Ubisoft To Make 'Open World' Star Wars Game

[Lysrin]

soon as I read 'lizard' I immediately wondered if they're going to reveal she's got a Ysalamiri, the force blocking lizard Thrawn used.

No idea if it's actually a lizard Just me trying to come up with a descriptive word for it!

 

[JD]

but the combat and game mechanics just seem very scripted again. Press this button now, character (or companion) plays the game for me. Move to next thing

I'm inclined to say there's some level of humanity here where you aren't meant to murder everyone and instead flee. It doesn't really look like a shoot 'em up game. Seems more along the lines of Assassin's Creed where it's more about exploring and being stealthy.

I think the bigger question will be how "alive" the world is. Are there actually things that are interesting to explore and stop at along the way, or are you just hopping from quest to quest.

 

[Marzipan]

No idea if it's actually a lizard Just me trying to come up with a descriptive word for it!

well...still, would be a very Very VERY cool connection if that pans out as to what the creature is.

 

[Lysrin]

This is a long review, but I think he does a decent job of giving the pros and cons, a little more accepting of some of the cons than I would be, but detailed coverage without big spoilers.

I don't think I'll be buying it unless it is patched and likely very much on sale. The issues Luke Stephens describes, especially with combat and AI, would bother me. I mean my desire to run around in a Star Wars setting may get the better of me... maybe.

He does note that the review guide does mention their knowledge of some AI issues, and some things could be fixed by launch date.

 

[JD]

I think some relatively large patch came out today too as they are telling people to delete their saves and start over.

I had played Far Cry on a month of Ubisoft+ ($20)... I might consider doing the same for this.

 

[Lysrin]

It's funny. The bulk of legitimate reviews that I've read and watched have tried to be balanced but are generally negative about it, even the ones that give it a 7/10 or similar, highlighting poor design, frustrating AI and stealth, beautiful open worlds but no real reason to explore them, etc. etc.

But there are other glowing reviews out there, even one say Outlaws is the Star Wars game of a generation (whaa...?!), and those really make me wonder. Are those reviewers just using a very low bar, actually like this weaker or repetitive style of gameplay, or something else... if you know what I mean.

 

[JD]

I think you either love Ubisoft's "open world" games or you don't. They all follow a pretty similar formula IMO. I suspect there's also some underlying Ubisoft bashing as their CEO said you will not own games anymore, which I think is largely true. Everything is headed towards subscriptions.

Not too sure what open world game isn't repetitive or gives you a reason to explore every corner of the map? Those feel like fairly generic comments...

 

[Lysrin]

I don't completely agree with that. That may be true for Ubisoft open world games, but I've definitely played others that have made me want to look over just one more hill, that's for sure.

And the negative reviews I've been watching have all been commenting on actual gameplay. Some parts of it are good, but a lot more isn't. The stealth gameplay, a pretty big component, seems particularly lame (for example, being reset to a checkpoint if you are detected, no other option provided, and the linear non-stealthy takedowns). Hard to know for sure without playing the game of course, but that is what reviews are for.

But certainly not obvious Ubisoft bashing in general. That sub approach is controversial (I don't think we actually even own Steam games currently) but that is a separate issue from a game that just has poor gameplay.

I had all my fingers and toes firmly crossed for this as I really wanted a good open world Star Wars game. But this looks to fail in so many areas, at launch anyway, that I won't be buying anytime soon. I mean I didn't buy Cyberpunk 2077 at launch either, getting a long time later, and have enjoyed it. Maybe that could happen with this? But they would have to patch a lot of the core mechanics to make me happy.

I'd love to hear what you think about it though if you access it through Ubisoft+. That certainly is a more reasonable price to try it out. Can you cancel that anytime or are you locked in?

 

[Marzipan]

I don't completely agree with that. That may be true for Ubisoft open world games, but I've definitely played others that have made me want to look over just one more hill, that's for sure.

And the negative reviews I've been watching have all been commenting on actual gameplay. Some parts of it are good, but a lot more isn't. The stealth gameplay, a pretty big component, seems particularly lame (for example, being reset to a checkpoint if you are detected, no other option provided, and the linear non-stealthy takedowns). Hard to know for sure without playing the game of course, but that is what reviews are for.

But certainly not obvious Ubisoft bashing in general. That sub approach is controversial (I don't think we actually even own Steam games currently) but that is a separate issue from a game that just has poor gameplay.

I had all my fingers and toes firmly crossed for this as I really wanted a good open world Star Wars game. But this looks to fail in so many areas, at launch anyway, that I won't be buying anytime soon. I mean I didn't buy Cyberpunk 2077 at launch either, getting a long time later, and have enjoyed it. Maybe that could happen with this? But they would have to patch a lot of the core mechanics to make me happy.

I'd love to hear what you think about it though if you access it through Ubisoft+. That certainly is a more reasonable price to try it out. Can you cancel that anytime or are you locked in?

well...new game, so obviously it will need to be tweaked once it's out of beta testing.

 

[Lysrin]

well...new game, so obviously it will need to be tweaked once it's out of beta testing.

I know you put a winky there, but beta testing is different that gameplay that just isn't designed well. You can have bugs in good gameplay and fix those. But if the gameplay loops aren't fun or well implemented, that isn't a bug, that's a design choice.

I'm not saying there isn't fun to be had in Outlaws! I haven't played it. Just going by reviews from reviewers that I tend to watch, and even others, seeking a larger sample, who also are not overly impressed.