Though it started a bit slow, Star Wars Outlaws (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC) was one of last year’s better games.
And now the third-person action / adventure game is getting even better (though only slightly) thanks to A Pirate’s Fortune, an add-on for Outlaws that gives our gal Kay Vess more to do.
When we rejoin Star Wars Outlaws,
already in progress, Vess has found a transmitter hidden in her ship, with a message for its former owner, Jet Kordo. Seems a friend of Jet’s has information about pirate treasure, and since Vess can’t resist shiny things…
In the first part of A Pirate’s Fortune, Vess has to sneak into (and out of) an Imperial base to hack their computers and an enemy hideout to search for clues, while also engaging in shootouts, fisticuffs, and dogfights; doing some free climbing and spelunking; making her pet alien Nix do her bidding; and basically utilizing all of the unscrupulous skills she learned in the main game.
That is, until she ends up in an enemy’s brig, where she runs into the man who sent the message that started this mess: Hondo Ohnaka, pirate captain extraordinaire. (And if, like Vess, you’re unfamiliar with his antics, you might consider watching his episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels.)
It is when Vess and Hondo team up,
and break out of the brig, that A Pirate’s Fortune does something different by giving us the longest stealth sequence in Star Wars Outlaws, as well as its best, since it starts with Vess having none of her equipment, save for Nix.
And no, to answer the obvious question, her stuff isn’t stored in the next room like so many other games in which our hero loses everything only to get it all back two seconds later.
Of course, once Vess does have all her stuff, and she and Hondo go off to find the treasure, A Pirate’s Fortune goes back to being, well, Star Wars Outlaws.
Which is good. As fun as that stealth sequence may have been, it was also stressful.
Now,
for those who haven’t played Star Wars Outlaws, this is obviously not the place to start.
Though if you have, it’s still not a good place to restart, as Star Wars Outlaws is not a simple game, and A Pirate’s Fortune does nothing to reacquaint you with the controls (hence why I initially couldn’t figure out how to throw a grenade). If you haven’t played Outlaws since it came out last August, or since the previous add-on, Wild Card, was released last November, you might consider starting over from the beginning.
As for those who have played Star Wars Outlaws, and not so long ago that you need a refresher course, the multi-part mission you go on in A Pirate’s Fortune is a good one. It’s also slightly better than Wild Card, in part because of the aforementioned stressful stealth section, and in part because it’s driven by a more enticing story.
Though how much you’ll enjoy…
A Pirate’s Fortune will also depend on how much you like, or didn’t like, Hondo. Who, like in Clone Wars and Rebels, here is voiced by actor Jim Cummings. Or, as the fans of honey loving bears know him, the voice of Winnie The Pooh.
Anyway, if you’ve always found Hondo annoying or infuriating, or just a terrible character, then you won’t enjoy A Pirate’s Fortune any more than the Hondo-heavy episodes of Clone Wars and Rebels.
But as someone who’s always enjoyed his antics,
I found he was a fun one to team up with Vess and Nix for this enjoyable extra adventure. Especially since Vess had no idea who he was, and was unimpressed by his charms.
It’s just too bad this enjoyable extra adventure may be Vess’ and Nix’s last. Seems Star Wars Outlaws didn’t meet sales expectations, so barring a reprieve by, say, the absolutely fabulous people at LucasFilm — or maybe the people behind the new Lilo & Stitch — we may never see this dynamic duo again.
Which is too bad since,
as I mentioned earlier, Star Wars Outlaws was a really good game, and A Pirate’s Fortune just makes it slightly better…even if it is only because it makes it slightly longer.
SCORE: 8.0/10
