Star Wars Outlaws: Wild Card (XS)

Reviewer’s Note: Due to certain critiques and praises I make, some story SPOILERS for both Outlaws (the main game) and Wild Card will be detailed down below.  Although I try to be as limited as possible, read on at your own risk.

One of the most effective barbed comments that I’ve experienced is this: “almost, but not quite.”  There’s a different sort of sting associated with it, and it almost always comes with exaggerated facial contortions if heard in-person.  “Bless your heart for trying, but it’s not good enough.”  As uncomfortable as such a judgment is, it fits Ubisoft’s progress with Star Wars Outlaws ever since its – to put it mildly – depressing release.  This new expansion, Wild Card, comes conjoined with Title Update 1.4, which tries to mollify multiple launch-window gameplay critiques.  And though both additions positively move the needle, that saying keeps coming back to me: “almost, but not quite.”

It’s important to note that before even accessing Wild Card you’ll need to complete The Gunsmith quest, which is a fair amount into the main campaign.  It’s a solid jumping-off point in this context too.  Enough time has passed for players to acclimatize to Kay Vess and her stakes; plus, the newfound danger she’s in works best alongside her active death mark with Zerek Besh.  Whether from canned dialogue across Toshara or after extricating the pickled alien, Bosnok, from his grasp, Governor Thorden’s reputation and chicanery precede him.  His terms are simple: win a high-stakes Sabacc game aboard The Morenia for a mineral-rich moon or he’ll “leak” forged info that Kay Vess is an undercover Imperial spy.

Naturally, getting into this tournament isn’t so simple.  Kay’s plan is two-fold:

For someone who’d already completed the Sabacc side quest – and had already beaten the returning Lando Calrissian – it’s suspicious how Kay didn’t get her invitation through the mail.  Potential plot hole aside, one of Wild Card’s best assets comes from covering all of Outlaws’ gameplay fundamentals: space combat, on-foot exploration, platforming, stealth, combat, and so on.  From variety to wealth of cinematics, it’s the kind of substantive side content that the main game desperately needed.  Granted, the $15 premium for said content implies it’d be more comprehensive, but my broader point is I’d happily trade in more of the base game’s filler for this level of ambition.

And it’s not just limited to the grander scope.  Once onboard The Morenia, Outlaws’ under-appreciated means of information acquisition is expanded upon.  Trying to cadge the last Sabacc invitation from another unidentified woman demands Kay eavesdrop on various individuals, learn more about her, find a master keycard, and so on until eventually acquiring the means to blackmail her.  The more discerning eye can also uncover insider info about other Sabacc competitors.  While the multiple options aren’t wildly diverse, this is the closest Massive Entertainment has gotten to touching classic RPGs (minus the skill checks), and that’s great company to be in; that said, for all the implied flexibility of getting a ‘master keycard,’ you can immediately tell that’s false advertising.  Steps in the right direction, but only baby steps.

After that gameplay slice, the meat of Wild Card’s gameplay tempo plays out mostly the same.  The aforementioned cheating tells of other competitors, which along with other rule changes add greater stakes, but any Sabacc veteran will catch the gist of it.  After that, there’s a greater interest in on-foot escapes, platforming, stealth, and combat which anyone will be familiar with by now.  It’s similar, but also slightly better and more expansive.  The fact that my brain had to fire a few neurons for some puzzle-platforming segments left me genuinely confounded.  While not ranking up there with the likes of Botany Manor, several brainteasers manage the balance of being challenging enough alongside the mass-market lowest common denominator.

Moreso than its improved design, this DLC is inextricably linked to the aforementioned Version 1.4 title update.  They released concurrently, after all.  Admittedly, Massive did address several of my secondary critiques.  It is genuinely nice to be able to shoulder-swap the aiming reticle, keep special two-handed blasters while rope-swinging or climbing ladders, and see higher damage output for blaster bolts.  It’s also nice how a guard’s alert state doesn’t feel so localized and limited, but their detection cone remains lackluster.  Of course, the immediate retort to these updates is obvious: “how were these not available at launch?”  It’s a fair point too.

The overarching contention comes down to how much updates and inventive nuances add to the formula overall.  Because although it’s safe to say there’s an added layer of polish to stealth and fighting dynamics, they’re still latched onto a rudimentary foundation, with certain polishes feeling half-measured.  Sure, Kay can now latch a two-handed blaster with her, until she hits an invisible wall where she randomly drops it.  Controls for shooting, driving, etc. feel more taut and satisfying, but the world and combat encounters still don’t capture much exciting dynamism compared to better contemporaries.  There’s a modest mixture of both new and old locations, though none of the story beats within the familiar Toshara environs are memorable.

Outside of the setup & payoff surrounding the Sabacc tournament itself, Wild Card’s story also fails to feel memorable.  Like with the main campaign, there are some fun interactions between Kay, ND-5, and Nix, but less so with Lando.  The regurgitated dynamic of him telling her to do something and then she begrudgingly does so was played out by the end.  The plot does move at a steady rate, with a few intriguing double-crosses fit for this scoundrel life, and the setup is quite unique; and yet, the way everything culminates feels so flat.  It genuinely seems like there was one bigger finale waiting to come that never happens.  That’s such a tough sell too when the most one can squeeze out of this is a modest three hours (even less on lower difficulties).  Even by my value emphasis on quality over quantity, it’s impossible to ignore that missing final crescendo.

Star Wars Outlaws: Wild Card carries a unique burden as both a mid-range DLC focused on a new side story and Ubisoft’s second effort to revive the main game’s reputation.  It’s Cyberpunk 2077 all over again, but without nearly the same ambition.  To its credit, my overall attitude towards Outlaws isn’t as jagged now thanks to the updated improvements incorporated alongside this expansion; moreover, there are a couple of intriguing design nuances within this standalone story to appreciate.  Those improvements and additions – while worth noting – still leave me coming back to that aforementioned phrase: “almost, but not quite.”  The Force is still mid with this one.

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