Star Wars Outlaws - First Impressions

Summary

In this video script, the host 'Cowboy' shares his early impressions of the new 'Star Wars' game by Ubisoft, highlighting its open-world exploration and scripted missions. He compares the gameplay to a blend of 'Uncharted' and 'Watch Dogs', with a focus on story and puzzle-solving rather than intense combat. Cowboy also discusses the game's reputation system, character interactions, and customization options. Despite some simplicity in combat and ship battles, he finds the overall experience enjoyable and looks forward to streaming the game at launch.

Takeaways

• 🎮 The game is set in the Star Wars universe and has been developed by Ubisoft.
• 👍 The reviewer had a positive experience with the game, finding it refreshing compared to Ubisoft's recent titles.
• 🕹️ The gameplay loop is described as a mix between Uncharted and Watch Dogs, with open-world exploration and focused missions.
• 🔍 The game emphasizes story and exploration over intense combat, with puzzles and quests being a significant part of the experience.
• 🔫 Combat is present but feels basic, with a focus on using blasters and a bullet-time mechanic for targeting.
• 🔄 The player can upgrade their blaster, offering some level of customization despite the combat being on the simpler side.
• 🤖 A companion character, Nick, is used for utility in both exploration and combat, adding to the gameplay variety.
• 🚀 Ship battles are included but are described as simple, which may not appeal to players looking for depth in space combat.
• 🌌 The game features seamless travel between planets, with the player's ship landing on planets without loading screens.
• 🗨️ Dialogue and character interactions are highlighted as enjoyable, with the main character having a distinct personality.
• 🎲 Mini-games, such as a sound-based lockpicking system, are introduced to add variety to traditional gameplay mechanics.

Q & A

What game is the speaker discussing in the video?

The speaker is discussing the game 'Star Wars' developed by Ubisoft.

What was the speaker's general impression of the game after playing it early?

The speaker's general impression was positive, feeling excited and surprised by the game's features.

How does the speaker describe the game's loop and flow in comparison to other games?

The game's loop and flow are described as a mashup between Uncharted and Watch Dogs, with open world exploration and focused movement or sneaking in missions.

What are the speaker's thoughts on Ubisoft's recent games before playing this Star Wars game?

The speaker feels that Ubisoft has been in a rut with their recent games, being different flavors of Far Cry or Assassin's Creed, and lacking freshness.

What is the combat experience like in the game according to the speaker?

The combat experience is described as bare bones, focusing more on story and exploration rather than intense combat like in the Jedi games.

How does the speaker describe the character V and her role in the game?

V is described as a new character to the Star Wars IP, with a personality similar to the unknown daughter of Han Solo, snippy and fun in dialogue.

What is the role of the character Nick in the game?

Nick is a Gremlin-like character that can be used for utility in both world exploration and combat, such as pushing buttons or distracting enemies.

What are the speaker's thoughts on the ship battles in the game?

The speaker finds the ship battles simple but not unenjoyable, noting that they are not as complex as those in Elite Dangerous.

How does the game handle transitions between space and planets?

The game allows the player to see themselves fly from space into the atmosphere and land on the planet, avoiding the use of loading screens for a more cohesive world.

What is the speaker's opinion on the dialogue and writing in the game?

The speaker enjoyed the dialogue and writing, finding the interactions entertaining and the character V's dialogue to be fun.

What new gameplay element does the game introduce for lockpicking?

The game introduces a sound-based lockpicking system called the Data Spike, which is different from the standard lockpicking seen in many other games.

Outlines

00:00

🎮 Early Impressions of a New Star Wars Game

The speaker, Cowboy, discusses his positive early impressions after playing a new Star Wars game by Ubisoft. He mentions attending a digital event where he experienced both open-world exploration and a scripted mission. Cowboy compares the game's loop to a mix of Uncharted and Watch Dogs, highlighting the game's focus on story and exploration over intense combat. He notes the combat as bare-bones but appreciates the customization options for blasters. The speaker also talks about the flexibility in navigation and the reputation system affecting interactions with different factions.

05:01

🤖 Companion Character and Ship Battles

Cowboy introduces a companion character, 'Nicks,' who aids in both exploration and combat. He appreciates the utility of this character and the ship battles, which, while simple, offer a basic level of enjoyment. The speaker also discusses the game's cohesive world, where players can see themselves flying from space to land on a planet, enhancing immersion. Cowboy expresses excitement about the game's potential and considers streaming it due to its rich content, including factions, dialogue, side quests, and main quests.

10:17

🕵️‍♂️ In-Game Dialogue and Character Interactions

The speaker reflects on the character 'V,' a new addition to the Star Wars IP, and finds her to be a refreshing take, comparing her to the 'unknown daughter of Han Solo.' He enjoys her snippy dialogue and interactions with guards. Cowboy also mentions the game's mini-games, such as the data spike, which is a sound-based lockpicking system that differs from the standard seen in many games. He concludes by sharing his intention to play the game at launch and possibly streaming it, based on his positive first impressions.

15:50

🏹 Action Sequence and In-Game Conversations

This paragraph features an action sequence where the player is chasing a character, with in-game prompts guiding the pursuit. There's a sense of urgency as the player is instructed to secure areas, take out enemies, and deal with alarms and reinforcements. The narrative also includes a conversation with the Ashika Clan, where the player's character denies affiliation with Crimson Dawn and is allowed to leave after proving their innocence. The speaker then plans to visit a cantina to gather information, highlighting the tense atmosphere and the presence of dangerous mercenaries.

Keywords

💡Star Wars

Star Wars is a science fiction franchise that has become a cultural phenomenon, with its expansive universe encompassing movies, games, and various media. In the video, the speaker discusses their experience playing a new Star Wars game, highlighting its significance as a central theme of the video content.

💡Ubisoft

Ubisoft is a major video game company known for developing and publishing a variety of popular game franchises. The mention of Ubisoft in the script indicates that they are the developers of the Star Wars game being discussed, which is a key point for understanding the context of the video.

💡Open World Exploration

Open world exploration refers to a game design where players can freely roam and interact with a large, open environment. The script describes one section of the game where the player engages in open world exploration, emphasizing the freedom and non-linearity of gameplay.

💡Scripted Mission

A scripted mission in a game is a sequence of events that follow a predetermined storyline or set of objectives. The video script mentions a section of the game that is more scripted, suggesting a contrast to the open world exploration and indicating a different style of gameplay.

💡Combat

Combat in video games typically involves battles between the player and enemies, using various weapons and tactics. The script discusses the combat system of the game, noting its simplicity and the focus on story and exploration over intense combat.

💡Uncharted

Uncharted is a popular action-adventure game series known for its cinematic storytelling and character-driven gameplay. The speaker compares the game's exploration and combat to Uncharted, indicating a similar vibe in terms of movement and engagement with the game world.

💡Watch Dogs

Watch Dogs is another game series by Ubisoft that combines open-world exploration with hacking and stealth elements. The script mentions Watch Dogs when describing the game's loop and flow, suggesting a comparison in terms of gameplay mechanics and style.

💡Reputation System

A reputation system in games often involves the player's standing or relationship with various factions or groups within the game world. The script describes a reputation system in the Star Wars game that influences decision paths and interactions with different factions.

💡Dialogue

Dialogue in video games is the conversation between characters, which can affect the game's narrative and player choices. The script praises the dialogue of the game, particularly the main character V, for being engaging and adding depth to the game's story.

💡Ship Battles

Ship battles refer to space combat scenarios within a game, where players engage in battles using spacecraft. The video script briefly touches on ship battles in the game, noting their simplicity and the player's experience with them.

💡Mini-Games

Mini-games are smaller games or activities within a larger game that offer a different type of gameplay or challenge. The script mentions a mini-game called 'Data Spike,' which is a new lockpicking system that uses sound-based timing, adding variety to the game's mechanics.

Highlights

Cowboy's initial impressions of the Star Wars game are positive after playing it early at a digital event by Ubisoft.

Ubisoft's recent games have been in a rut, with the exception of the Prince of Persia game, which Cowboy enjoyed.

The game combines elements of Uncharted and Watch Dogs, offering both open-world exploration and scripted missions.

Combat in the game is more bare-bones, focusing on story and exploration rather than intense battles.

Players can customize their blaster with different functionalities like charge shots or burst shots.

Alternative weapons are limited and situational, often found and used on the fly.

The game features a reputation system influencing decision paths and interactions with different factions.

Cowboy enjoyed the dialogue and character interactions, finding them entertaining and engaging.

The character V is likened to the 'unknown daughter of Han Solo' with a snippy and fun dialogue style.

Nicks, the Gremlin-like companion, offers utility in both world exploration and combat.

Ship battles are simple but not unenjoyable, with a focus on lock-on mechanics and thrust control.

The game provides a cohesive world experience with seamless transitions from space flight to planetary landing.

Cowboy is excited about the game despite not being a big Star Wars fan, due to its fresh approach.

The game's mini-games, like the data spike, offer a unique sound-based lockpicking mechanic.

Cowboy plans to play the game at launch, potentially streaming it due to its engaging content.

The game's world is immersive, with tense interactions and a sense of being far from home.

Cowboy's playthrough showcases the game's mechanics, dialogue, and character interactions.

Transcripts

what is happening y'all Cowboy here and

today we're going to be talking about

Star Wars

out now Ubisoft was kind enough to

invite me to a digital event where I was

able to play the game early uh had a

chance to go through two sections one

which was more open world exploration

and one which was a little bit of a more

scripted Mission uh and overall my

general thoughts coming away are

actually pretty positive I think more

recently Ubisoft has kind of been in a

rut with the exception of the prin

Persian game which I really liked uh but

you know I feel like a lot of their

their recent games that's like just

different flavors of either Far Cry or

Assassin's Creed the avatar game comes

to mind and you know there was nothing

fundamentally wrong with it but it was

basically Far Cry but with blue people

and you know it leaves something to be

desired cuz at the end of the day you're

like you know I kind of I want something

new I want something fresh um so I'm

actually pretty pretty excited looking

forward to this now because after

getting a chance to go hands- on with it

I was actually a bit surprised that they

you know something

so to talk a little bit about

the general C Loop and the flow of it if

I had to describe it in other games I

guess it would almost be like a mashup

between Uncharted and and Watch Dogs

maybe uh the general exploration is

pretty open you're just you know going

around the world talking to people

engaging in little side quests doing all

sorts of things but then when you go

into missions there's a lot more Focus

on movement or in some cases sneaking

and when you get discovered you know

obviously caution goes to the wind and

you're going to shoot your way out of it

and that's kind of where the the

Uncharted Vibes came from I think you

know it seems that obviously there is

combat in the game but the core

experience is supposed to be more like

the story and going through it and it's

it's not you know you're not going to be

engaging in combat the same level that

you

would you know the the Jedi games the

ones that were more like a Souls like

you know the bigger Focus here is on the

exploration of the

fig out the puzzles and what so overall

I did have fun with the combat I

wouldn't say it's bad but it definitely

felt fairly Bare Bones you know your

biggest Focus was on just your blaster

you do have this like little bullet time

thing that can charge up with your

blaster where you can mark up different

targets and like and shoot real fast uh

besides that you can pick up other

weapons that enemies have and then use

those or find other weapons in the field

but those are considered very limited

instances and to elaborate on that you

know there was one of the missions I was

going through and I like went through a

v vent system and came into the room

there were like three dudes took them

out and then I found like a blaster

sniper rifle and I was like cool I'm

taking this I want to use it and then

fast forward like 10 seconds and there

was a ladder I had to climb up but to

climb up the ladder I had to leave the

sniper rifle behind so alternative

weapons at least with what I got to play

here are extremely limited it's more

like you know you find it on the Fly

you're going to use it but but they're

not going to be something that you can

really rely on with the Blaster at least

it does look like there are a couple

different upgrades so you can kind of

change how it works uh from a a basic

functionality standpoint make it more

like charge shots or burst shots or just

you know heavy single shots or stun

shots or whatever the case is so that's

kind of nice to see that even though the

combat is on the barebone side of things

at the very least there is going to be

some customization there talking about

the gam playay outside of the combat

though uh you know there's a big

emphasis on kind of exploring around and

finding your own way in the early

mission one of the things we had to do

was find our way up to talk to like this

Pit Boss and there was like a dude that

we could bribe and he was going to give

us access to get up there there was a uh

the elevator panel was messing up and if

you had a certain amount of rep you

could talk to that person and you know

help fix it in reality just like you

know make it so that you could use it uh

and eventually what I ended up happening

was I found a way to go around the room

crawl through some vents jump down into

like an access duck and then get into

the elevator and use it to get up top so

there is a fair amount of flexibility in

terms of kind of navigating the world

and finding your way to the objective

whatever way that may be uh there's also

a fairly broad uh reputation system from

what I've seen with multiple different

factions in the world and obviously your

various relationships with these

factions will end up influencing

decision paths and how you're going to

interact with them from the one faction

based Mission I did I went from like

unknown to friendly so I don't know if

that was just because it was a big story

Mission and they were like yo this

person really helped us out or if the

reputation gains are just going to be

kind of easy which I would prefer them

be easy you know I don't want World of

Warcraft reputation crimes in my single

player game that's miserable but so

different different factions different

approaches you know finding your way

through and then kind of carving your

own path forward I would say one of the

things that I actually ended up enjoying

the most in my playthrough was the the

dialogue yourself uh you know wasn't

sure how I would like uh V going in you

know okay is just kind of she's a brand

new character to a very wellestablished

IP and I think that always comes with a

little bit of caution you know like I

think putting a brand new character into

an IP you you got to you got to you got

to you got to tread ground carefully you

could say and overall I think she did a

really good job I think I would almost

describe her as like the unknown

Daughter of Han Solo she's a little bit

snippy at times her dialogue was pretty

fun there was some entertaining

interactions with guards and you know

her finding her way was uh something

that I had a couple couple Chuckles for

between the various dialogues that we

got so uh initial Impressions at least

are are positive of the writing the

other thing is we have uh Nicks our our

little I don't know what you would call

it your little Gremlin looking dude uh

but you can use him both in World

exploration and combat send him to like

push buttons for you you can send him to

like jump on people's faces and distract

them in combat so some good good utility

usage with our little pet uh in in

multiple ways which is something that I

found kind of cool just a nice little

just a little something that adds to the

the character and you know her

personality with that also had a chance

to do some ship battles help out with

like ship battles was was pretty Bare

Bones I mean this is coming from someone

that that put you know 500 hours into

Elite dangerous so that's kind of my my

Baseline for when it comes to [ __ ]

battles uh but they weren't unenjoyable

I mean they they're pretty simple with

the lock on mechanism and you did have

to you know get a handle of like your

thrust as well as your rotation to be

able to stay on top of ships and track

them and Alternate between your missiles

and your lasers to to take the M out uh

but you know I didn't dislike the ship

battles I just they felt kind of simple

but you know I don't think uh space

combat is really going to be a a heavy

focus of the game maybe it will you know

we are flying from planet to planet and

unlike Starfield we actually see oursel

fly into the atmosphere on land as

opposed to you know being hit with a uh

a good old loading screen which was the

meme of that game is everything you do

is a loading screen so it's it's nice to

see they did not go that approach

because you know I think it's it's very

tiring um and I think people in general

you know you want you want a more

cohesive world I want to see myself fly

down from space and land on the planet

and get out of my ship it helps to

maintain that immersion so all in all I

think there's a lot here to actually

look forward to like I'll be honest I'm

I'm not the biggest Star Wars person

when it comes to Star Wars I like

getting a in uh lightsaber battles and

stuff like Force Unleashed back in the

day that was a Star Wars game that that

I had a lot of fun with kind of you know

just beating stuff up uh the Jedi

Survivor games I enjoyed those but

they're obviously a soulslike flare so I

mean obviously I'm going to enjoy it but

all in all this was was actually

something that I was like oh wow this is

this is kind of cool and I'm somebody

that went into this with zero

expectations you know um and in my my

initial approach to this I was like here

comes you know another B soft open world

field full of stuff and I actually ended

up kind of having fun uh just based on

my initial play time and what I got to

see of it I definitely don't think I

would do a a series of this this is

absolutely the kind of game that I would

play on stream just because there's so

much going on between different factions

and dialogue and side quest and Main

quests that uh I don't think I'd be able

to I mean we'd be looking at at probably

like an 80 to 100 episode series um

which you know we got some soul SES

coming up at the end of August which

obviously are going to be getting

priority but this does seem like

something I could play on stream uh and

enjoy and have a good time with

um some other stuff that kind of stood

out to me um a couple of the the mini

games are pretty simple the the data

Spike which is like the new lockpicking

system that one is is kind of cool cuz

it's like sound based so you got to go

like doot doot and like time it right as

opposed to the standard Skyrim

lockpicking that we've seen in in pretty

much every single game that's come out

in like the last 10 years years so it's

nice to see something getting mixed up

there um but you know overall I mean I I

don't I don't know I didn't really dive

too in-depth into the game to be fair

usually for preview events I wanted to I

wanted to jump in I wanted to get a feel

for the controls and approach it very

much from a first impressions

perspective and you know first

impressions they were just positive so

um I'm going to leave things for there

I'll just kind of let the footage roll

I'm allowed to share 20 minutes of

footage so I'll uh show off a little bit

of multiple areas of the game let get an

idea of what it's like and let you make

your own opinion but uh at least my

takea away from this is I think I would

enjoy this and so I'm going to I'll I'll

probably end up playing it at launch for

at least a couple streams maybe the

whole thing depending on how much it

grows on me so thanks for coming by

enjoy the footage and I'll catch you

later that looks like an underw

Tres passard we must

that keep this place

down move the pl hold the area after her

yes okay guess there's another one of

these

things push forward move

it she isn't

hiding I think we lost her

[Music]

[Music]

get up

[Music]

close get in

there move over

here

Escape go after

her get her do it

huh Grenade cover the exit got

it she's getting away

something's come on hold the

area block the exit

[Music]

we did it who cares if they saw

us she's getting

away they not letting up

[Music]

get

[Music]

them hitting the alarm calling for

backup take her out watch

out she is uned stop

dring take

the iar you

[Music]

secure the

area grab that Blaster Nick calling for

[Music]

backup oh

keep

[Applause]

moving

back

no get her while she's vulnerable

you best

R I think we lost him

[Music]

okay files got to find a

terminal we need to

move back to it

need

oh no this system has an

alarm the file's just a spotchka recipe

did I get played

fine I'll make this worth my

while ooh encrypted file

from the

left hope you at least offer a challenge

P taking fire from Crimson Dawn Fighters

[Music]

right side yeah I hear got it

hey there I'm KES you uh must be the

ashika cartel right we are a

clan your ship is an EML 850 designation

Trailblazer a smuggling vessel in our

records oh you've heard of it well I'm

just looking for someone her name's ank

what is your business with angk well uh

she owes me money like a lot I'm here to

collect you are a liar you are working

with Crimson Dawn what no no I mean if I

was with the dawn you think I'd just

show up on your Landing Pad ship scan

complete nothing of Interest guess that

means I'm free to go right I mean sounds

like you've got Crimson Dawn spies to

find you are clear to go but do not lie

to us again oh yeah I won't

honest hey nd5 we're clear for now just

use that don't give them a reason and

lock down the ship this is not my first

time on kajimi yeah okay I think I'll

check out the Cana see if anyone's heard

anything about ink ank's a regular at

the doag ref Factory it's in the thieves

quarter right nearby

by the way be careful in that Cantina

it's crawling with mercenaries you don't

want to get in a fight with someone who

carries around a Blaster Cannon right or

maybe they help me out with some heavy

weapons so this is kajimi City long way

from home isn't it come on Nix maybe

they got some good snacks

here quit whining no I swear I'm ready

to pack up and hit the road this place

has gone downhill since the queen let

the empire in this used to be a freefor

all the empire was about to

come oh it's okay buddy people around

here are just

tense hey is ank around ank what she owe

you credits too good luck why what

happened well the asiga finally caught

her got a couple million credits to pay

off in the factory at her age with a

debt like that she's in there for life

huh that complicates

things hey if she gets out tell her

she's got a tab to Paya