Star Wars Outlaws released earlier this fall to mostly positive reviews, though the game hasn’t performed like the developers hoped it would. That has led them to some changes – some planned, others based on player feedback.
The planned changes are actually expansions, with the game operating around DLCs that will be made available. This was the plan even before the game launched (which sparked some frustration from gamers about the way the game industry works, meaning you have to keep buying content to get the ‘full’ game). The first DLC was just released, titled Wild Card, and it brings the game’s protagonist, Kay Vess, together with Lando Calrissian. It all centers around a game of sabacc that has, apparently, pretty high stakes. You can check out the trailer for the new (purchasable) update below.
A free update was also launched for all players who own the game, however, that was based on player reactions. The developers made some pretty significant changes aimed at improving playability and sparking new life into the game, and the most significant change was them dropping the forced stealth mechanic. Basically, though the game was billed as being open world, there were plenty of situations where the game forced you to sneak around without being detected, and if you were spotted, you lost and had to start the stealth mission over. Now, you can still sneak around, but if you get caught, you have the option to just pull out your blaster and try to fight your way out of there.
This is a huge change, as there were plenty of anecdotal comments online about players who gave up after these forced stealth moments – especially those that happened strangely early in the game. Removing this mechanic is a huge win for players, and hopefully it causes some people to give it another try after giving up due to the frustration of this admittedly bad mechanic.
Star Wars Outlaws is far from perfect, but it’s enjoyable. And it just got better.
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