Star Wars Outlaws Preview: Do I Like This Game Because It's Star Wars Or Because It's Good?

There's a beauty to in that it feels more like Star Wars than most games that have been released over the past few console generations. But while achieving that is an accomplishment for a game without lightsabers at the forefront, perhaps there's too much love for Star Wars in, as that love comes at the cost of engaging gameplay.

I had the chance to play nearly four hours of the game earlier this month, spanning two core missions. The first was a continuation of the same mission people have seen demonstrated on the planet Toshara and the second took Kay Vess (and will take players) back to the planet of Kijimi, a frigid location from .

After having some time with the game and seeing what else the studio has in store for players, there's no doubt in my mind that Massive Entertainment poured a lot of love for Star Wars into this game, attempting to differentiate it from the many titles that came before, but there's a sense that, if the core Star Wars elements were removed, the base game would leave players wanting — perhaps too much.

That adoration for Star Wars can be clearly seen on the front-end — with the correct font from the movies and several visual cues, not to mention the obvious sound design — which the devs spent a great deal of effort hiding in plain sight, making the world feel naturally part of Star Wars without being loud about it. But underneath the hood, there's so much more.

Related: Every New & Legacy Character In Star Wars Outlaws

Creative Director Julian Gerighty told me that they created a lens within the Snowdrop engine that allows them to replicate the "," and a host of other tricks, giving off that natural feel. And so, by default, will be presented in ultrawide screen with black bars on the top and bottom to create that connection to the original trilogy. (The black bars can be removed, though Gerighty certainly wouldn't want you to do that.)

Now that's just one example of the numerous ways in which more than earns its place as a Star