With a fairly loose and unengaging plot connecting primary events,Star Wars Outlawsreaches its zenith when players disregard the golden path and explore whichever planet they’re on with only the compass to guide them. This way, players will come across points of interest labeled with question marks and see tiny interaction dots over the heads of certain NPCs who they can talk to. Intel will lead players all overStar Wars Outlaws’ open-world corner of the galaxy, but seeing it on their own is a treat that shouldn’t be rushed. That said, while open exploration is basically available from the time Kay Vess and Nix arrive on Toshara and hop on the speeder, players will want to discover and progress Expert quests as soon as possible.
Some Experts don’t become available until players seek them out on whichever planet they reside, and thus it’s actually more efficient and advantageous for players to visit each planet as soon as they can rather than spending a ton of time on one planet before moving on to another. Many Experts have quests that are largely forgettable if not menial but whose skills are incredibly worthwhile to work toward thereafter; meanwhile, theExpert MT-7 and his quest on Akivaare not only terrific for added lore and exceptional abilities but also provide what is the most devastatingly emotional story beat in the whole game.
EachStar Wars OutlawsExperthas a quest to follow that unlocks their respective skill and ability path when complete, and MT-7’s is called “The Veteran.” Before players begin it or even know who its associable Expert NPC is, the droid’s blurry hologram portrait in the middle of the Expert screen could easily be mistaken for ND-5 since players may not assume they’d be finding another BX Commando.
There’s intriguing lore here tied to the fact that MT-7, like ND-5, is from the Clone Wars 25 years ago, which begs the question of why MT-7 is stranded and unable to move. Barely functioning, MT-7 repeatedly denies that he’s physically broken as players learn he has been marooned there since arriving and was caught in a monsoon that destroyed the site.
Kay and ND-5 help the broken BX-series Commando droidbelieve his mission was a success before he shuts down, with ND-5 telling him that he is sending General Grievous his personal commendations on behalf of MT-7’s acts of service. None of this is true, but allowing MT-7 to think it is before he essentially ‘dies’ is profoundly poignant for a side quest buried amid countless others inStar Wars Outlaws.
As a cherry on top, MT-7 asks for permission to speak freely before finally admitting that he is broken in a moment of startling transparency.
Star Wars Outlaws is Further Evidence of How Special Droids Can Be as Characters
Star Wars’ droids have always expressed varying degrees of humanity, whether that has been through B1 battle droids being naively and inquisitively humorous or companion droids showcasing loyalty and compassion to the characters they travel with—even GNK power droids have a wealth of personality.Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order’s BD-1 is an abundant source of joy, for instance, and while ND-5 plays the role of a dutiful, emotionless droid inOutlawshe shows great emotion in his words and actions, even when a restraining bolt is causing him to act involuntarily.
It’s painfully obvious that ND-5 will be a good and likable characterby the end ofStar Wars Outlawsregardless of how cold and dismissive he can be. Still, it makes for a terrific and pulse-pounding chase sequence where ND-5 becomes a pursuer, and how he handles the situation with MT-7 is perhaps the greatest representation of his goodness while also showcasing MT-7’s tragic desire to be a valuable soldier in the Clone Wars as he’s programmed to be and not let down his superiors and unit.
