Star Wars Outlawsisn’t a perfect game by any stretch of the imagination, but I definitely feel like it gets a lot more criticism than it deserves. Of course, at launch, it was in a much worse state, but Ubisoft has worked hard to get it to an acceptable level, including implementing some much-needed fixes. As a result, excitement for the upcoming Switch 2 release is much higher than it otherwise would have been.
However, as much as I’m excited forOutlaws’Switch 2 launch, there is some trepidation still lingering. After all,the Switch 2 version absolutely has to launch with a number of critical fixes that address the game’s biggest issues, or else risk suffering the same fate as the rest ofOutlaws’versions. Frankly, that must be avoided at all costs, as I’m not sure theStar Warsbrand or Ubisoft can afford to take such a hit right now.
Star Wars Outlaws Didn’t Launch In The Best State
It Performed Poorly On PC And Consoles
WhenStar Wars Outlawslaunched back in 2024, it did so in a pretty sorry state.Performance was bad across the board, especially on PC, and there were several gameplay features that felt underbaked and poorly implemented. The worst offender wasOutlaws’awful stealth mechanics, which resulted in players failing missions constantly, or humorous encounters with enemies that didn’t react to Kay, even when she was right next to them.
Fortunately, Ubisoft pushed out numerous impressiveStar Wars Outlawspatchesthat addressed many of the game’s biggest criticisms, vastly improving stealth, the game’s difficulty, combat, and so much more. While it wasn’t quite aNo Man’s Skyrevival, these updates did enough to makeOutlawsa significantly better game. Of course,these major fixes must be present in the Nintendo Switch 2 version, alongside all the optimization work that Ubisoft poured into the other console and PC versions.
IfStar Wars Outlawslaunches in a poor state on the Nintendo Switch 2, even if it features the many gameplay improvements, it will likely sell poorly. Third-party games are alreadyunderselling on Switch 2, soOutlawsreally doesn’t need bad performance getting in the way of whatever sales it can manage. Ubisoft needs to ensure this is the best version ofOutlawsit can provide, as it can’t blame theStar WarsIP a second time if the game fails.
Ubisoft Blames Star Wars for Outlaws' Performance
It Believes The Brand To Be In “Choppy Waters”
Ubisoft attempted toblame the Star Wars IPfor Outlaws' initial failure, with the CEO, Yves Guillemot, referring to it as being in “choppy waters”. It is an understandable position, especially considering the varying quality of theStar WarsTV shows, as well as the lack of new movies. However,Outlaws’problems extended far beyond the IP having lost its luster a little over the past few years.
Not only have players grown tired of Ubisoft’s tried-and-tested formula, butthere is also a general exhaustion around repetitive, map-marker farming open-world games.Star Wars Outlawsjust didn’t do enough to either live up to the potential of its name or to push the open-world genre forward in an interesting way.
The Switch 2 version ofStar Wars Outlawsis unlikely to contain any groundbreaking gameplay changes that fix this, but by now, players know what to expect. Once the discourse surroundingOutlawsdied down, people came to see it as a genuinely good game. There’s enough here forStar Warsfans to enjoy, and a few novel changes to the open-world formula - albeit not enough - to keep things fresh for a few hours. So long as the Switch 2 version ofStar Wars Outlawsruns flawlessly, there shouldn’t be any issues.
