Long time ago, far far away….
Star Wars Outlaws is a video game launching this week from Ubisoft / Massive Entertainment. I am playing a Playstation 5 version. I’ve not yet completed the campaign, I haven’t even visited all the planets. These are initial impressions, which I reserve the right to adjust in a full review that I’ll write at some point, after Labor Day weekend.
Kay Vess in many ways is the ideal Star Wars protagonist. As a petite brunette woman with blaster skill, she embodies the established Star Wars Leading Lady phenotype (Leia, Amidala, Rey, Jyn, Bix) except that she is not coded British. Humberly González provides Vess’s voice, striking an optimal balance of thrill-seeking renegade, self-deprecating humor, and the endearing naïveté of a young outcast on a perilous journey with her pet. Thus far, Kay doesn’t have a lot of deeply-felt relationships with other characters — mainly, she’s either haggling with them over money or distrusting their motives — but the attachment to Nix shines through, and there are strong hints that Kay’s trust in other lifeforms (and even personable droids) will be the main thread of her character development.
González is very effective in the mode of skeptical scoundrel, and let’s just say it plain: Vess is meant to be Solo, in the sense of being a spiritual analog. She does Han Solo things and has a femme version of Han Solo’s bushy hair. Han’s iconic Corellian outfit is one of the “Legendary” suits one can unlock or buy; other options include Lando Calrissian’s blue fit from Empire Strikes Back, and a “Rogue Infiltrator” suit that evokes Jyn or Andor in Rogue One. Kay’s one-sided dialogues with Nix parallel Han’s asides to Chewbacca — they’re always slightly in trouble, and her oft-repeated mantra is some version of “the next job will be better.”
Except, Han Solo is from Corellia, and Kay Vess is from Canto Bight, which arrives me at my main critical assertion about Star Wars Outlaws, which is not canon nor confirmed, but supported by logic and linguistics, and it is this: KAY VESS IS CANTONESE.
The Canto Bight bit in Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi, was, it’s fair to say, divisive for audiences. But whether you thought it was terrible or awesome, I believe there’s agreement that we didn’t get sufficient sense of what Canto Bight was about. In shorthand, we observe that it’s a coastal casino city, there’s economic class struggle, Rose Tico has strong opinions about it.
Canto Bight is a major city on the planet Cantonica. I find no evidence in the Star Wars wikis to suggest that people from Cantonica do not refer to themselves as Cantonese, or that there is not a local language called Cantonese. Cantonica bears some similarities to Tatooine: largely desert environs with an organized criminal smuggler element, although it seems that the casinos on Cantonica are developed to a Vegas-equivalent level, as opposed to the gambling scene on Tatooine which seems at its fanciest to rise to the level of Central Valley poker room.
It matters to this media journo as a point of personal privilege, because I’m Cantonese by heritage, and am a nerd for the Star Wars universe — which has a long established history of adopting East Asian culture into its aesthetic design and language. (Obviously Star Wars borrows a lot from Middle East and North African sources as well, it’s a significant rabbithole we needn’t dive down here.) Traditionally, the characters who are from the tough side of town or are iconically rebellious are coded with (mysteriously terse) names formed of Chinese or Japanese phonemes: Han Solo, Lando, Obi-Wan, Jyn Erso, Ahsoka Tano, Rey, Kylo Ren, etc. So it is perfectly in line with the linguistic ground rules of Star Wars that Kay Vess is Cantonese, of the planet Cantonica.
(For the sake of general Asian literacy, one should know, if one doesn’t, that “Cantonese” describes a kind of Chinese person and culture and a major dialect-language, associated with a southern region of China, also Hong Kong and Macau. In the United States, the first Chinese immigrants were primarily Cantonese, which is why it’s very likely to run into old-school Cantonese stuff in the older established Chinatowns in the country.)
“I’m from Canto and I’m like the biggest shot there,” Kay says, trying to bluff her way into a card game, which, for those who know, is like a paradigmatically Cantonese thing to do, referring to the Canto culture of Earth. She makes prideful reference to being from the South Stretch, presumably a rough neighborhood, known to Cantonicans. The Cantonese, that is. (I’m just gonna start saying it until it gets adopted or Lucasfilm sends a Cease & Desist.)
All this to say, Outlaws offers a stronger picture of where “Canto” fits in the galactic frame, and it’s a picture that agreeably aligns with the Asian American aspect central to the Star Wars universe. Rant about Kay Vess being Cantonese ends here/ for now.
As of this writing, I’ve spent the most quality time on Tatooine, which looks really lovely, dusky, Central Californian. Speeding around Tatooine on speederbike is one of those very fan-gratifying video game timesucks: It’s so flat, empty, and bright, and there is no risk of sunstroke. There are Old Western standoff gunfights a la The Mandalorian, and also the “I have spoken” guy from that series shows up.
An early quest arc culminates in a sequence where Kay, deprived of Nix’s tactical assistance, has to solo-assault Jabba the Hutt’s palace. For fans of John Wick or better yet Ripley’s last run into the hive in Aliens, it’s a pretty thrilling mission, a lone operator with a handgun infiltrating a base full of horde without benefit of a motion detector.
A NEW EPISODE IN THE UBISOFTVERSE
I’ve played a fair share of Ubisoft games, by no means all of them: have messed for extensive hours and weeks with some Far Cry, some Watch Dogs, Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, the Ghost Recon games. Outlaws, thus far, doesn’t derive significantly from the open-world formula established there, except in the impressive fact that there are several worlds. I haven’t played Bethesda’s recent Starfield, due to a bias toward exploring the planets I’m already familiar with from movies, so that says whatever it says.
This is one of the games where choosing between Quality and Performance visual modes makes a substantial difference. In some games, say Spider-Man 2, the toggle between various display options are all visually dazzling with different strengths, and more a matter of personal taste. With Outlaws in Quality mode, to me, the textures leap out, the characters gain in expression, and the lighting is significantly more pleasing. Add to that the 21:9 aspect ratio option, and playing the game feels more like a FILM film, which for some of us is the whole point of the exercise. At one point I fell from a great height in Performance mode, didn’t die, and repeated the long climb in Quality mode at 21:9 ratio. All the details, including the yellow handholds, felt like they jumped up in vibrancy, and the tedious act took on more the sense of acting out a sequence from Clone Wars or Rebels.
This just to say, Outlaws can be erratic in its visual grandeur, although one knows what everything is, if one has watched a few Star Wars movies. If referencing comic book art style, I’d say more Steve Rude than George Perez. But also, as far as video game history goes, the Lucasfilm worlds were fundamental in starting this shiznit, so it’s kind of meta-okay when it occasionally looks dated. It’s like hanging out with your uncle who actually lived through the times, at least for this fan who grew up adjacent to Oldest Star Wars circa 1977.
More important than the fidelity issues is that the game makes use of the visual vocabulary established in the early Star Wars films which made them cinematically exciting, and have been egregiously absent from some recent installments (ahem) Solo, Episode IX. The starship’s approach-and-landing segments when encountering a new planet. The way the mountains in the far background resemble watercolory matte paintings. The relational establishing shots of Kay vs. gigantic structure, e.g. Jabba’s palace, Imperial stronghold. These aspects contribute to an Ubisoft open world which is mechanically similar to some games we’ve seen, but is distinguished with a certain amount of classic Star Wars flavor.
IS STAR WARS FOR ACTUAL KIDS, OR KIDS AT HEART, OR…?
A big thing is, so far, it’s not an especially challenging game. In early stages, Kay seems rather invulnerable. She can survive a few blaster hits and moderate falls, and can barehand punch almost everybody into indefinite unconsciousness. The most mentally taxing part, as with a lot of open world games, is figuring out the exact sequence of lumpy rocks to climb in order to stealthily reach the target base, inevitably perched atop some mountain peak. (And of course while sneaking up on said base, I found the one crevasse to jump into that is impossible to jump out of.)
Personally, I’m not a difficulty buff. A medium-strenuous stealth mission is my jam as far as console games, and Outlaws has plenty of those. At first, the stealth is pretty forgiving, the goons are not very observant. Kay’s stealth skill branch could be named “Hey, It’s Me!” after Han’s boasting of his own sneaking ability. Or maybe it is, and I haven’t unlocked that part yet.
There are several lore-established underworld factions, from the Hutts to the Crimson Dawn. Pick which faction you’d like perks from, or don’t, you oscillate from their friends clique to their hit list with ease, no lasting hard feelings.
So, if you’re familiar with both the basic mechanics of Ubisoft open world games AND the Star Wars milieu, you may find there’s no tremendously new flair here. But again, haven’t played every planet. The Force willing, I may redact those words about a week from now.
LET’S TALK GEAR AND PERIPHERAL DETAILS, BECAUSE OPEN WORLD
Loadout items! An appealingly lean bag of tricks: Kay has a data spike for slicing into systems, a blaster, bacta healing potions, and a copiously-used grappling hook — thank goodness, Luke really oughtta’ve used his grappling hook more often. The electrobinoculars act janky, but also feel era-appropriate. Nix can do basically every useful trick at distance, pickpocketing Imperial officers, pushing inaccessible buttons, sensing enemies.
Vehicles! The speeder bike is a pleasantly versatile getaround, since it doesn’t really need roads, and can traverse most rocks and water. (If there’s a thing that gets my goat, it’s an open world game where you have to adhere to the physical rules of tires on roads.) I am very fond of the Trailblazer as a ship, although its design errs toward conservatively brick-like. Its handling feels between a fighter and a light freighter, ideally-sized for both dogfighting and more involved shuttle-type missions.
Activities! THERE IS A LOT OF GAMBLING, which appeals to my casino-nerd heart. I learned Kessel-style Sabacc, and with beginner’s luck dominated the first game Kay played. I don’t know the full history of Sabacc in the lore, but this Sabacc is pretty fun, and well-designed. It has a formal simplicity which harkens to Pai Gow tiles or baccarat, and involves the basic pairing skills used in poker or blackjack.
There’s also betting on races, and an appropriate bunch of side quests featuring people’s lives ruined by gambling habits. There are cabinet games which pay tribute to the vintage Star Wars arcade games. The mini-game that goes with eating food, I haven’t really figured out yet, but perhaps its meaning will unlock later, and anyway the game part can be toggled off, allowing you to simply enjoy the evocations of the grilled-corn-cob-like Che Mosska.
Ambiance! As befits a Star Wars adventure, the music is an essential part of the ride, with phrases from familiar John Williams compositions showing up at appropriate moments. Sometimes an orchestral swell happens at an odd time, like when you’re petting a random animal. There are some charming in-universe curse words I haven’t heard before, e.g. “Sleemo ball!” “Kriff!”
THE FUTURE OF A LONG TIME AGO
I didn’t care so much for Jedi: Fallen Order and haven’t played Jedi: Survivor. That Jedi character was a little too stiff and I’m bad at the platforming parts. I prefer being in the Han Solo mold, but could also argue that Outlaws makes an excellent companion with Respawn’s Jedi games (which are prettier, graphically, by a large margin) if one wants to inhabit the two major strains of Star Wars heroes. To complete a current-gen trifecta, someone ought to create a story-driven game where you can play as Darth Bortles. But I digress…
What greatly appeals to me as a Star Wars aficionado and a gamer is that the framework of Outlaws lends itself to expansion. By leaving out the fussy Force moves and the lightsaber-stancing, Ubisoft has a template for an accessible yet highly adaptable experience. The essential Star Wars actions are all there: melee with or without lightsabers, shooting pew-pew guns, starship combat. Skin on the Darth Maul blade, a bowcaster, a B-Wing, ad infinitum, and there’s the potential for the best Star Wars game on the market. This may sounds a bit duh, but in video games it’s no small thing. My other favorite game this year, the much-maligned Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League, is constricted in its ability to reach its potential, because it commits to a gunplay-shooter model in a universe where characters should have many different abilities. Outlaws contains the seed for telling a variety of stories (unlike Battlefront, which had all the mechanics but very little narrative), starting with two already-announced expansions involving Lando Calrissian and Hondo Ohnaka.
SPOILERS OF SIGNIFICANCE TO BE INCLUDED IN THE FULL REVIEW TO FOLLOW, BUT…
A minor spoiler here:
Another intriguing parallel linking Kay Vess and Han Solo is the essential character question that informs Han’s arc in Oldest Star Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope, to wit: Does the Rebellion pay? Kay asks this question when encounter the Rebels on an early mission. We know which side Han ends up on, at the Battle of Yavin. I’m not saying it’s a morally difficult question that keeps me up nights, but the path by which Kay arrives at Han’s choice moment is what I’m looking forward to in the completion of Star Wars Outlaws.
Star Wars Outlaws is available now for Playstation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S.
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