Star Wars Outlaws shows off gameplay in two extensive trailers

Ubisoft has kicked off its Ubisoft Forward presentation by showing off a bunch of gameplay in different scenarios and situations from Star Wars Outlaws. Its proposition of putting us in the shoes of an underworld smuggler (and no Force users in sight) and her little alien companion as they travel from planet to planet working for galactic crime syndicates is an excellent starting premise.

But with today's footage, it's clear that there's a lot more going on here. Outlaws, despite having some of the tropes we associate with the French publisher, feels like a new avenue away from Assassin's Creed, Far Cry and other safe values moving forward.

Kay Vess and Nix travel the galaxy and battle all manner of ships, in random events like defending a cargo ship or hunting down a fugitive. They then descend upon the planet (with a brief and well-disguised loading screen) and then exit the ship on our motorbike and head to a nearby location, where a scene and a blaster firefight takes place. Lots of genuine sense that this does feel like Star Wars.

We've also seen something akin to a reputation system, where supporting one faction can mean alienating another. We could be allied with the Pyke against the Crimson Dawn, or perhaps work for the Hutt. The possibilities are wide-ranging, and it seems that while there will be a central narrative about the protagonist, there will also be scope to create your own story.

30 August is not too far away now. Star Wars Outlaws is coming to PC, PS5 and Xbox Series with various physical and digital editions.