The announcement of Ubisoft's Star Wars Outlaws as the franchise's "first open-world" game provides Star Wars with a unique and important opportunity. Ubisoft now has a chance to move the scope of the galaxy outward, taking a step away from the Jedi, the Skywalker family, and the familiar places and faces of Star Wars.
Outlaws features some key aspects that allow it to distance itself from the average Star Wars story. It stars a brand new character in Kay Vess, who has a tie to the rebellion but who does not seem to be a dedicated rebel operative like Princess Leia or Luke Skywalker. In addition, it takes place during the Galactic Civil War but co-stars a Prequel-era droid, ND-5. This provides an interesting opportunity to link the Prequel and Original Trilogy eras in a way that hasn't been explored before.
New Faces, New Opportunities
Star Wars Outlaws introduces players to scoundrel and all-around outlaw Kay Vess. Kay is perhaps one of the most important features of the game because she is a completely original character. She has no need for any attachments to previous characters or events of other games, films, or shows in Star Wars.
Through Kay, Outlaws can build a whole new story that is separate from the majority of events that fans know of already. Instead of another story that is simply an offshoot of the Skywalker Saga, Kay can introduce players to another side of the galaxy.
It's important that she is a character type that doesn't operate solely on the straight and narrow. Her role as a scoundrel and a less-than-upstanding citizen allows Star Wars Outlaws to show off a side of the galaxy that is often ignored: its underworld. Properly using her as this character archetype in-game will truly open up the galaxy, shifting the gaze from heroic rebels and Jedi to a seedy underworld full of bounty hunters, smugglers, and other unsavory characters.
Kay, if properly executed, is the perfect first foray into a whole new galaxy of characters, places, and events that have never been explored before. Unlike Cal Kestis, from Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Kay has no necessary attachments to the Jedi Order, the Skywalker Family, or direct involvement in the Galactic Civil War. She is a clean slate for the franchise to tell some new stories about different topics with different themes.
Location, Location, Location
Aside from the inclusion of new characters and storylines, Star Wars Outlaws can also expand the franchise by taking players to brand-new or often overlooked planets. Often characters from the franchise find themselves on the same planets time and time again, like Tatooine, Coruscant, and Yavin.
Star Wars Outlaws has the incredible opportunity to explore more of the Outer-Rim worlds. Of course, some familiar planets will almost inevitably appear as well. But this in itself presents, yet another, opportunity for the game. Using Kay's ability to explore freely, the game can build upon new and iconic planets alike, introducing players to thriving worlds full of life, and interesting places to see.
The game can turn what some may argue is an empty feeling galaxy into a thriving one. It's an opportunity to show fans what the galaxy is like from the point of view of someone who has no relation to the Skywalker family. Players can explore a planet's flora, fauna, and populace from the point of view of a normal criminal with no "fate of the galaxy" stakes at hand.
New Friends, New Foes
Perhaps one of the most important aspects that Star Wars Outlaws presents as an opportunity is the concept of the Galactic Civil War as a backdrop. The game can use the Empire as a background player for once. Every fan of the franchise is very familiar with the Rebel Alliance's struggle against the Empire.
However, Star Wars Outlaws can distance its main antagonists from the iconic Stormtroopers and other forces of the Empire, and instead focus on the Syndicates and other criminal forces of the underworld. Importantly, these new antagonists allow players to see what else has been happening in the shadows of the Galactic Civil War. Additionally, the inclusion of these new foes makes for some interesting possibilities for enemy types that have never been seen before.
New enemies aren't all that await Kay. New friends and allies can also help to separate the game from the Skywalker Saga. Star Wars: Outlaws is sure to be full of new faces that fans can fall in love with all on their own without relying on cameo power to make them great.