Star Wars Outlaws: Nintendo Switch 2 Edition

A long time ago, in a studio far, far away, programmer Rex Bradford had an idea. In 1980, the hit sequel The Empire Strikes Back was released to critical acclaim and showed that Star Wars wasn’t just a one-hit wonder, leading Rex to begin work on the 1982 Atari 2600 video game adaptation. Over the last 43 years there have been innumerable video games based on the franchise, ranging from arena fighters to speeder racers and right back round to souls-likes, but the one thing that eluded fans for the longest time was an open world, one without the usual confines – a game that gave players the galaxy to explore.

After any number of non-starters, either cancelled in development or doomed to development hell, Star Wars: Outlaws finally made its debut in 2024 on PC and console, but the Nintendo Switch seemed a stretch too far – or at least it did until the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2. Launching as Star Wars: Outlaws Gold Edition, the game includes both the base game and story expansions but boasts an even more impressive title – the first Nintendo Switch 2 title with Ray Tracing.

Before I talk about the technical side of the game, it’s important to delve into the most pressing question of whether the game is, in fact, a good game. On launch it was met with mixed but favourable reviews, but Star Wars: Outlaws has had a number of patches since launch that have improved and incrementally updated many of the perceived issues, so it’s good to look at it with fresh eyes.

On its face, Star Wars: Outlaws is an RPG built around the fairly well-established Ubisoft formula – a map full of collectables, areas with different challenges and some form of a shaky political structure that changes as the game progresses. This isn’t an inherently bad design, but it has very much become the basis for the Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry series in recent years, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that it at least shook these ideas up in a few meaningful ways.

First and most noticeable is the map – instead of being confined to a single, large area that requires you to climb some form of tower to explore, you instead have a number of smaller, more densely packed maps set across numerous planets. The ability to explore different biomes without the limitation of a single area is not only a welcome change but also allows for designs and set pieces to feel unique – it doesn’t remove any of the inherent issues with the current open world status quo, but it’s a nice change of pace.

Taking on the role of Kay Vess and her cute axolotl-adjacent companion Nix, you become embroiled in the galaxy-wide underworld through the plot equivalent of a cheesy heist movie, which is fitting given the inspiration behind the design. Not only were the developers keen to lean away from constant fan service to tell an original story, but they were also eager to learn from the inspirations that led George Lucas to create the original trilogy, and so they “examined the cinematic roots of the Star Wars franchise, down to its inspirations, including Akira Kurosawa, Westerns, and old war movies.” (Brian Shea, Game Informer)

Though the space western moniker is often seen given to Star Wars, it’s also nice to see recognition for the inspiration behind lightsabre duels, with the samurai spectacles of Akira Kurosawa being evident throughout. Though long-time fans of the series may be disappointed if they expected any grand lightsabre duels, Kay lives the life of a gunslinging vagabond who is an absolute delight to control, not only with tight gun controls but also through stealth sections where swift movement can be a lifesaver – think of her as more Solo than Skywalker.

It’s clear from the outset that the developers love the world of Star Wars – the story feels right at home within the confines of the franchise but never loses sight of one of the most important parts of video games – the player experience. There is a constant sense of freedom after leaving the early tutorial sections of the game, with emergent gameplay giving you the information and tools you need to progress – sadly, this can also be where the game starts to falter.

In trying to lean into the simulation elements of its world, it can often fall foul of the same issues that plagued games such as Deus Ex: Human Revolution – despite trying to give the player experience the most attention, it accidentally begins to treat the player in a more infantile manner – map icons and compass points overshadow any sense of mystery or problem solving, worsened only by the more confined set pieces being limited to two or three options for traversing the area and outsmarting or outgunning opponents – at least one of these options will always be a conveniently placed vent.

In terms of performance, I was pleasantly surprised by the experience – aside from a brief crash during the opening cutscene, the experience was generally unhampered, with load times being minimal (or at the very least disguised by a crawl through a narrow gap) and a fairly steady frame rate. There were occasional visual glitches, sometimes causing a flickering when opening shop menus, but nothing serious or game-breaking. But most impressive was the general look of the game, which, despite being a slight downgrade when compared to the home console version, manages to hold up incredibly well under scrutiny. 

There isn’t a major difference between docked and undocked in terms of visual fidelity – though there is a 120 Hz option for docked mode if your TV is compatible – but it still makes a noticeable difference, particularly if you have Ray Tracing (editor’s note: I removed a joke about “Rey” tracing here, you’re welcome) enabled, providing a much sharper body of light across the game, especially prominent in the more harshly lit brushlands and deserts.

It would be remiss of me to talk about performance without talking about the biggest issue with the game, namely that the game simply doesn’t work at all without an internet connection and a Ubisoft account. On opening the game, you are immediately prompted to log into an account and warned that you will be unable to access the game you have already paid for without one – it’s incredibly disappointing to see these kinds of practices being employed, especially in a single-player game where there wouldn’t normally be any need for an internet connection with the exception of patching the game or downloading additional content.

Accounts may be free and easy to set up, but this arbitrary roadblock only serves as a reminder of the widespread issues we currently face in game ownership.