Summary
After over a year of waiting,Star Wars Outlawsis now just a few short weeks away. Ubisoft has ensured thatStar Wars Outlawsis absolutely everywhere in the lead-up to release, with several previews dropping over the last few weeks, and a plethora of gameplay trailers and breakdowns having been released recently. During these recent previews and pre-release events,Star Wars Outlaws' developershave been very open about their influences and how they’ve found their way into the open-worldStar Warsgame.
One such influence seems to beGrand Theft Auto, withStar Wars Outlawsfeaturing a ‘Wanted’ mechanic that sees the Empire hunt down the player should their illegal activities become too prolific. But some recent previews have confirmed thatStar Wars Outlawswon’t be going fullGTA. While players can blast their way through criminal gangs, they can’t steal from or murder civilian NPCs, but that’s probably the best decision for a game likeStar Wars Outlaws.
Not Allowing Players to Kill NPCs is The Right Move for Star Wars Outlaws
Killing NPCs Wouldn’t Fit Kay Vess' Character Type
As the game’s title implies,Star Wars Outlawswill put players in the boots ofthe outlaw Kay Vess. While theStar Warsuniverse has plenty of outlaws that aren’t afraid to murder their way to glory, Kay Vess isn’t one of those. Instead, Vess takes after iconicStar Warssmugglers before her, like Han Solo, Lando Calrissian, and the Legends scoundrel Dash Rendar. While these characters are more than willing to get their hands dirty, they don’t tend to murder in cold blood. If aStar Warssmuggler does end up directly killing someone, it’s usually in self-defense, or as a result of some kind of semi-honorable standoff or duel.
So, with Kay Vess seeming like she’ll fit the usualStar Warssmuggler archetype, it makes complete sense forStar Wars Outlawsto stop players from killing civilian NPCs. Being able to murder any NPC also wouldn’t fitStar Wars' overarching tone. Though there have been plenty of darkerStar Warsstories over the years, it wouldn’t feel tonally right to allow the main protagonist of a story to be a serial murderer who kills innocents on a whim.
Killing NPCs Could Wreak Havoc on Star Wars Canon
Set betweenStar Wars: The Empire Strikes BackandStar Wars: Return of the Jedi,Star Wars Outlawsdepicts the Empire at the very height of its power. At this point in the timeline, the Empire has scattered the Rebel fleet to the wind and is now spending its time and resources trying to curb criminal activity across the galaxy, often in some pretty extreme ways. If Kay Vess started murdering civilians – even inthe Outer Rim– the Empire would likely hunt her down quickly in an attempt to ‘keep the peace’.
Though it’s technically set five years beforeA New Hope,the first season ofAndorshows the Empire’s ruthlessness. After accidentally killing one Imperial officer and murdering another to hide his tracks, Cassian Andor is hunted across the galaxy by the Imperial Bureau of Standards officer Syril Karn. If players were allowed to kill NPCs inStar Wars Outlaws, then it would quickly break the universe’s pre-established canon.
