Released on August 30, 2024, on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series, Star Wars Outlaws proved to be a convincing and faithful adaptation of the universe of the famous sci-fi saga, at least in the eyes of some of the press and public. But for others, the quality of the experience didn’t live up to expectations, resulting in lower-than-expected sales for the open-world action-adventure game ahead of its release.
Determined to correct the situation, Ubisoft Massive has gone to great lengths to breathe new life into the game in recent weeks, deploying several massive patches, changing the creative director, and making the Steam version available earlier than expected. In addition, the first narrative DLC entitled “Wild Card” arrived on all platforms on November 21. Here are our impressions, guaranteed without any major spoilers!
Before proceeding with this review, please note that it was made using the digital Ultimate Edition provided by Ubisoft a few months ago to test the title. Running mainly in High graphics configuration (NVIDIA DLSS enabled, ray tracing disabled) on an AORUS 17H BXF (2023) laptop equipped with an Intel Core i7-13700H (2.4 GHz) processor, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Laptop, 16 GB DDR5 RAM, 17, 3” LCD screen with 1080p resolution and an Xbox One controller, it took us just over three hours to complete the campaign for this additional content, and less than two more hours to evaluate what the various updates had brought to the game since its launch.
Table of Contents
A Short, Rushed Campaign…
Taking place just after the final events of the base game, Wild Card invites us to reunite with Kay Vess, her adorable merquaal companion Nix, and the droid ND-5. Leading her own mercenary life across the Outer Rim, she receives an attractive contract offer from a mysterious client… who unfortunately turns out to be Governor Thorden of the Galactic Empire. Threatening to destroy her recently acquired reputation with the criminal syndicates, he forces her to participate in a prestigious Sabacc tournament soon to be held on a secret ship. The stakes are supposed to be so high that even members of the underworld and Lando Calrissian, backed by the Rebel Alliance, have signed up.
On paper, it’s a catchy, original script, and during its first third, it’s well-paced and well-crafted. Whether in terms of writing, direction or atmosphere, we’re instantly hooked and delighted by the objectives set before us. These objectives use the opportunity to take us to a new playground: Morenia, a casino cruiser. It’s not a very big place, but the Swedish studio has managed to make the most of it. Plus, it fits in perfectly with the lore of the saga created by George Lucas.
However, once we leave it behind, we quickly realize that the story lacks inspiration. Sorely lacking in depth as a result, we find ourselves dispatching the few missions on the program with disconcerting ease in barely three to four hours. That’s short, far too short for a paid expansion. Ideally, we’d hoped for an arc that at least approached a similar level of design to those present in the basic main campaign. In the end, the plot barely manages to occupy and “captivate” us as much as “Jabba’s Gambit”, the famous quest exclusive to the Gold and Ultimate editions. As you can see, this is no compliment!
… Adding Almost Nothing to the Initial Experience
Another consequence of its short lifespan is that Wild Card offers no real added value in terms of gameplay or content compared to the initial game experience. Although the first third of the game includes some rare and subtle additions, which we won’t reveal here to avoid spoiling the “pleasure” of discovery, the DLC simply offers exactly the same recipe as it did a few months earlier. Infiltration, combat on foot or in space, exploration, platforming, information gathering, hacking computers and safes, mini-games… there’s nothing really new to discover. While we’re not totally against the idea of recycling, and enjoyed the game as it was at launch despite its shortcomings, to settle for such a clear lack of inspiration and ambition is frustrating and disappointing.
To benefit from a minimum of in-game refreshment, you’ll have to turn to the updates rolled out by the developers over the last few weeks. In other words, free content, tweaks, and fixes independent of the expansion itself! More precise infiltration and confrontation sequences, slightly improved enemy AI behavior, more numerous and varied contracts, reworked NPC animations, slightly more realistic and natural collision management, and speeder driving that feels a little more pleasant than in the past… the various patches do their job, without making the title a model of excellence or perfection. Better late than never, right?
Conclusion
Star Wars Outlaws: Wild Card is a short, disappointing, and forgettable first DLC. Although the first third of the game is very interesting to follow, thanks to its well-crafted writing, story pace, staging and atmosphere, the campaign continues and ends in a hurry, without any real attempt to demonstrate a minimum of depth, inspiration or ambition in terms of narrative, gameplay and content. Sincerely, we wonder whether its conception has been partially or totally neglected and sacrificed by Ubisoft Massive in favor of the updates and patches deployed since the title’s release. If that’s the case, why didn’t they decide to postpone it? It’s not really explainable, and under these conditions it’s impossible to recommend it, whether purchased separately ($14.99) or via the Season Pass ($39.99), or included with Gold and Ultimate editions. Let’s hope that the second expansion, A Pirate’s Fortune, scheduled for spring 2025, will be of better quality.