Summary
Star Wars Outlawsis a rare opportunity for a game to explore the original trilogy era ofStar Wars, particularly one that immediately followsThe Empire Strikes Back. Crime syndicates ruling the galaxy—at least the dark corners overlooked by the Galactic Empire—give it a unique flair with ascoundrel protagonist and aGrand Theft Auto-esque ‘wanted’ system, and it’ll be intriguing to explore this recess of the galaxy inStar Wars’ first fully open-world game.
Star Wars Outlaws, like Respawn’sStar Wars Jedifranchise, will probably belong to the looming IP continuity but not have a big enough impact to retcon or catalyze narrative events the overall canon would need to address. Operating in its own little jurisdiction,Outlawswill hopefully still be as imaginative and bombastic as its thrilling heist premise demands. But while narrative ties to the original trilogy events are already confirmed with unsubtle teases,Outlawsalso has an opportunity to give its BX-series droid companion a backstory that connects loosely toStar Wars Jedi’s Cal Kestis.
Star Wars Outlaws’ ND-5 Has Some Enigmatic Baggage
Being a BX-series droid datesStar Wars Outlaws’ ND-5and suggests an interesting backstory will unfold the more that protagonist Kay Vess is in his company. Indeed, ND-5 seems to tag along initially as an accessory of Kay’s, but because he is so prominent in key art and promotional material he’s unlikely to play a small role.
It’s staggering how much a duster coat can do to apply personality to a droid and the open wound on his chest is probably a visual representation of how he received his autonomy—perhaps he’s involuntarily working for Jaylen Vrax to pay back that debt when Kay first meets him, for instance. Either way, how ND-5 made the leap from a confederacy Clone Wars commando to a criminal enforcer should be exciting to discover, andStar Wars Jedi’s place in the timelineoccurring when BX droids were left without a war to wage anymore could pin ND-5 and Cal together in a confluence of chaotic and circumstantial events.
How ND-5 Could Be a Link Between Star Wars Jedi and Star Wars Outlaws
Unless ND-5 has undergone a ton of repairs to splice himself back together, ND-5 couldn’t practically be one of theBX-series droids Cal encounters inStar Wars Jedi: Survivorsince that would mean Cal might’ve cut it down. Rather, ND-5 might remember having spotted Cal during the events ofSurvivoror Cal could potentially see ND-5 in the upcoming third entry ofStar Wars Jediwith their possible encounter behaving like an origin story of sorts.
But in the same way thatThe Last of Usties its first and second entries together via a previously nameless surgeon character whose importance is only learned after his murder, it would be phenomenal if a BX droid Cal faced in theStar Wars Jediseries ended up becoming ND-5 inOutlaws. This connection could only be possible because of how long BX droids have been around, but it is still highly unlikely that Ubisoft and Respawn would go out of their way to craft that tether between their individualStar Warsfranchises.
That said, even if ND-5 was nowhere near Cal or any of the planets Cal traveled to, he is sure to have a remarkable backstory thatOutlawswill hopefully take the time to develop and illustrate. It seems rare thata droid character isn’t reduced to a cute pet role inStar Warsand Ubisoft should treat ND-5 with reverence in that regard.
