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Star Wars Outlaws: A Compact and Detailed Open-World Adventure

Ubisoft has revealed more details about its highly anticipated open-world adventure game, Star Wars Outlaws, set to launch in 2024. Unlike some of Ubisoft's previous massive titles, Star Wars Outlaws promises a more concise experience, with the main story clocking in at around 30 hours.

A Manageable Epic

Ubisoft’s Massive Entertainment, the studio behind The Division 2 and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, is developing Star Wars Outlaws. Set in the vast Star Wars universe, this game allows players to explore multiple planets and cities. However, the developers have intentionally designed it to be more manageable in scope. Creative director Julian Gerighty clarified in an interview with VGC:

"Very early on, we decided this is going to be a 25-30 hour golden path adventure, 50-60 hours for completionists, and that is, for a guy with a family and a job, it’s still a fair amount of time. But it’s not Assassin’s Creed epic, 200 hours’ worth of gameplay, so that allows us to really focus on the detail."

Quality Over Quantity

This approach is a shift from Ubisoft’s recent trend of expansive, time-consuming open-world games like Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. By limiting the game's length, the team can ensure that each element of the game is polished and detailed, providing a rich, immersive experience without overwhelming the player.

Detailed and Immersive Worlds

The hands-on preview by Kotaku’s Alyssa Mercante highlighted the game's impressive level of detail. Mercante mentioned the desire to stop and take in the intricate environments, which suggests that the focus on quality and detail is already paying off.

Streamlined Development and Gameplay

Gerighty also discussed the importance of setting achievable goals early in development:

"I’m a big believer in creating a plan early on that is exciting, ambitious, but also achievable."

This philosophy has led to some features being cut for manageability, such as swimming, which was initially considered but later removed to keep the project focused and within scope.

Engaging Mini-Games

Interestingly, the development process also saw the addition of unplanned features that enhance the gameplay experience. Gerighty noted:

"All of the mini-games [like Sabacc and the arcade games] that we have... none of those were planned originally, so those were added during the development."

A Promising Adventure

From the looks of it, Star Wars Outlaws is shaping up to be a well-rounded and engaging title that balances depth with accessibility. The game aims to cater to both hardcore fans of the series and players with limited time on their hands.

Looking Ahead

Ubisoft plans to showcase more of Star Wars Outlaws at upcoming events like Gamescom and Comic-Con. This will provide further insights into the open-world mechanics and detailed environments that players can expect.

A Focus on Detail

The demo shown at Summer Game Fest 2023 received mixed reviews, with some criticisms comparing it to older games like Uncharted: Golden Abyss. However, Gerighty emphasized that this demo was just a small taste of the full experience:

"You get one demo for all of the shows that we’re going to go to during the year... This is an amuse-bouche, it’s a starter rather than the main course for the game."

He reassured that the full game offers a compelling and detailed experience beyond what was shown in the demo.

In conclusion, Star Wars Outlaws looks set to deliver a tightly crafted, immersive adventure that prioritizes quality and depth over sheer size. With its focused development approach and commitment to creating a detailed and engaging world, Ubisoft’s latest entry into the Star Wars universe is one to watch.

This reimagined article provides a comprehensive overview of Star Wars Outlaws, incorporating all key details and quotes from the original sources while maintaining a structured, engaging format suitable for a game news piece.