The Ubisoft Star Wars Outlaws game is expected to have a release date announced soon and, there are must-have features, from the best RPGs, that fans are hoping to see in this open-world title. Here’s a look at how they can include unique customization, characters, and story choices to make this new game a fan favorite.
Ubisoft announced in Winter 2021, that they are in the early development of a new, story-driven, open-world, Star Wars game. They didn’t share many details, apart from their partnership with Lucasfilm Games on the project, but the announcement was very much welcomed by the gaming community. Since then, there have also been rumors swirling on what the game may include, but little has yet to be officially confirmed.
Almost a year and a half later, fans are expecting an announcement for the release date and title of this new game at the Star Wars Celebration event in early April. With a lot of pressure on the seasoned devs to produce this major open-world Star Wars title, what features should they include from other RPGs?
What we need in Ubisoft Star Wars Outlaws
Unique narrative paths
Without a doubt, having the player make decisions adds to the feel of a game. In many newer story-driven games, developers have been allowing players to choose between endings, based on their gameplay. We see this successfully implemented in many games including, Red Dead Redemption 2 and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
In The Witcher 3, there are many moments where the player’s decision affects the ending. We see this with Geralt’s love interests, Yen and Triss. Throughout the game, the player decides how they want to handle situations involving each character, which in turn affects the overall story. This element of The Witcher 3 is part of what made it such a fan favorite.
Whether it is through dialogue options or an honor system, as seen in RDR2, having different endings on offer adds to the replayability of the title. It also immerses the player more, by adding weight to their decisions. This feature could be a great addition to Ubisoft’s new title and more games coming down the line as well.
Dynamic world and NPC interactions
Few games manage to produce an environment that feels alive and responsive. Red Dead Redemption 2 is a perfect example of how games can do this. With intelligent NPCs that react to player movements and act out complex routines, it makes games like RDR2 feel like it is immersive and ever-evolving.
From the subtleties of NPCs and wildlife playing off each other to the environment changing dynamically, all the small details of Red Dead Redemption 2 make it by far the most realistic and immersive open-world game we’ve seen to date. There have already been rumors that the new Star Wars game will include multiple planets that we can visit, but each will need to have dynamic NPCs and environment, to avoid the risk of them feeling empty.
How Ubisoft will choose to structure its worlds is still yet to be confirmed. However, we can be sure that if they want to compete with the likes of Rockstar and other massive open-world developers they will have to use every trick in the book.
Character roles and extensive customization
In titles like Jedi Fallen Order, customization was an important feature. Many praised the devs for giving players the freedom to pick what type of lightsaber they had and how the character looked. Although only a basic level of customization, fans were still impressed with how much they could change. They look to be adding even more to Star Wars Jedi: Survivor and hopefully, by the time this Ubisoft title is released, they will build upon those options to give us much more.
A great example of how far customization can go is seen in Cyberpunk 2077. This futuristic dystopian game allows the player to fully customize all aspects of their character. Many fans push this to the extreme and create life-like replicas of celebrities. If the new Star Wars title took notes from the likes of Cyberpunk’s and Hogwarts: Legacy’s in-game customization, we will be in for a treat.
Another angle Ubisoft could take to character customization is allowing players to choose between being a Sith, Bounty Hunter, Jedi, and more. It has previously been rumored that you will be able to choose the role of your character in the Galaxy, but Ubisoft has not yet confirmed the news. This prospect has fans the most excited, and with many in favor of choosing your role in the galaxy, this element of the open-world RPG could be a major selling point for Ubisoft’s new Star Wars title.
With the possibility of unlimited customization as seen in Cyberpunk to the basic character cosmetics from Jedi Fallen Order. Ubisoft’s new game has the potential to be the best Star Wars game we’ve seen to date.
Hype is building for May the 4th and Star Wars Celebration, where the gaming community expects the release date and more details about this upcoming game to be shared. If any of these features are included remains to be seen, however, they would be a good step in the right direction for Ubisoft to produce the Star Wars game we’ve always wanted.