Star Wars bandits is more than just a pretty trailer and the promise of the first Star Wars open-world action-adventure game. On Monday, during Ubisoft Forward, developer Massive Entertainment revealed the first gameplay of Star Wars banditswhich shows what villain Kay Vess and her fuzzy axolotl alien friend Nix – a Merqaal – will undertake as they attempt to pull off what Ubisoft calls “one of the greatest heists the Outer Rim has ever seen.”
Creative director Julien Gerighty of Massive introduced 10 minutes of gameplay of Star Wars bandits, plague a variety of criminal syndicates; opportunities and dangers for Kay and Nix; and the ways players deal with the scum and rogues of Star Wars: through influence, reputation, or cold credits.
Alternatively, Kay can interact with her rival villains and Imperial troops with a blaster. In an action-packed gameplay segment, we see Kay battling a group of Pyke troops who appear to be searching an abandoned Imperial base, then foot-banging the back of a speeder bike when things get too hairy. From there she meets her handsome droid partner ND-5 in the smuggler’s town of Jaunta’s Hope to make a deal with a Mon Cal named Danka… and a mysterious Imperial ‘friend’.
Kay’s deal goes awry after the Imperial officer threatens our heroine. As Kay tries to leave the planet of Toshara, in vague Grand Theft Auto fashion, a giant ‘WANTED’ warning screen pops up and the Empire diverts an unusual amount of attention to our ambitious thief. A dogfight in space (and retreat in hyperspace) ensues, teasing even more adventures wherever you want.
Star Wars bandits seems to tick the boxes of what you’d want from a Han Solo-type role-playing game: interplanetary escapes from the Imperial Heat, stealth missions on Star Destroyers, shooting down a bunch of aliens trying to steal your stuff. suits, and a hairy, endearing sidekick. Ubisoft describes Star Wars bandits as an original story, set between the events of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back And Return of the Jediin the midst of a thriving criminal underworld, as the Galactic Empire turns all its attention to the Rebel Alliance.
Massive Entertainment first announced the project now known as Star Wars bandits back in 2021. The game is now slated to release on PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X sometime in 2024.