Star Wars Outlawslaunches in just a few days, and the upcoming entry is set to bring players to a series of iconic and new planets, with multiple ways to approach both its main campaign missions in addition to exploration and optional side content. Ubisoft and Massive Entertainment’sStar Wars Outlawshas been highly anticipated as the first fully open-world title set in its universe, placing fans in the role of hustler and thief Kay Vess as she navigates tricky situations involving unsavory gangs and other scoundrels during the classic Imperial Era setting.
Kay will be making use of a range of diverse mechanics and features to assist with her goal of pulling off a legendary heist while avoiding the Empire and the enemies she makes along the way. Game director Mathias Karlson and art & world director Benedikt Podlesnigg discussed the design ofStar Wars Outlaws' various gameplay elementswith Game Rant, detailing their nuances and how they connect and relate to fluidly fitOutlaws' vision and other narrative aspects.The following interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Crafting Star Wars Outlaws' Progression and Combat
Q: How does progression work inStar Wars Outlaws, and can you explain how a late-game Kay Vess may differ from an early-game version?
Karlson:There are no enemy or player levels, so you are completely free to explore the world in the order you want. That said, you will of course come across much tougher situations and challenges, as well as things you might not have the equipment or abilities for yet. In other words, progression is closely connected to exploration and progression itself is a big part of the experience.
You’ll be able to upgrade and modify your Blaster, your Speeder, and theTrailblazer. You’ll learn new abilities and acquire new tools and equipment. You’ll even uncover additional ways to collaborate with Nix. New Nix tricks! In a nutshell, you will grow and broaden your ability to take on bigger and new challenges, and find ways to further tailor it to your preferred playstyle.
Q: Can you talk about the philosophy behind enemy design and combat encounters? Were there any items that you felt were very important to focus on?
Karlson:It was always about capturing the gameplay style, feel, and fantasy ofa trueStar Warsscoundrel. In our case, a thief and a gunslinger. A resourceful underdog able to overcome seemingly overwhelming odds through daring, ingenuity, and adaptability. We wanted to embrace the full range of freedom and variety from stealth to combat, and the knife-edge suspense moments when it’s about to escalate or de-escalate in either direction; to give players the ability to observe and formulate a plan, but also lots of ways to deal with a plan going south. To react, adapt, and think on your feet.
At the core of this are the many synergies between Kay, her blaster, and Nix, enabling you to manipulate the environment and enemies around you or take the fight head-on. The enemy design is centered around variety while staying veryauthenticallyStar Wars. Not just variety between individual enemy types, but also between the groups they belong to. Taking on the Empire will be a different style and experience than, for example, the more brutish Hutts.
Q: What about boss fights? Can you discuss the approach to boss enemies vs. standard ones, and how they differ from otherStar Warsgames?
Karlson:We don’t want to give away too much here, but you should definitely expect some very memorable moments…
Q: Can you detail the differences between difficulties inStar Wars Outlaws?
Karlson:It has always been very important for us that the game can be enjoyed by as many people as possible. Beyond traditional settings impacting things like lethality and enemy difficulty, we offer a suite of gameplay and accessibility settings for you to further tailor the experience to what suits you. Everything from tuning the difficulty ofmini-gamesto audio descriptions in cinematics.
Space Encounters and Travel in Star Wars Outlaws
Q: What was the design ethos behind space exploration and combat inStar Wars Outlaws?
Karlson:Of course, it all started from the fundamental fantasy of having a starship you can call your own as anoutlaw in theStar Warsgalaxy. A ship nimble and armed enough to hold its own in intense dogfights, yet sturdy and capable enough to explore treacherous areas and take on contracts from the Syndicates. Say hello to theTrailblazer.
It was really important to us that space was a seamless part of the open-world experience. You decide when to go there and what to do. The different space regions are also distinctly different from each other. For example, the dense debris fields around Toshara are in stark contrast to the less busy space aroundTatooine. They all come with the possibility of being both lucrative and dangerous though. Expect everything from Imperial Patrols to Syndicate ships and the occasional pirate.
Q:What was it like recreating hyperspace travel inStar Wars Outlaws?
Podlesnigg: The first time I pushed the sticks forward to enter hyperspace, I had a smile of pure joy on my face. Whenever I play, I actively avoid fast travel just to experience this moment. We did look at a lot of footage ofhyperspace travel inStar Warsto really nail down the dynamic of every step. The light on the ship, the movement going into and out of it. There is a lot of nuance involved that is hard to imagine before you have to recreate it yourself.
Q:What kind of encounters can players expect when in orbit around a planet?
Karlson:First of all, it was key for us that both flying and fighting with theTrailblazerwas really approachable and immediately gratifying, while still offering depth and challenge to grow over time. Think more arcade than simulation. We are proud of how short the time between the first flight and having fun is today.
In terms of encounters, it can range from small one-on-one dog fights to significantly bigger battles with multiple and much larger ships. How you end up in them is also varied and largely up to you. You could find yourselfwanted and chased by the Empire, stumble upon the opportunity to help a Syndicate vessel and gain some reputation, or be ambushed by pirates in an asteroid field. Risk and reward is a central theme in space overall.
Designing Star Wars Outlaws' Expert NPCs
Q: Can you talk about the origins ofStar Wars Outlaws’ Expert NPCs and how they impact gameplay?
Karlson:We wanted the unlocking of new equipment andabilities inStar Wars Outlawsto be very tangible and closely connected to both the world and interesting characters, for each unlock is a little adventure in itself and a compelling reason to explore. That’s how the idea of Experts took shape. Each Expert is a gateway to a number of unlocks, but first you have to reach them. Once you do, you don’t know exactly what to expect. What are they like, and what will they want from you? It will, however, always be an adventure, and you’ll be awarded one of their most precious unlocks.
The fact that every unlock forStar Wars Outlaws' Expert NPCshas a unique set of requirements means that you keep setting different goals and arming yourself with ways to engage with the game and the world. For example, one unlock asks you to jump your speeder 60 meters without crashing – and suddenly you find yourself looking at the world around you like a motocross park, in search of the biggest jumps.
Star Wars Outlaws' Wanted and Reputation Systems
Q:Star Wars Outlaws’ Wanted System has often been compared toGrand Theft Auto’s. Can you talk a little bit about its development and what you think about these comparisons?
Karlson:An open-worldStar Warsgame about an outlaw — a scoundrel — set betweenThe Empire Strikes BackandReturn of the Jedi, when the Empire is at the peak of its power and reach. It begs for a Wanted System. It adds not just immersion and fantasy fulfillment, but also dynamic fun to the entire game world — from city streets to space. A world that reacts to your actions in an intuitive way and lets you try to fight as many Stormtroopers as you can.
Q: There’s also a reputation system, which just fits so well with the scoundrel vibe. Can you discuss how it came about?
Karlson:Similar to the Wanted System, it was kind of waving at us and asking to be part of the experience. For us, it was key to really bring thescoundrel outlaw fantasyto life in both gameplay and narrative, that your actions have consequences in the underworld and putting you in the driver’s seat to navigate that.
A very important aspect of its design is that you are never stuck, and you don’t have to stick with one specific syndicate. You will definitely be able to gain an excellent reputation with each syndicate at some point in your journey through the game — just not with all of them at the same time. They don’t like each other… so, what is appreciated by one is often frowned upon by another, presenting you as a player with lots of fun A/B choice moments.
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