| Star Wars Outlaws | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Release Date | Gameplay & Story | Pre-Order & DLC | Review |
Star Wars Outlaws (Switch 2) Review Overview
What is Star Wars Outlaws (Switch 2)?
Star Wars Outlaws, now ported into Switch 2, is an open-world action-adventure played from a third-person perspective, offering a rich blend of combat, exploration, and spacefaring mechanics. On the ground, players will engage in hand-to-hand combat, gunplay, and stealth sequences, utilizing Kay Vess's skills to outmaneuver and outfight enemies. Her companion, Nix, plays a crucial role by distracting enemies, retrieving items, and activating controls, enhancing the tactical depth of encounters. Combat extends to space aboard Kay's ship, The Trailblazer, where players will participate in larger-scale battles against massive vessels, promising a thrilling experience in the vast expanse of space.
Star Wars Outlaws (Switch 2) features:
⚫︎ Dynamic Reputation System
⚫︎ Seamless Space Exploration
⚫︎ Companion Mechanics
⚫︎ Extensive Customization
⚫︎ Fast Travel
⚫︎ Massive Open-World
⚫︎ Upgradeable Abilities
⚫︎ Diverse Culinary Experiences
For more gameplay details, read everything we know about Star Wars Outlaws' gameplay and story.
| Digital Storefronts | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Ubisoft |
 Steam |
 Epic |
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 PlayStation |
 Xbox |
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| Price | $69.99 | ||||
 Switch 2 |
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| Price | $59.99 | ||||
Star Wars Outlaws (Switch 2) Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
 Strong and Engaging Story Varied Side Quests Faction Reputation System Adds Depth |
Visual Downgrade from PC and Consoles Enemy Swarming During Stealth Infiltrations Audio Bugs Bbreak Immersion |
Star Wars Outlaws (Switch 2) Story - 9/10
The story of Outlaws thrives on Kay Vess’s journey, giving her believable motivations and a compelling emotional core that makes her easy to root for. The pacing works well across the campaign, with enough twists and betrayals to keep the underworld politics engaging without overstaying their welcome. Memorable moments—particularly in Kay and ND-5’s relationship—anchor the narrative in a way that feels authentically Star Wars. The only thing holding it back from a perfect score is the predictability of a few plot beats that you’ll likely see coming.
Star Wars Outlaws (Switch 2) Gameplay - 8/10
Moment-to-moment gameplay is exciting, with a strong loop of stealth, combat, and exploration. Controls are responsive and the systems—from ship dogfights to faction reputation—add meaningful depth to the outlaw fantasy. That said, Switch 2 players will still notice restrictions, such as the inability to save during certain quests and design tweaks like the removal of forced stealth that introduce frustration rather than freedom. These flaws don’t ruin the fun, but they prevent gameplay from reaching the razor-sharp consistency it aims for.
Star Wars Outlaws (Switch 2) Visuals - 7/10
The Switch 2 version maintains enough fidelity to keep the galaxy immersive, with well-designed characters and environments that feel distinctly Star Wars. Performance is stable, but the cap at 30 fps and an overly dark color palette noticeably reduce clarity during play. While planets still carry personality and atmosphere, it’s hard not to compare the downgraded lighting and textures to other consoles. The result is visuals that are serviceable but rarely impressive.
Star Wars Outlaws (Switch 2) Audio - 7/10
The soundtrack and voice acting carry the cinematic Star Wars flair, with music swelling at key moments and actors delivering strong performances. Environmental sound design also helps immerse you in cantinas, spaceports, and battlefields. Unfortunately, audio bugs on Switch 2—like fight scenes that fail to trigger bgm—sometimes break immersion and pull you out of the experience.
Star Wars Outlaws (Switch 2) Value for Money - 8/10
At $59.99, the game offers a substantial single-player experience with a lengthy campaign, side content, and replayability through faction systems and exploration. For Switch 2 players, portability adds value, letting you live out your outlaw fantasy on the go. However, visual downgrades and minor technical issues make it harder to recommend over other versions when they cost almost the same. It’s a fair price if Switch 2 is your only option, but not the best deal for those with alternatives.
Star Wars Outlaws (Switch 2) Overall Score - 78/100
Star Wars Outlaws is an undeniably strong action-adventure game, and the Switch 2 port keeps its heart intact with engaging missions, memorable characters, and a scoundrel story worth experiencing. However, technical compromises, QoL limitations, and audiovisual downgrades keep it from hitting the same highs as other platforms. For Switch-only players, this is still a worthy adventure that delivers the outlaw fantasy as promised. For everyone else, the better experience lies on more powerful hardware.
Star Wars Outlaws (Switch 2) Review: A Noticeable Downgrade
The Force is Still Strong
You ever notice how some games come out swinging, only to trip over their own feet the moment they hit the spotlight? That was Star Wars Outlaws last year. If you weren’t living under a rock, you probably heard it called everything from "a wasted license" to "one of the worst-rated Star Wars titles in recent memory." And honestly? I get it. The criticisms weren’t baseless—gameplay that could’ve been better, questionable design choices, expectations that were set sky-high and then came crashing down. The internet had its field day.
When I sat down to review Outlaws on Xbox at launch, I did what I always do—look at the game for what it is, not for what people wished it would be. Yes, the stealth wasn’t as tight as Assassin’s Creed. No, it didn’t hit the same highs as some other space epics. But since when did a game need to be a carbon copy of other games to earn its keep? My score reflected the experience I had, not the shadow of the games people wanted it to imitate.
Fast forward a year, and here we are again—except this time, I’m holding a Switch 2 in my hands. Having already sunk hours into the original release, patches, and all, I was curious to see how well the galaxy-sized scoundrel adventure translated to Nintendo’s new machine. Is it worth picking up again? Or is this just another case of a big game being squeezed onto smaller hardware for the sake of portability?
Before we jump into the nitty-gritty of the port itself, let’s backtrack for a second. Maybe you skipped Outlaws when it launched, maybe you tuned out after all the drama. Either way, let me get you up to speed.
The Outlaw Life
Star Wars Outlaws doesn’t give you a Jedi, a Sith, or a lightsaber. Instead, it hands you something rarer in the Star Wars galaxy: a nobody. You play as Kay Vess, a thief, a smuggler, a scoundrel scraping by in the cracks between empires and syndicates. The Galactic Empire is still stomping its boots across the stars, Rebels are busy making history elsewhere, and Kay? She just wants to live long enough to find her freedom.
It’s a refreshing perspective, honestly. Instead of being chosen by destiny, you’re just trying to make rent in the galaxy’s underworld. Kay’s journey kicks off after she finds herself with a bounty on her head, forcing her into a life of jobs, cons, and desperate deals. Alongside her partner-in-crime, Nix, and eventually, ND-5—a gruff, war-weary droid with more layers than you expect—you’ll carve a path through crime families, syndicates, and imperial entanglements.
What struck me, even the first time I played, was how Outlaws captures that lived-in, grimy Star Wars feel. You’re not the hero flying an X-Wing into Death Star trenches; you’re slipping through cantinas filled with bounty hunters eyeing your every move. Planets feel less like tourist brochures and more like places where people actually survive—scrapyards, shadow markets, and dusty towns where the wrong glance can get you shot.
And when you’re not dealing with the galaxy’s worst on the ground, you’re up in the stars. One of the game’s biggest hooks is how seamlessly you can jump into your ship, the Trailblazer, and blast off into space. One moment you’re shaking down a syndicate boss on Tatooine, the next you’re dodging TIE Fighters in orbit. It’s that outlaw fantasy wrapped up in a single package—planetside jobs, shady deals, space dogfights, and all the risks that come with living outside the law.
So, that’s the gist, Outlaws isn’t about saving the galaxy, it’s about surviving it. And with that groundwork laid out, let’s talk about how this all feels when crammed into the shiny new box that is the Switch 2.
Visuals and Audio Ported Badly
The first thing that smacked me in the face with the Switch 2 port was just how much of a downgrade it felt compared to the Xbox version. Let’s not sugarcoat it—this isn’t a pretty port. The visuals are capped at 30 frames per second, which, in itself, wouldn’t be the end of the world if it looked sharp. But what you actually get is a game that feels consistently too dark, almost muddy. I pushed the brightness slider as high as it would go, and still found myself squinting at the screen, leaning in to catch details I had no problem seeing on Xbox. The worlds in Outlaws are meant to feel lived-in and gritty, but on Switch 2 they sometimes cross the line into murky, like the console is actively hiding details it can’t render cleanly. And for a game that’s only ten dollars cheaper than the other platforms, that’s a hard pill to swallow.
Performance-wise, I’ll give credit where it’s due: it does run smoothly. There’s no stuttering or major hitching, and the stability is better than I was bracing myself for. But there’s a difference between "stable" and "satisfying." The capped frame rate means dogfights in space lack the fluid rush you’d feel elsewhere. It’s playable, sure—but that’s not the same as saying it shines.
Then there’s the audio, which was one of the strongest points of the Xbox version. The sound design of Star Wars is half the immersion—you can close your eyes and tell you’re in that universe from the hum of a blaster or the distant wail of a TIE Fighter. On Switch 2, though, the audio sometimes just cuts out. Dialogue drops for a second. Environmental sounds fade when they shouldn’t. The issues aren’t constant, but they’re frequent enough that they stick in your mind, and once you notice them, it’s hard to stop noticing. When you remember how rich and atmospheric the Xbox soundscape was, the Switch 2 version feels like someone turned down the volume on the galaxy.
The saving grace is that the core systems hold together. Load times are quick, controls are snappy enough, and I personally didn’t experience crashes, even though I’ve read reports of others hitting them. So yes, the port works. But "it works" isn’t exactly glowing praise. When you’re dropping nearly full price, you expect more than serviceable compromises, especially for a game that thrives on its atmosphere. And atmosphere is exactly what this port undermines.
Delivers the Outlaw Fantasy
The main quest sticks to a familiar formula, but what keeps things fresh is the abundance of side quests that add variety and texture. You’re not just doing the same cookie-cutter objectives over and over; the game keeps you bouncing between infiltrations, heists, shootouts, and high-speed escapes. One moment you’re sneaking into a crime lord’s compound to lift valuable data, the next you’re haggling with shady contacts in a cantina, only to end up blasting your way out when the deal inevitably goes sideways. These side quests flesh things out without bogging them down—small but memorable slices of outlaw life that break up the mainline story.
Progression is tied closely to how you choose to navigate this underworld. Credits remain the currency of survival, but it’s your reputation with the galaxy’s major factions that really drives growth. The Hutt Cartel, Pyke Syndicate, Crimson Dawn, and even local criminal outfits all have their own views on Kay. Help one group with a smuggling run or sabotage another’s operations, and doors open—or slam shut. It isn’t just cosmetic either. Access to black-market gear, new ship mods, rare weapons, and even unique mission lines are locked behind your standing with these factions. It gives every decision weight, since siding with one syndicate too often can alienate another, and before long you’re making choices less about profit and more about who you’re willing to cross.
What ties it all together is the way progression feels earned rather than handed out. Missions reward you with the gear and connections you need to survive, but they never let you forget that being an outlaw is a constant balancing act. Push too hard against one faction, and you’ll feel the consequences in closed-off opportunities. Play it smart, and you’ll carve out a reputation as someone who can thrive in the cracks between empires and syndicates.
And then there’s space exploration, which is easily one of the game’s standout features. Jumping into Kay’s ship, the Trailblazer, and seamlessly blasting off into orbit never gets old. The transition from planet-side to open space is fluid in a way that few games pull off, and it captures that Star Wars magic of living between worlds. Dogfights are tense but manageable, giving you just enough challenge to feel the adrenaline without tipping into frustration. It’s in those moments—barreling through asteroid fields, dodging TIE Fighters, or lining up a clean shot—that the Switch 2 version shows its best side. Even with the visual downgrade, the sheer scale of space travel remains intact.
Combat, too, holds its ground. Whether you’re sticking to blasters, mixing in gadgets, or scrambling across with some light platforming, the action feels fluid and responsive. You’re rarely locked into a single approach, which sells the idea that Kay Vess really is just scraping by however she can—sometimes through cunning, sometimes through sheer firepower.
Put simply, when the game lets you just be an outlaw, it shines. You feel that push and pull of risk versus reward, of sneaking into a job and praying you make it out. It’s a fantasy the franchise hasn’t really delivered before, and even with the Switch 2’s compromises, it’s still worth experiencing.
Design Choices and QoL Issues
As much fun as Outlaws can be in its moment-to-moment action, the Switch 2 port drags along a few annoyances that chip away at the experience. None of these are game-breaking, but they’re worth pointing out because they creep up often enough to break immersion.
First is saving. Autosave generally works fine—it’ll bail you out if the game crashes or you need to quit suddenly—but there are still quests where manual saving is inexplicably disabled. It doesn’t sound like a big deal until you’re halfway through a mission on the go and realize you can’t stop without losing progress. On a portable console especially, that kind of restriction feels out of step with how people actually play.
Then there’s the forced account linking. Cross-progression is cool and all—I can see the value in carrying my save from Xbox to Switch 2—but Ubisoft makes it mandatory instead of optional. It’s one more login to juggle when all I want is to jump straight into the galaxy. Would I have liked the choice? Absolutely. Is it a dealbreaker? Not really, just one of those "why is this necessary?" design quirks.
Finally, the stealth system still feels caught between two identities. Originally, getting spotted meant instant mission failure. Ubisoft patched that out to give players more freedom, which sounds great on paper, but in practice enemies are now tuned to swarm you like hornets. Sometimes that chaos is fun—it makes firefights more unpredictable—but other times it just feels like punishment for daring to improvise. Personally, there were moments where I actually missed the clean tension of the old autofail rule.
None of these issues ruin Outlaws. If anything, they’re reminders of how close the game is to being truly excellent. But when you’re in the middle of an otherwise thrilling scoundrel adventure, little friction points like these stand out more than they should.
Nix Steals the Show Again
For all the blasters, starfighters, and crime syndicate drama, the real MVP of Star Wars Outlaws isn’t Kay—it’s Nix. This little Merqaal companion isn’t just comic relief or a mascot slapped on for merchandising potential. He’s woven directly into both gameplay and narrative, and honestly, he carries more weight than I expected.
Mechanically, Nix is indispensable. With a single command, he can distract enemies, snatch loot, disable alarms, or even turn the tide of a fight by detonating nearby bombs. In a game that already pushes you to improvise, Nix becomes the perfect extension of Kay’s scrappy toolkit. There’s a real satisfaction in pulling off a heist where Nix scurries across the floor to snag a Bacta Vial while you hold your breath in the shadows. It feels like true teamwork, and the fact that he’s actively useful makes him one of the best companion designs in recent memory.
But it’s his personality that seals the deal. Nix isn’t just there to silently do your bidding—he reacts, complains, chirps, and celebrates. When a mission goes south, he’s just as exasperated as Kay. When you pull off something slick, he’s practically bouncing with joy. It makes him feel alive in a way that most companions don’t, and that bond between him and Kay becomes the emotional heartbeat of the game.
I said it in my previous review, but it’s worth repeating here, Nix might be small, but his impact on Outlaws is anything but. Strip him out of the experience, and the game loses a chunk of its charm and identity. With him, though? It’s easier to forgive the Switch 2’s rough edges, because at least you’ve got the galaxy’s most lovable outlaw sidekick along for the ride.
Is Star Wars Outlaws (Switch 2) Worth It?
Good Enough on Switch 2, Better Elsewhere
At $59.99, Star Wars Outlaws on Switch 2 delivers a full package—story, missions, exploration, and the kind of scoundrel fantasy you don’t get anywhere else in the galaxy. The problem is, this version isn’t the best way to experience it. The visuals are noticeably dialed back, performance is capped, and small annoyances like restrictive saves feel heavier here than they did on other platforms.
That said, if the Switch 2 is your main console, this port still gets the job done. You’ll have access to the full story, the same tense stealth and shootout sequences, the same thrilling dogfights, and the same emotional arc between Kay and her crew. None of the core magic is missing—it just looks and sounds rougher around the edges.
So is it worth it? If you’ve got access to a PC, PlayStation, or Xbox, you’ll get a sharper and smoother version of Outlaws for a slightly higher price. But if the Switch 2 is your only window into this galaxy, it’s still worth diving into. It’s not the definitive edition, but it’s a serviceable one, and maybe that’s enough to let you live out your scoundrel dreams on the go.
| Digital Storefronts | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ubisoft |
Steam |
Epic |
|||
| PlayStation |
Xbox |
||||
| Price | $69.99 | ||||
| Switch 2 |
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| Price | $59.99 | ||||
Star Wars Outlaws (Switch 2) FAQ
When is Star Wars Outlaws in the Star Wars timeline?
Star Wars Outlaws is set between the Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, the game itself is also considered canon.
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Star Wars Outlaws News |
Star Wars Outlaws Product Information
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| Title | STAR WARS OUTLAWS |
|---|---|
| Release Date | August 30, 2024 |
| Developer | Massive Entertainment |
| Publisher | Ubisoft, Lucasfilm Games |
| Supported Platforms | PC (Epic Games Store), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch 2 |
| Genre | Open-World Action-Adventure |
| Number of Players | 1 |
| ESRB Rating | Teen |
| Official Website | Star Wars Outlaws Website |
@Ram there are other reviews on the console variations and even on game8 that lack the subjective tone. This reads like the switch copy was a chore because it wasn't the 'definitive' experience. its disingenuous and bizarre. i guess its just odd that there are even multiple reviews for the same subject. for content it makes sense, but all the switch 2 variation reviews here are awkward and just constantly refer to the "other, better, more fleshed out, and sincere review".
idk @Clobb since they already covered the original release, this reading like a comparative review to the one on the console seems fair since people like I would be curious as to how it's different.
Weird review, fxcking terrible headline. The highlight of the game's review shouldn't be determined by the limitations of the hardware nor is it relevant to the overall experience. Considering the game had a rocky start on ALL previous releases, this version is going to be the definitive experience for most switch 2 owners. Bouncing between bashing the hardware while praising the game is jarring and tone deaf.