As part of the ongoing overhaul of Star Wars Outlaws that Ubisoft hopes will turn it into the must-play Star Wars game it should’ve been right from the start, new creative director Drew Rechner has announced that “forced stealth” is being removed from the game almost entirely.
The extent to which Star Wars Outlaws is a stealth game came as something of a surprise, given how much the pre-release promo materials (and Star Wars itself) focused on the joys of blasting stuff. But in an update posted today, Rechner acknowledged that some people just don’t dig it, and that missions requiring players to avoid detection “could feel frustrating or unfair.” Those feelings were exacerbated by the game’s sometimes “unpredictable and inconsistent” stealth mechanics.
And so, it’s out: Stealth requirements are being removed from “almost all” quest objectives. Sneaking around will remain an option, and the best way to approach some missions, but the change means that if you’re caught, you’ll be able to start shooting instead of being reset to the previous checkpoint.
Rechner said the change is “our first step in expanding player choice,” a point he touched on when he was announced as the new creative director of Star Wars Outlaws earlier in November.
“We know many of you enjoy the stealth approach, so it was important to us to preserve that playstyle while also giving you the freedom to decide how to tackle each mission,” he wrote. “Ultimately, you’ll have the choice to sneak, go in combat-first, or—my personal favorite—sneak until you’re caught and then blast your way out.”
Combat will also be enabled in “syndicate districts,” which players previously had to sneak into if they weren’t on good terms with the syndicate in question: Now, they’ll be able to enter these areas peacefully if they’ve built up a good rep, sneak in as they could previously, or just hammer through.
Personally, I like stealth in videogames: If I have the option to sneak through quietly and drop no bodies as I go, that’s the path I’m going to take. Any beefy clown can hose down a room with a portable autocannon, after all, but getting through with nothing but a pistol, a silencer, and some cool sunglasses takes a professional. But good detection systems are an essential part of that, and mandatory stealth bits in games that really don’t have it nailed down are indeed incredibly frustrating.
Star Wars Outlaws’ stealth changes will be rolled out as part of the big title update 1.4.0, which will also see significant rework to the game’s combat and controls. It’s scheduled to go live on November 21, which is also when Star Wars Outlaws comes to Steam.
