One of the defining “tropes” of the last few years is big AAA developers or publishers releasing games, DLC, expansions, and everything in between in an unpolished state. Whether it be visual issues, not being optimized for certain platforms or systems, or the gameplay not being as refined as it could be, gamers are tired of developers/publishers releasing these titles and then spending months after launch trying to “fix them.” Case in point, Star Wars Outlaws was supposed to be one of the biggest titles of 2024, and yet, just a few months after release, no one is talking about it.
A big reason for that is that it was simply a “mediocre” action-adventure title. Many even noted it was just a “new skin” on the standard Ubisoft titles that have been released in recent years. To that end, Ubisoft promised to “update and fix things” over the course of key free patches. Today, the second “Dev Update” dropped, and it highlighted much of what would be fixed.
“First, we’ve updated the stats on all weapons and enemies, making headshots more rewarding and tuning armor and health for all enemy types, to differentiate archetypes and make them more distinct. We’ve also added weak points to enemies which allow you take down tough opponents with a well-placed precision shot at the right moment. To bring it all together, new defeat animations and hit reactions have been added to make sure hitting enemies is as rewarding and gratifying as it can be.”
The team also promised that they have adjusted the cover systems, and given players the ability to “go quiet or go loud” at any point in time, which is a huge shift from the game’s initial launch. Kay Vess’ can also hold new weapons a lot longer and will have new ways of using her blaster.
If any of this sounds odd, you’re not alone. On a Reddit thread where this dev update was dropped, Ubisoft was blasted by pretty much everyone due to how it was fixing just about everything possible to try and make the game playable.
Some even noted that the version of Star Wars Outlaws we got at launch was basically an “Early Access Model,” and it does feel that way at points. After all, Ubisoft is having to adjust the combat system, mission structure, and more just to make the game feel fun. That is the kind of stuff that should’ve been worked out in the testing phase, not post-launch.
The update comes out on November 21st.
