Ubisoft Massive had to "break" The Division's "staccato" pacing to make Star Wars Outlaws' open world

GamesOpen WorldStar Wars OutlawsUbisoft Massive had to “break” The Division’s “staccato” pacing to make Star Wars Outlaws' open worldWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

GamesOpen WorldStar Wars OutlawsUbisoft Massive had to “break” The Division’s “staccato” pacing to make Star Wars Outlaws' open worldWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Ubisoft)

Star Wars Outlaws

Star Wars Outlaws' creative director has explained howUbisoftMassive had to “break” The Division’s cover-shooting rhythm for its new open-world game.

Speaking to GamesRadar+ as part of our hands-onStar Wars Outlaws preview, creative director Julian Gerighty explains how Ubisoft Massive is making Outlaws different from past open-world Ubisoft games, like Massive’s own The Division. “It’s a cover based shooter. It’s not military, it’s sort of a military-trained civilian agent, but the movement and the gameplay is - [snaps fingers] - precise and the rhythm is staccato,” Gerighty says of The Division’s pacing.

“For [Outlaws], we wanted to break that sort of rhythm. We wanted to find something that really corresponded to a resourceful underdog, which meant much more fluidity. Much less sharpness in the approach, in the animation, in the weapon selection, in the controls, all of those things. That’s really at the heart of what we wanted to do with Kay Vess,” the creative director continues.

Gerighty points to Kay’s sole weapon - the blaster - which features multiple modules for the player to experiment with. “She can pick up heavy weapons on the battlefield. But once she’s done with the ammunition - toss it, grab something else. It’s all about really flowing and finding the flow within the gameplay,” Gerighty says, adding that the final result is “very different” from The Division.

Elsewhere during our preview, Gerighty explains thatGhost of Tsushima was his “biggest reference” for making Star Wars Outlaws' open world. Looking a little closer to home for inspiration, the creative director also reveals thatAssassin’s Creed Odyssey helped shape Star Wars Outlawsbecause Gerighty could literally pick up the phone and talk to developers of the huge open-world Assassin’s Creed game.

I weirdly loved Jabba the Hutt as a kid, so I asked the Star Wars Outlaws devs what it was like bringing him to life.

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1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”

Nemesis board game models and tokens laid out on a board

1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”

1

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2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”

2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”

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3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”

3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”

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4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”

4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”

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5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths”

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1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”

Shadow brandishes a gun in Sonic The Hedgehog 3

1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”

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4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”

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Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”

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4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”

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5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”

5

Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”

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