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Star Wars: Outlaws is completely unoriginal, but that's the best part


On TV​​​​ and in movies and games, Star Wars has the same problem.

The original trilogy was an unprecedented combination of grizzled Western, brooding Samurai film and groundbreaking Science Fiction that transformed popcorn entertainment, a true pop-cultural phenomenon.

Most things they do make a lot of money, but in terms of cultural impact, in the Disney era in particular, Lucasfilm has only managed to repeat anything close to that level of success once or twice. two, recently with the Mandalorian; itself a Sci-Fi soup of The Lone Ranger, Seven Samurai and good old fashioned practical effects.

Saddled with this legacy, with the series already full of nostalgia for John Wayne, John Ford and Flash Gordon from the late 70s, the new Star Wars media has the unique prerequisite of being “Star Wars- y” actually before they can even try to. deliver on his own ideas.

This can pull a project both towards the Dark Side and the Force, as it does a lot of Star Wars stuff which is inherently derivative and unimpressive, by design it draws the wet puppets, pew-pew blasters and sliding doors on strings we all find cooler. rather than within Tauntaun. But, because he has that way into everyone's happy place – even if he's no bigger than a womp rat – when something really pulls that vibe, e really he nailed it.

After the post-launch rework, Star Wars: Outlaws he is a good example of this. It doesn't do much that's new or interesting in itself, but it has so many Star Wars cues that it gets it right that it's quiet one of the best, warmest, most action-packed roms you can play over the holidays (even if it retains some of the weirdness left by a properly mixed reception at launch).

This is especially true if you live in a cold, snowy climate – or wish you did for Christmas. Just as you settle into your clash with the Outlaws, your mission takes you to the frigid, slippery and stony streets of Kijimi (home of the sequel trilogy's only redeeming character, Babu Frik). As the snow goes down and you get a Hoth cosplay puffer jacket, it's beautiful.

But to get the right feel after the piece, the first thing you need to do is reverse one of the key changes.

One of my favorite things about Star Wars: Outlaws is playing with the letterbox, widescreen aspect ratio, which instantly sets all the action and exploration in beauty. particularly grungy, but cinematic Star Wars. It turns the smooth, soft landscapes of Toshara and Tatooine into frames from the movies instead of just another Ubisoft open world.

The amount of fluff action scattered across the main planets is mercifully limited, though I've definitely started avoiding random contributors like I owe them a fiver while I'm gone from place to place.

But the moment that sold me was on Outlaws on Tatooine. Needing new parts for my blaster, I found a merchant on the map, left and ran around the corner to meet them, only to come face to face, or instead a thigh bone to a ball yellow golf, with 3 feet of incorruptible Jawa.

Can you imagine how much better other open world games would be if Jawas were the merchants? Like Far Cry 6 or something you come around the corner and it's a little Jawa standing on a box behind the counter. “Well! yes!” he would say, giving a new silence – it would be good.

Either way, these little moments of Star Wars-y discovery are all over Outlaws and make it feel like an amazing living representation of a galaxy far, far away. The cities and spaceports are populated with big hitters and deep cuts along with a sprinkling of major movie characters and Easter Eggs that I won't spoil.

There are gameplay elements of Outlaws that I'm not a fan of. Since, I think, the second worst mini-lockdown game I've played (after Kingdom Come: Deliverance) to visual signs in platform sections that are more difficult to read than Aurebesh, there is a surprisingly low floor in some of the mechanics and the design that is very difficult when it appears. But in the end it's low-key, simple stealth with seat-of-your-pants energy once everything goes wrong that brings to mind Han, Luke and Leia's escape ​​​​​​​from the Star Destroyer in A New Hope, while you build Stormtroopers blasters. and suddenly shooting back at them single-handed.

Now, after its difficult first release, I feel that Star Wars: Outlaws is in a similar place to many Disney Star Wars. It's a pulpy, yet elegant and lush caper that was too flawed at launch to capture the cultural consciousness like its predecessors, but, when freed from the pressure to do so, it's just pure, escapist fun. This is Star Wars to enjoy under a blanket pulled up to your nose with only your eyes looking out.

Sadly, that's not enough to feed the gears of a AAA gaming machine, but that's Ubisoft's problem to solve, not the gaming public. If you need me, I'll be swapping Jawa three rolls of Bantha wool for a power converter.





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