2022 acquisition of Bethesda, when it was announced that Starfield would not feature on the PS5, at least for the foreseeable future.

---

3) Outposts

Outlaws does not have any base-building mechanics in-game (Image via Ubisoft)

Starfield offers players the chance to create custom outposts on alien planets. Outposts allow them the option to customize with furniture and decorations, but also help with more important aspects such as having crafting stations. Setting up an outpost can help players explore different planets more easily.

Star Wars Outlaws does not offer any outpost-building systems. Kay can traverse the game's universe and land on any of five different celestial bodies, but cannot set up a temporary or permanent outpost on them.

---

4) Marriage

Starfield also allows players to explore the universe of marriage and relationships (image via Bethesda)

Starfield's protagonist can be bound in nuptial chains during the game's story, should the player wish to do so. Four characters can be bound in wedlock: Andreja, Sarah, Barrett, and Sam. Should players feel that the relationship has run its course, they can interact with their spouse and even call off the alliance, creating a unique mechanic that not many other games offer.

Kay Vess, unfortunately, cannot marry anyone in Outlaws. However, she does have an incredibly cute sidekick and companion in the form of Nix, whom they can spoil by providing treats and goodies for being a great sidekick throughout the game.

---

Read more Star Wars Outlaws news:

• Star Wars Outlaws vs Black Myth Wukong: Similarities and differences explained
• Starfield Review