Oh, this game was such a pleasure. But would non-fans of Star Wars enjoy it? I'm not sure.
While the visuals and main plot of Star Wars: Outlaws are good, the gameplay is just okay.
The gameplay isn't bad; it simply isn't that interesting to me. I found it tedious at times, being a player who prefers a stealth takedown over guns blazing -- and therefore spending a long time on enemy encounters. But not tedious enough to consider quitting at all.
I mean, I enjoyed it enough to spent a chunky 90 hours on Outlaws. Which was probably too much time, though, because the main story can be completed in only, say, 20 to 30 hours.
Outlaws is about a young, female version of Han Solo (i.e. a likeable scoundrel) trying to rid herself of a death mark she got slapped with after upsetting a powerful crime syndicate. To achieve this goal, she gets involved even more with crime syndicates . . . including the Hutt syndicate. Yes, Jabba the Hutt's very own scummy cartel.
I'm done with the main game but haven't finished the DLCs, which feature two scoundrels from Star Wars shows (not Han, though).
So if I wasn't in totally love with the gameplay, what did I like? Well, I absolutely loved the immersion. Really felt like I was in the Star Wars universe. It looked good, it felt good. Outlaws was my first single-player game on the Switch 2 and one which made me glad we had invested in this console. In particular, I loved walking around snowy Kijimi and exploring wet, humid Akiva.
I also liked cruising on my speeder when outdoors and playing sabacc (a gambling minigame) when indoors.
As mentioned earlier, the main story was decent. So were the big sidequests -- to acquire help from nine "Experts". The little sidequests were forgettable, though.
Last but not least, who doesn't like Nix? Your axolotl-looking alien doggy can distract enemies, attack them, fetch items, and flip switches. I've never had a pet so integral to gameplay.
Tips for enjoying Outlaws:
Focus on the main story and big sidequests (to acquire the nine Experts). Don't get burned out trying to finish every boring minor quest/contract.
You don't need to get every upgrade to your health, vehicles, or blaster. I did fine on five health bars. You don't need every expert ability, either.
- You can tackle planets in any order after Toshara. I was happy with the results of my choice: Kijimi first (short), Akiva next (large and lush); then Tatooine (vast and barren. I was ready to skip minor stuff by then).
- If you get tired of sneaking, just go guns blazing. Combat shouldn't be hard on Regular difficulty, even if you don't play shooters much.
- Just make sure you acquire the shock prod to take down tough enemies via stealth.
The only difficult fight for me was the final boss. This one, quite unusually, requires stealth rather than combat. It's not a long fight, but it's really easy to lose. So frustrating. But practice makes perfect. The key is to hide in steam vents (it works like magic, unless the boss is on "red alert" mode or already has you in direct line-of-sight). Go into the settings menu and cheat: turn on auto-sprint and auto-slice. These tips don't count as spoilers because this boss fight is stupidly annoying and I don't want you to give up the game when you're almost finished!
Just realized I don't have a good screenshot of combat or stealth takedowns. Obviously I was too busy trying not to die -- which didn't happen often, though.
So if you want a Star Wars action-adventure that's exciting but not tough -- and if you don't mind it being able about thievery instead of Force powers -- you might possibly enjoy Outlaws.