Star Wars Outlaws is one of the most promising upcoming titles on PS5 and Xbox, especially after the huge success of the Star Wars Jedi games. With Ubisoft Massive taking the helm on Outlaws, we’re in store for a sweeping, open-world space adventure with scoundrel Kay Vess. As we creep closer to launch, the developer has further discussed the in-depth Star Wars Outlaws reputation system that will enrich the adventure – though it seems that it won’t change the game’s ending.
In an interview with GamesRadar, Ubisoft Massive creative director Julian Gerighty has dug deeper into Star Wars Outlaws’ reputation system and how it will shape your adventure on PS5 and Xbox. As a scoundrel, Kay Vess will be navigating the treacherous criminal underworld to make a name for herself; the premise alone sounds intriguing enough for Outlaws to be one of the best Star Wars games ever when the Star Wars Outlaws release date finally arrives. But you have to pick your battles, and your relationships, wisely.
“As a scoundrel you live and die by your reputation”, Gerighty notes. “Kay will have to navigate the underworld and its various crime syndicates, making choices that will impact her reputation, her experience, and her support throughout the game.” In other words, you will be in control of how Kay’s story unfolds, influencing who she picks as her allies, as well as her enemies.
Even more exciting than that, however, is that “a good reputation could lead to some of the most lucrative opportunities, and a bad reputation could result in [Kay Vess] facing a syndicate’s wrath as they hunt her down.” This suggests that there will be tangible consequences for your actions that will be reflected in gameplay, even altering the missions and areas you have access to. Fingers crossed we’ll be able to snag some one-of-a-kind items to make those big decisions even more impactful.
However, with Ubisoft having confirmed last year that Star Wars Outlaws will only have one ending due to the constraints of Star Wars canon, the long-term impact of your decisions is seemingly limited. While Gerighty points out that the reputation system influences your path through the narrative and how “each of the locations featured in Star Wars Outlaws are crucial to Kay’s story”, it all leads to the same end-point. This may be disappointing for some but the developer is evidently striving to provide depth and weight to each location in Vess’ story to make each step in her journey meaningful, even if the ending isn’t swayed by your final decision.
While this reputation system is exciting so far, we think Star Wars Outlaws should take a few notes from Assassin’s Creed in this regard. Nevertheless, with a rich handful of Star Wars Outlaws planets, we’re in store for an epic, world-hopping adventure. We only hope that Kay Vess will run into these other Star Wars characters along the way up the criminal underworld. And if you’re hungry for more, find out how Star Wars Outlaws’ awesome tech replicates how movies looked in the 1970s, making it a dream game for original trilogy fans.