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* This article is translated from IGN US related content, the original author is Ryan McCaffrey, the translation is Zoe, and the editor is Kamui Ye. Reproduction without authorization is prohibited.

It seems incredible that Star Wars: Outlaws is the first open-world Star Wars game, but it is. With this special "first" and the fact that the studio responsible for developing this game is Massive Entertainment, the developer of the Splinter Cell series, it will naturally receive a lot of expectations and is also very exciting.

I admit that I rarely get excited about open-world games made by studios other than Rockstar (after all, their games raise the bar with every release), but I am still quite excited about "Desperado". After all, the timeline of this game is set after "The Empire Strikes Back", the protagonist played by the player is an outlaw like Han Solo instead of a Jedi Knight, and there will be a magical alien pet named Nix who will always accompany him. He will provide a lot of assistance throughout the game, not just following the protagonist Kai Weiss around. In other words, just looking at this setting, you can feel that this game has a lot to look forward to.

Although Desperado doesn't seem as eye-catching as Rockstar's game, after spending four hours experiencing the final version of the game, I still think this is one of the games I'm most looking forward to in the second half of 2024, because it feels very "Star Wars".

Ubisoft is famous for producing "canned" open-world games. In their games, players often have a to-do list to deal with, which lists all the side quests and additional activities that need to be completed. These contents are usually outside the main quest, so calling them "canned" is not a compliment.

But I was impressed by some of the design in Star Wars: Desperadoes, and I didn't feel like I had to check off a list until I reached 100% completion. Don't get me wrong, there's still a lot to do in Desperadoes, but these side quests and activities feel more naturally designed than in other Ubisoft games.

For example, when I was wandering around Miroganari, a city on the planet Toshara, I accidentally saw a small game similar to an arcade, so I went over to play it out of curiosity. In addition, I accidentally found a holographic horse racing betting station where I could place bets. I was very lucky and bet on the right horse, but later I found a data board somewhere else, which actually gave players a very obvious hint on which horse to bet on.

Later, I met another gambling addict who was in trouble and asked me for money. I agreed to his request, which encouraged his bad habit. He also promised me that if he could get lucky again, he would share the fruits of victory with me in the future. Of course, there must be a bar near such a place. I walked in and saw a Shabak table, but because I was short of money at the time, I didn’t have enough money to buy chips to participate in the gambling.

Optional activities like these feel very natural throughout Desperadoes' planets and towns, thanks in part to the excellent art design that makes each location feel authentic to the Star Wars setting. From the lighting to the architecture to the NPCs that walk around, Massive has done a great job of creating a very realistic Star Wars setting based on what I've seen so far.

Of course, Star Wars: Outlaws also supports and enhances the atmosphere created above, and I would be remiss if I didn't mention this aspect. Everything Kai does is just to survive and protect herself in this law-abiding galaxy, and she will not hesitate to deceive and betray to achieve her goals.

The cutscenes in the game occasionally offer similar behavioral choices, adding some player autonomy to these movie-like Star Wars plot experiences. Will these choices affect the final direction of the plot? I dare not assert, but it is worth mentioning that this game has a reputation system that covers all major forces, which will record the favorability of various criminal organizations in the game towards you.

For example, betraying Jabba the Hutt will deduct your reputation with them, but it can improve your status in the Red Dawn. If you completely offend an organization, they will no longer allow you to enter their territory (which means that if you want to enter later, you must remain hidden and sneak in quietly).

However, you may be worried about how the stealth experience is in the actual game. Anyway, as far as my current experience is concerned, it is still quite exciting to play. As long as you want, you can play "Star Wars: Desperadoes" as a stealth game. In addition, there is another setting in this game that I particularly like, that is, if you accidentally flip over while trying to sneak, you can't use a lightsaber to solve the problem.

The only way to fight your way out of this situation is to use Kai's blaster (which you can upgrade as you go), which adds to the sense of desperation because you're no longer a lightsaber-wielding god of war. The blaster combat feels so dangerous that it makes the stealth gameplay so important, because I know that if I mess up, I'll have to face a melee.

Of course, stealth comes with lock picking, and I really like the way Desperadoes designed it, using data probes to pick locks. Each lock has a specific audio band that you can match with the correct trigger method. The longer you spend picking a lock, the more likely you are to be discovered.

Likewise, the hacking minigame is a lot of fun. You need to put the right symbols in the right order, which usually takes repeated attempts to succeed. Fail too many times and you'll be stuck. It took me a few tries to figure it out, but once I figured it out, I enjoyed every opportunity to hack.

The core of Desperado's stealth gameplay is the protagonist's god-level assistant, Nyx. Yes, Nyx is the equivalent of BD-1 in this game, but compared with Cal Kestis's robot partner, Kai's animal companion can do more for the player. Not only can he distract the enemy (for example, by playing dead to attract others' attention, which is very cute), but he can also directly attack them.

He can also interact with buttons and switches and retrieve items for you, which can be a real help when you're in a fight with a more powerful A300 blaster rifle across the room, as Nix can grab the gun and toss it at your feet without you leaving cover.

I even like how Desperado handles these big guns: they can't be reloaded, which means once you run out of bullets, you can just throw them away and switch back to your familiar blaster. This design consideration is probably to ensure that Kai's combat power is not too inflated, so that players always keep their toes during combat.

As an open-world Star Wars game, you need a vehicle to get around the world, and in Desperado, Kai has an upgradeable speeder bike. You can win credits by racing, and keep an eye out for interesting repair stations on the way to your destination. The bike handles really well, and it felt like driving a jet ski in Jet Ski 64, because it's so fast and easy to control, which is very different from flying a spaceship in space.

By the way, Kai has his own ship, the Trailblazer (yes, the ship can also be upgraded). I participated in a ship battle in outer space, which was really fun! Although it will take some time for me to fully master the relevant operations, this experience of flying the Trailblazer left me with a very good first impression.

If you ask me what was the most annoying thing during this trial, it would be the bugs in the game. Long before the trial of "Desperado" was held, the official gold version had been announced, which means that even if I didn't play the final version, it was almost the final version.

Granted, this game will certainly get a day one patch like most games do these days, but it's still disappointing to see so many annoying little issues, even if most of them are visual bugs and don't affect the main story. Hopefully, the day one patch will fix most of them.

Overall, I had a great time with Star Wars: Desperadoes. Open world games are often destined to be a little bit of everything, and while I'm not sure if Desperadoes has the ability to dig deeper into the various gameplay options, it does seem to be a reasonable design that also exudes a strong Star Wars vibe.

Since there has never been an open-world Star Wars game before, this feels both fresh and exciting. It will be released on August 30th this fall, and I am very excited to welcome such a well-known IP to the game, and I can't wait to experience it in depth.