Summary
Star Warsvideo games have not often been renowned for their combat mechanics. While certain entries likeStar Wars: Republic Commando,Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, and of course,theStar Wars: Battlefrontserieshave all put a strong emphasis on combat and have some great mechanics, the biggest highlight for the vast majority ofStar Warsvideo games is their ability to capture the iconic Sci-Fi universe in such an engaging and interactive way, usually through story, characters, world-building, and most importantly, presentation. But when it comes to modern entries likeStar Wars OutlawsandStar Wars Jedi: Survivor, combat seems to easily be among their greatest assets.
Heavily inspired byDark Souls,Bloodborne, andSekiro, Respawn’sStar Wars Jediseries puts its combat front and center of the experience, making each slash and parry with a lightsaber feel suitably powerful and satisfying. But whileStar Wars Jedi’s combat is some of the best in the franchise,Star Wars Outlawscould end up beating it in one specific way.
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Star Wars Outlaws' Combat Is Much More Accessible Than Jedi: Survivor’s
Star Wars Jedi’s combat system is heavily inspired byFromSoftware’sSoulsformula, and while that means that it delivers deep and rewarding gameplay for those that enjoy that type of combat, it also has a strong adverse effect on those that don’t. Put simply, Soulslike combat isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. It can be extremely tough and borderline unforgiving at times, and for those that have never played a Soulslike before,Star Wars Jedi’s combat can be a real turn-off at first. And while difficulty settings can makeStar Wars Jedi’s combat more accessible, that style of methodical, careful combat just isn’t for some fans.
Instead, someStar Warsfans would rather just blast their way through hordes of enemies, and that seems like exactly whatStar Wars Outlawsis going to do. Based on the gameplay demo revealed during Ubisoft’s June showcase,Star Wars Outlawsis going to be a third-person shooter, with combat looking fairly similar to otheraction-adventure games such asUncharted,Tomb Raider, orControl. In the brief combat sequence fans saw, the player-character ducked behind cover, blind-fired from it, and aimed in to get more accurate shots on their enemies, all standard third-person action-adventure fare.
If this small glimpse of combat gameplay is anything indicative of the final product, it seems like a safe bet to assume thatStar Wars Outlawsis going to be quite a bit more accessible thanRespawn’sStar Wars Jediseries. Rather than worrying about parry timings or which lightsaber stance to use at the right time, all players need to do to take down most enemies inStar Wars Outlawsis point-and-shoot, making it immediately more accessible for general audiences.
But that’s not to say thatStar Wars Outlaws' combat lacks depth either. While the basics of combat will probably get players through most ofStar Wars Outlaws' combat encounters, more experienced players will be able to make much shorter work of enemies by utilizing the game’s more advanced combat mechanics. Based just on what fans have seen so far,Star Wars Outlawswill have a handful of more intricate mechanics for players to use in the heat of battle, ranging from different types of blaster rounds like an electric shot that neutralizes shields to the ability to get the player’s furry companion Nix to grab a more powerful weapon from the field and bring it back to them, to presumably a slew of different unlockable skills. So whileStar Wars Outlawsmight be more accessible, it should still have plenty of room for experimentation.
Star Wars Outlawsreleases in 2024 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
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