I played Star Wars Outlaws for four hours — here are 27 surprising things I've learned

You’ll know all that if you’ve seen any of the trailers, though.

So, here are 27 things you might not know, which I learned from a recent preview event, where I played four hours of the game across two different planets.

In an exciting update, can now check out the video version at the top of this page! It is also available, along with lots more, on our Radio Times Gaming YouTube channel.

1. NPCs are not to be trusted

After arriving on a moon named Toshara, one of the first things that happened to me is that I got scammed by an NPC, someone that was selling VIP tickets in the cantina.

My main quest was telling me to enter the private lounge of a crime boss, and this random guy near the entrance tricked me into handing over 50 credits for a bogus ticket. After I was denied entry to the lounge, the NPC was gone, and my credits with him.

2. Crime pays!

It took me a minute to work out how to make that 50 credits in the first place. It turns out that you can send Nix, your little alien creature friend, to pickpocket almost anyone. A well-timed button press will earn you the contents of their pockets, be that currency or weaponry like grenades.

3. Nix is the real MVP

That’s not all he can do, either! You can also use Nix to distract enemies, allowing you to sneak past, or to attack them outright. He can also press buttons for you to open doors. Handy in some of the puzzling segments!

4. Sabacc is hard

Unlike the winningly simple Pazaak from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Han Solo’s favourite game will take you a while to learn. You’ll find Sabacc tables in numerous spots throughout the cosmos. The robot dealer is cool, but the rules will take some getting used to!

In other gambling news, you can also make money by gambling on the space horses. You’ll see holographic tables in various locations around the galaxy, where all the animals racing have different stats and form for you to consider. This can make you a quick buck, or it can backfire and leave you out of pocket.

5. Kay is from Canto Bight

Speaking of gambling, our hero Kay Vess mentions at one point that she heralds from the casino planet Canto Bight (previously seen, and hated by some, in The Last Jedi). This means that the various ways of making money in the game are all very familiar to her.

6. It's more like Assassin's Creed than 'GTA in space'

Although there is plenty of casual crime, a lot of the gameplay hinges on sneaking into bases and extracting information without getting caught. To me, this gameplay loop feels more like Assassin’s Creed Mirage than GTA. The pickpocketing also has that AC vibe.

7. The stealth can be quite strict

There are some areas where you physically cannot use your weapons. In these places, it’ll probably take you multiple attempts to work out the perfect unseen route past the guards. If you’re caught, you’ll either be ejected from the base altogether or sent back to your most recent checkpoint.

8. Enemies ain't too smart

Once I was through the stealth segment on Toshara, I was into a combat scenario. After a few deaths and adjustments to my strategy, I found the right spot to pick off enemies from. With their AI decision-making not being too impressive, the whole gang just kept running into the danger zone for me to blast them one by one.

9. Choices are quite binary

Will you give the intel to this gang or that gang? Once I’d finished the combat and picked up the important intel from the base, that was the binary choice I was offered. There was no real option to be sneaky about it, or keep the information to yourself, or give it to both gangs. This did feel like a tutorial segment, though, so perhaps later choices will offer some deeper variety.

10. Gangs can be quite forgetful

After deciding to take pity on the the gang boss whose base I had just robbed, telling him that one of his deputies was conspiring against him, I was in his good books (despite the fact I had just robbed his base). Because of this, I could walk straight into the base and make use of its facilities.

The guards I’d been shooting very recently were now letting me pass without so much as a grumble. I guess memory isn’t their strong suit!

11. But random NPCs remember the olden days

In one cantina, I overheard someone saying, "Remember podracing?" So it’s not like nobody in this world has a memory. With the game being set partway through the original trilogy (between The Empire Strike Back and Return of the Jedi), it was nice to find a nod to a previous era.

12. Don't get too attached to one gang!

In one of the tutorial menus, the game tells you to expect betrayals. Basically, don’t bother getting too attached to any particular gang. We’d assume that the story puts you in all four of the criminal syndicates' crosshairs at one point or another.

13. You don't have to worry too much about Imperial heat

The game has a Wanted system (which, to be fair, is very GTA), but it doesn’t seem like this should worry you too much. An Imperial NPC on Kijimi, the snowy crime planet from The Rise of Skywalker, will offer to remove your Wanted status in exchange for credits. She’ll start talking to you as you walk from the ship to the town.

14. Droids can cook

I saw a couple of street food droids chopping away. Space mushrooms flying in the air as their robotic arms swung rapidly up and down. This is cool, but how can these droids be sure of the flavours?!

15. Quests can come from anywhere

You’ll occasionally see a prompt on the screen to 'listen'. Press the button indicated and Kay will lean on something to eavesdrop, picking up some intel you can act upon. The location of someone’s secret weapons stash, for example. This, again, felt quite Assassin’s Creed.

16. Exploration is important

In some segments, you’ll need to climb and swing and use your noggin to progress, similar to the platforming segments of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. With the game being sold more on its criminal element, this was a surprise to be sure… but a welcome one!

17. Yellow paint is on special

This will be an annoyance to some players, but the game does use bright yellow paint splashes and bright yellow ladders to show you the way forward at various points.

Read more on Star Wars Outlaws:

• Star Wars Outlaws lockpicking explained
• When is Star Wars Outlaws set? Timeline explained
• Star Wars Outlaws soundtrack
• Star Wars Outlaws planets
• Star Wars Outlaws trophy guide
• Star Wars Outlaws cast - all voice actors
• Star Wars Outlaws chapters
• Star Wars Outlaws review - our final verdict
• Is Star Wars Outlaws multiplayer?

18. Fall damage can be strict

A few times, I faced insta-death for daring to jump in the wrong direction. If you’re not meant to explore an area in that way, the game simply won’t let you. A lengthy loading screen will take you back to your most recent checkpoint.

19. Animals can also guide you

In a nice break from the yellow paint, at one point, a big owl-like bird on Kijimi highlighted the path I needed to take. I’d been trying for a while to find a route into a gang base, when a space owl landed on a ledge that could get me in there. This reminded me of Ahsoka’s bird companion from The Clone Wars and Rebels.

20. Speeder driving isn't easy

Whizzing chaotically around the wide-open world of Toshara, I fell off my speeder several times, and you do take fall damage when you crash off your bike like this. Ouch!

21. Arriving at a planet can have some drama

When I arrived at Kijimi, I had to manoeuvre through an asteroid field to gain access to the planet. I could see other ships approaching the world, too. This plus the weather effects made for an atmospheric arrival, with more drama than some games would have in their space segments.

22. Landing is a cut scene

Similar to Jedi: Survivor (and better than Starfield, which used old-fashioned loading screens instead), your arrival on a planet in Star Wars Outlaws is played in a seamless cut scene. After making my way through the asteroid field, I tapped the prompt to land, which trigged the cut scene. Not a loading screen in sight.

23. The hills are alive with the sound of crime

As I explored the open world on Toshara, I witnessed a pirate raid on a small village. Similar to the open-world crimes in games like Spider-Man, you can either choose to get involved or move along.

24. You'll see the villains' side of things

In the classic Star Wars fashion, you will get glimpses of what the baddies are up to. I saw one cut scene in between space segments, allowing me to witness what the other characters are doing, and how they are reacting to Kay’s decisions. Kay herself in unaware of these scenes, though. It’s not like she’s having visions. The player is just treated to some extra intel.

25. The stakes feel quite small

The main villain that I saw is very much interested in old ships, and seems annoyed that Kay has stolen the one that she has. It’s of a certain Corellian vintage and there aren’t many of them left. No, her ship is not the Millennium Falcon. This ship theft storyline does seem quite small in terms of stakes, especially compared to all the Death Stars in the Skywalker Saga.

26. You can pet the space dog

Nix is open to cuddles at any point, as are other creatures you’ll find in the world. At one point on Kijimi, I snuggled a big mammoth-looking thing in a stable. Animal lovers, rejoice!

27. In space, no one can hear you scream at the minigames

And finally, here’s one thing that rubbed me up slightly the wrong way: Star Wars Outlaws has two different lock-picking minigames.

One of them was fine (it’s like an intergalactic Wordle where you have to guess a sequence of symbols with a finite number of tries), but the other was frustrating to the point of being scream-inducing (you have to tap your triggers in time to the beeps on the screen, and I really never got the knack of it, resulting in some brute force button-mashing).

All in all, I found that Star Wars Outlaws was full of surprises. The low-stakes story didn’t really grab me, and the gameplay isn’t quite what I was expecting, but Kay and Nix are fun additions to the galaxy and it’s nice to play things from a morally grey place for a change.

I shall follow this one’s progress with great interest…

Star Wars Outlaws launches 30th August for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. You can order your copy from retailers including Amazon.

Read more on Star Wars:

• What was EA's cancelled Star Wars game? Layoff fallout explained
• Is Star Wars Outlaws multiplayer? What the developers have said
• Upcoming Star Wars games: Full list & all the key details
• Star Wars Outlaws editions: All prices and pre-order bonuses explained

Check out more of our Gaming coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.