It’s the first open world Star Wars game ever. Watch the World Premiere trailer of Star Wars Outlaws, introducing scoundrel Kay Vess as the lead character.

This new trailer shows us our first look at the first-ever open world Star Wars game, set between the events of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Players become the guiding spirit behind Kay Vess, who seems to be cast in more or less the same mold as Han Solo. Massive Entertainment is the developer, publishing via Ubisoft.

As Kay Vess, you will explore distinct planets across the galaxy, both iconic and new. Risk it all as Kay Vess, an emerging scoundrel seeking freedom and the means to start a new life, along with her companion Nix. Fight, steal, and outwit your way through the galaxy’s crime syndicates as you join the galaxy’s most wanted.”

Kay and Nix will explore sprawling landscapes of Star Wars locations both old and new. Kay will race across the humid jungles of Akiva and the windswept savannah of Toshara on her speeder, then jump into the pilot seat of her ship, the Trailblazer, to travel to other parts of the galaxy. From dogfights to high-risk, high-reward missions from crime syndicates, the choices Kay makes can influence her ever-changing reputation. When Kay and Nix find themselves in a sticky situation, she’ll have her trusty blaster, can employ stealth and gadgets, or wait for the right moment to distract enemies.

Nix is the little monkey-like creature with the fuzzy head tentacles that spends much of its time riding on her shoulder and otherwise getting into mischief.

These are probably the most sumptuous visuals in a Star Wars game I have ever, ever seen. Whether this is just cut scenes, or actual gameplay, that will be the real trick.

And here’s where the surprise comes in: the gameplay trailer for the PS5 released by Sony Playstation shows us a world that seems just as good as the cut scenes. The only clue that you have that you’re not watching an animated feature film is the comparitive jankiness of the animation, not that it’s dramatically worse, but it’s definitely deterministic animation, driven by the game engine, as it must be if the player has any control over it at all.

It does look really promising. What sets this game apart from other Star Wars story-based games is the ability to go wherever you choose, in any order, and do whatever the heck you want. If it’s anywhere near an immersive experience as Skyrim is, they’re going to have a multi-year hit on their hands. The visuals may attract players initially, but it’s the writing and player dynamics that will keep them playing.

Ubisoft and Massive Development know this well, and the game has been in development since 2021, with the full and active participation of Lucasfilm with respect to story and character development. The personification of Kay Vess is drawn heavily from the voice actor Humberly González, who plays her in the game; the avatar of Kay Vess even closely resembles González, to the point where she would be easily able to portray her character in a future live action production — or at very least recognizably cosplay her character at an upcoming D23 Expo or Star Wars Celebration convention.

There’s no word on whether there will be a VR version of the game, as was done with Skyrim. If they’re working on that, they haven’t been talking to the press about it.

Star Wars Outlaws releases in 2024, but there’s no hard date mentioned in the press materials. It will be ready when it’s ready.

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