So long ago, in a galaxy far, far away… The most famous opening line in the history of cinema will accompany us on the new adventure set in the multifaceted universe of Star Wars, a fantasy saga with science-fiction elements (and not the other way around) that perhaps needs no introduction, but that often and willingly has introduced spin-offs and parallel series that have expanded its world, or rather its worlds, across every possible medium.
Consequently, with regard to video games as well, we have had a plethora of titles, from shooters (the “old” Dark Forces) to flight simulators aboard the X-Wings (Squadron), and yet no one had yet dared to imagine an immense open world in the narrative cosmos invented by “Uncle” George Lucas.
Star Wars Outlaws, a title announced in 2024 also for Xbox, promises to fill this gap in style.
The mass of open-world and free-roaming games in today’s video game landscape swings between masterpiece status and that of operations that didn’t turn out very well: the Star Wars franchise is in itself an important mark, but it is no guarantee of success; just think of that Phantom Menace and its mixed film reviews.
Outlaws, however, is at the starting blocks with all the right cards in hand to win over approval, affection, and a good dose of revolutionary charge in the genre it clings to: a branching storyline where choices matter, a pair of main characters conceived to have explosive chemistry with each other, and evocative settings made up of planets already widely known from other adaptations, both videogame and otherwise, such as the omnipresent Tatooine, and new scenarios toward which Kay and Nix, the game’s anti-hero protagonists, will sail during their adrenaline-filled adventure.
Ho parlato di antiheroes not by chance: the core of the main storyline, in fact, revolves around a big heist that Kay, with the help of the trusted Nix, intends to carry out, in fact things can only get worse, as the infamous Murphy’s Law tells us with exhaustive punctuality, to which we all sooner or later have to answer.
Non even the alter egos we will move on screen are exceptions, between ground battles and space duels in full Star Wars style (Biggs and Wedge, are you there?), reckless driving sections and a broad-arching plot that fits, chronologically speaking, between "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi," in what is probably the most tumultuous period of Star Wars lore: Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker are in fact about to meet, or perhaps we should say meet again, for the last time.
Thanks to the power of the Force, I read the question bouncing around in your minds: will we be able to use Lightsabers in the game? Ubisoft, the production company responsible for the game’s development (entrusted to Massive Entertainment and, as we know, Swedes are synonymous with precision and thoroughness, which gives us good reason to hope) has not committed either way on the matter, but judging by the released trailer and the choice of characters, we lean toward no.
Maybe it’s better this way too: after all, the best works derived from the three main sagas that set the Star Wars universe as we know it are those in which the creators deliberately moved away from Jedi, lightsabers, and Skywalker lineage, taking other directions and expanding the story with different characters, often more layered in terms of characterization and therefore more interesting, for better or worse.
Good and Evil.
Anche Star Wars Outlaws will also confront the dualism inherent in every living being, whether Force-sensitive or not, and we can’t wait to discover where it will take us.
Di sicuro, it will be a galaxy far, far away, but also extremely fun.
Simon Larocca
My name is Simon Larocca, and I am a gamer, collector, and lover of pop culture in all its forms. I go to the cinema whenever I can, I have been reading since I started wearing glasses, so, basically forever, and I have a passion for storytelling in all its forms, so powerful that it became my profession. But as Doc from Ritorno al Futuro would say, there would be no present if one did not look at the past with respect and admiration, and it is the Simon child of more than thirty years ago, give or take a year, who is to thank for that.
Simon Larocca
My name is Simon Larocca, and I am a gamer, collector, and lover of pop culture in all its forms. I go to the cinema whenever I can, I have been reading since I started wearing glasses, so, basically forever, and I have a passion for storytelling in all its forms, so powerful that it became my profession. But as Doc from Ritorno al Futuro would say, there would be no present if one did not look at the past with respect and admiration, and it is the Simon child of more than thirty years ago, give or take a year, who is to thank for that.
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