UPDATE! ‘Star Wars Outlaws’ Shows 10-Minute Gameplay Footage With Developer Breakdown; Dee Bradley Baker Voices Nix
After yesterday’s cinematic reveal of the new video game, the first gameplay for Star Wars: Outlaws has been showcased at this year’s Ubisoft Forward presentation.
Massive Entertainment has taken their first step into a larger world with Star Wars: Outlaws, a story set between the events of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi showcasing the criminal underworld during the waning days of the Galactic Empire. Players will step into the shoes of Kay Vess, who works alongside ND-5, a modified BX-Series Commando Battle Droid and her pet alien creature Nix. Under the recommendation of the mysterious Jaylen (who looks suspiciously like Star Wars Legends character Kyle Katarn, who used aliases to cover his tracks), Nix and her allies will go on a journey that will have her fight against the Empire and the various crime syndicates working parallel to them. This motley crew will explore a variety of open-world environments across the galaxy far, far away using their wit and will to survive.
The gameplay demonstration for Star Wars: Outlaws begins with a scene in medias res on the planet Toshara, with Kay and Nix in the middle of an infiltration mission, with the pet stealing an object of note from a Pyke Syndicate outpost. The duo sneak about the base in a mostly-peaceful effort, emphasizing using the environment to stealthily exfiltrate, but things turn hot when a Rodian guard spots her. Nix retrieves a weapon from a fallen Pyke while Kay uses her own arsenal to clear an opening before making a break on a speeder bike, gunning down some pursuing Pykes before driving into Jaunta’s Hope to meet with ND-5.
ND-5 set up the meeting with Danka, a shady Mon Calamari client, and an Imperial overseeing a deal. Kay walks in with the object, handing it over and getting a piece of the share – but the Imperial officer threatens to expose Kay’s presence on Toshara unless she gets financial compensation. Kay chooses not to pay the bribe and opts to meet ND-5 on their ship, the Trailblazer, as they escape the planet as a bounty goes up for all to see. The Trailblazer leaves the orbit of the planet to be faced with a group of TIE fighters, which they gun down and evade before jumping to lightspeed to the Akiva System. Having pulled off a tough job, Kay rewards Nix with a new toy (her cut of the heist earlier), and ND-5 asks where she’d like to go next – to which she replies “anywhere we want”.
Following this, we see Kay going through an assortment of worlds in the Outer Rim, including what appear to be Tatooine and Kijimi from the films, and the trailer ends. You can watch the gameplay trailer below:
An additional video was released immediately after the presentation, including a behind-the-scenes look at Kay’s actor, Humberly González, describing her character and the role her story plays in the larger tapestry of Star Wars narratives:
UPDATE!
Ubisoft Massive also did a developer commentary of the gameplay video, going into detail on elements of the game like Kay’s furry companion Nix, the Pyke Syndicate base, how reputation works and more:
In an interview with IGN, creative director Julian Gerighty explained the decision to set this game in between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi:
“When we were starting off the discussions with Lucasfilm, it was very clear that the one year period between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, that’s where the Rebels aren’t part of the picture. The Empire’s taking more and more control, but the syndicates, they’re taking more power, they’re exploiting all of these weaknesses. So it really is a moment where the underworld is thriving and there’s no better situation for an established or a rookie scoundrel to cut their teeth than this particular moment.”
When he says that “the Rebels aren’t part of the picture”, Gerighty is presumably referring to the fact that during this period, the Rebel Alliance is more concerned with self preservation and gathering themselves together following the Battle of Hoth. This is something that the main Star Wars comic series has been exploring since 2020.
Star Wars animation fans will be glad to hear that according to GamesRadar, Nix is being played by Dee Bradley Baker, who voices all the clone troopers in animation. Though Baker is mostly known in Star Wars for speaking roles, he actually has a wealth of experience vocalizing non-speaking animal characters, such as the furry Loth Cat-looking creature called Blurp in Guardians of the Galaxy 3, Perry the Platypus in Phineas and Ferb, and both Momo and Appa in Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Star Wars: Outlaws will be released sometime in 2024.
Grant has been a fan of Star Wars for as long as he can remember, having seen every movie on the big screen. When he’s not hard at work with his college studies, he keeps himself busy by reporting on all kinds of Star Wars news for SWNN and general movie news on the sister site, Movie News Net. He served as a frequent commentator on SWNN’s The Resistance Broadcast.
Josh is a huge Star Wars fan, who has spent far too much time wondering if any Star Wars character could defeat Thanos with all the Infinity Stones.
