Ubisoft8 min read

Ubisoft Has Made Star Wars Outlaws the Game It Was Meant to Be

When Star Wars Outlaws hit the shelves in September, it had all the makings of a game I’d love. As both a Star Wars diehard and a fan of open-world epics like Red Dead Redemption 2, the concept alone was enough to reel me in. The idea of stepping into the shoes of Kay Vess, a cunning outlaw navigating the galaxy’s criminal underbelly, promised adventure, exploration, and a welcome dive into the Star Wars universe beyond the Jedi and Sith.

And for those first seven hours I spent playing, Outlaws delivered. I was instantly pulled into its beautifully crafted world. The game managed to feel like Star Wars without relying on the usual tropes. It had blaster shootouts, speeder chases, and a gritty narrative about survival and betrayal that made me want to see where Kay’s journey would take her next. The open-world design, clearly inspired by Red Dead Redemption 2, gave me a galaxy that felt alive and untamed, teeming with small details that added to the immersion.

Yet, for all the love I had for the game, I couldn’t ignore its issues. The stealth system felt inconsistent and frustrating, the speeder controls often sent me crashing into oblivion for the tiniest mistake, and the weapon system seemed deliberately cumbersome. Playing Outlaws was a constant back-and-forth between loving its ambition and feeling annoyed by its clumsy execution. I wrote plenty about what worked and what didn’t, and I wasn’t alone. Players voiced similar frustrations, and Ubisoft clearly listened.

Now, after months of updates and tweaks, Ubisoft has turned Star Wars Outlaws into the game it was always meant to be. The changes are subtle but impactful, and they’ve removed many of the barriers that kept the game from reaching its full potential. If you played Outlaws at launch and felt disappointed, it’s worth coming back. The galaxy is a better place now—for Kay Vess, for her crew, and for all of us players.

The Stealth System No Longer Feels Like a Trap

Stealth is often a tricky mechanic to get right in any game, but it’s especially important in one where you play as a roguish smuggler who thrives on sneaking past danger. When Outlaws launched, its stealth gameplay felt like it couldn’t decide what it wanted to be. Some missions gave you flexibility, letting you go loud if you wanted to shoot your way through a group of enemies. Others forced you into an unforgiving insta-fail situation the second you were spotted.

One moment I’d be having fun, sneaking through an enemy base like a galactic ninja, picking off guards with precision. The next, I’d barely step into a guard’s line of sight and find myself staring at a game-over screen. It wasn’t just frustrating—it was immersion-breaking.

The inconsistency of these rules took away the freedom that the game otherwise championed. It distracted from what Outlaws did well: offering players choice. I wanted the game to reward creativity and improvisation, not punish me for failing to execute a perfect stealth sequence. The stealth mechanics were good enough to be enjoyable, but those insta-fail moments overshadowed their potential.

Thankfully, Ubisoft has overhauled the stealth system in a way that makes it feel fair and rewarding. The majority of the insta-fail sections are gone. Now, getting spotted isn’t an automatic death sentence. If a guard sees you, you can recover, fight your way out, or retreat and regroup. It’s a much more forgiving and player-friendly approach, and it fits perfectly with the game’s open-world design.

This change has transformed how I approach missions. I can experiment with different tactics—sneak in, take out guards one by one, or go in guns blazing if things go sideways. The stakes are still high, but the game no longer feels like it’s actively working against me. It’s a subtle tweak, but it makes a huge difference in how much fun I’m having.

Now, Star Wars Outlaws feels like the stealth-action game it always aspired to be. I get the same thrill I felt playing Horizon Zero Dawn, carefully picking off enemies and turning the odds in my favor. The frustration is gone, and the freedom is back.

Speeder Controls Are Finally Fun (And Not Frustrating)

If you’re going to make a Star Wars game with open-world elements, you’ve got to nail the vehicles. After all, swoop bikes and speeders are as iconic to the galaxy as blasters and lightsabers. When I first hopped onto Kay Vess’s speeder, I was ready to tear across the deserts of Tatooine, dodging rocks, jumping cliffs, and outrunning danger.

At first, the speeder controls felt great. They were responsive, fast, and gave me that exhilarating sense of freedom I wanted. But then the problems started. A small pole or slightly raised rock could send Kay flying into the air like she hit a landmine. It was comically frustrating. I’d be zipping along at full speed, only to hit the tiniest environmental obstacle and lose all my momentum (or worse, Kay would ragdoll into the dirt).

It wasn’t just a minor annoyance; it made exploration less enjoyable. I found myself avoiding areas that looked too cluttered because I didn’t want to deal with the unpredictability of the physics. For a game that encourages you to explore sprawling landscapes, that was a real problem.

Thankfully, Ubisoft has fixed this, too. The speeder’s physics are now far more forgiving. Unless you’re actively driving headfirst into a wall or cliff, the game is going to err on your side. Small obstacles no longer send Kay flying, and the speeder feels smoother and more reliable overall.

This change has reignited my love for driving around Outlaws’ beautiful open worlds. Now, I’m jumping over gorges, weaving through rocky canyons, and speeding across vast deserts without worrying about a random rock ruining the fun. It’s exactly what I wanted the speeder to feel like from the start: fast, fluid, and fun.

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The Weapon System Finally Makes Sense

Outlaws gives you plenty of options when it comes to combat. You’ve got Kay’s trusty blaster, throwable grenades, and the ability to pick up enemy weapons. In theory, it’s a great system that encourages you to adapt on the fly and use whatever tools you have to survive.

But in practice, the weapon system had some serious flaws at launch. The most annoying? You couldn’t hold onto a picked-up weapon if you needed to interact with anything. Climbing a ladder? Say goodbye to your sniper rifle. Opening a door? That grenade launcher you grabbed? Gone.

It made no sense and broke the flow of combat. I found myself avoiding enemy weapons entirely because I knew I’d lose them the second I had to interact with the environment. It felt like the game was punishing me for using its own mechanics.

Ubisoft has addressed this issue, and while it’s not perfect, it’s a huge improvement. Now, you can keep hold of a picked-up weapon for much longer, even if you need to climb or interact with something. You’ll still have to drop it eventually, but the change gives you much more flexibility in how you approach combat.

I still have a few gripes (why does throwing a grenade require pressing three buttons?), but overall, the weapon system feels far more intuitive and satisfying. It’s another example of Ubisoft smoothing out the rough edges and letting the game’s strengths shine through.
A Galaxy Worth Revisiting

When Star Wars Outlaws launched, it was an ambitious game that struggled under the weight of its own design choices. Ubisoft clearly had a vision for what they wanted the game to be, but some of the mechanics felt half-baked. Stealth, speeders, and weapons—all critical parts of the experience—had problems that pulled players out of the immersion and made the game feel more frustrating than fun.

Now, Ubisoft has fixed those issues, and the result is a game that feels polished, balanced, and rewarding. The stealth system lets you play your way, the speeder controls are smooth and enjoyable, and the weapon system finally works the way it should. These aren’t massive overhauls, but they’re exactly the kind of changes the game needed.

If you were one of the players who tried Outlaws at launch and walked away disappointed, I encourage you to give it another shot. The galaxy feels different now—like it’s working with you instead of against you. The things that made the game great are still here: the gorgeous open worlds, the thrilling combat, and the gritty story of a small-time outlaw trying to survive in a big, dangerous galaxy. But now, those strengths aren’t overshadowed by frustration.

Games don’t always get second chances, but Star Wars Outlaws deserves one. Ubisoft has done the work to make this the game it was always meant to be, and if you come back, I think you’ll be surprised by just how good it is now.

So dust off your blaster, hop on your speeder, and jump back into the galaxy. There’s a lot of fun to be had, and Kay Vess’s story is worth seeing through to the end.