Star Wars Outlaws’ stealth has been much debated, though not hotly. Some people think it’s rubbish, some others think it’s basically fine. Ubisoft themselves seem to think it’s one of the key issues with the game, with the creative director previously saying the forced stealth sections are “incredibly punishing”.
Now there’s a new patch, apparently Outlaws’ biggest yet, and stealth and combat are firmly in the crosshairs. The AI and player detection has changed; you can now choose combat in areas where it was previously not allowed; and enemies have had weak points added, for those who wish to cause massive damage.
Title update 1.4.0 has several notable changes, but the patch notes neatly call them out, so I’m going to quote them here:
- Notable updates to stealth and combat that allow players greater choice, including using stealth or reaching for their blaster, even in syndicate territories in cities.
- Enemy AI and detection improvements, with players being notified when they’re being detected and can choose to escalate or change tactics to remain in stealth.
- Enemy weak points have been added to reward strategic gameplay, which if targeted can trigger explosions or cause enemies to die in spectacular new ways.
- Re-tuned Kay’s blaster and pickup weapons to improve the combat experience, including being able to carry two handed weapons in more situations.
- Facial expressions and animations in dialogue scenes have been improved, the option to toggle off the cinematic lens during gameplay has been added, and the visibility of distant lights has been improved.
The full list of changes has plenty of interest in it. As well as enemy noggins now taking more damage when shot, weapons themselves have been adjusted, with new damage values across the board and revisions to spread and recoil. As if to balance these changes, enemies will now use cover more capably.
“It’s hard to get lost in the scoundrel fantasy of stealth that lets you knock out an imperial officer in the middle of conversation with a subordinate to no suspicion; that lets you drop loudly from a walkway a few feet away from an oblivious stormtrooper, only to take him down with one of several ponderous, bubble-wrapped canned animations,” wrote Nic in his Star Wars Outlaws review. “But there’s still fun in the performance of outsmarting science fiction’s most famously maladroit mooks, even if all you’re doing is keeping crouching pace with the reverse side of a floating baggage carrier.”
I’ve yet to play Outlaws, but I’d like it to be good, and I typically enjoy crouching around Ubisoft games like Far Cry. Whatever you thought of it at release, it’s nice that they’re continuing to bring it up to scratch.