Despite a few problems at launch, like with how stealth missions were handled, Star Wars Outlaws quickly became one of the most beloved Star Wars titles to come out in years. Featuring a universe filled with several planets that offer open-world exploration, lots of quests and side quests, competing criminal syndicates, star ship combat, outfit and gear customization and even a cute (and useful) animal companion, Outlaws easily earned a very high score in our GiN review. It was also prominently featured in different GiN columns as the staff continued to admire this unique title made by developer Massive Entertainment and published by Ubisoft.
There is so much content in Outlaws, especially if players enjoy the plethora of faction-assigned missions, that quite a few people are probably still playing the core game. Outlaws can easily become one of those Fallout 4 types of titles where at least some players are happy to fully focus on the side quests without really nudging the main story along. The game sort of encourages you to push into the main quest by locking some rewards behind gates or walls that can only be opened or shattered by getting the right blaster upgrade as part of the main story, but it’s definitely very gentle encouragement.
Even so, as soon as I heard about the Wild Card DLC, I knew I wanted to get it. For one, it centers around Outlaw’s poker-like mini-game called sabacc, which is really well done. I could hardly pass a sabacc parlor in Wild Card without popping inside to play a few hands. The DLC finds Kay playing in a major sabacc tournament which is kind of like the World Series of Poker in that it features the best and most famous players in the galaxy competing on a big stage for an incredible prize: their very own moon filled with valuable minerals.
Of course, Kay is neither famous nor wealthy, and the buy-in for the tournament is incredibly high. So Kay will need to infiltrate a secret luxury space liner, steal or otherwise obtain an invitation to the tournament and then, of course, play the best sabacc hands of her life. In a lot of ways, the espionage-like activities and the casino-themed setting for the key set piece event of the DLC reminded me of what Phantom Liberty did for Cyberpunk 2077. Most of the missions and quest activities found in Wild Card are similar to what you are doing out in the core game, but even so, it definitely feels like a little bit of a vacation from the more cutthroat world of Outlaws proper, which was a nice change.
The other reason that many people will want to invest in Wild Card, which at about $15 (depending on the platform) is quite the steal, is the chance to get to interact and even plan a few missions with the infamous Star Wars character Lando Calrissian. The version of Lando in Wild Card is somewhat younger than in the original movies, although he has already made a name for himself in the galaxy as a businessman, smuggler and lovable scoundrel. Things perk up whenever he is on-screen, and it’s clear that Lando is one of the coolest cats around. It’s really amazing to see how he and Kay interact at different points during the DLC missions.
Although the sabacc tournament is clearly the focus of the DLC, there is a lot more to it than that. Besides the challenge of actually getting into the tournament with the proper credentials, which involves one of my favorite activities in any game: breaking into private rooms and other areas to look for information, plus whatever other valuables Kay and Nix can scoop up along the way, you will also need to hone your card-playing skills. To that end, Lando Calrissian becomes one of the trainers in Kay’s ability section. Completing Lando’s challenges earns rewards and special moves which can be used in the main world, as well as new ways to cheat at sabacc without getting caught.
And if you think the grand tournament is the end of the Wild Card DLC, then you better fold that idea. It’s actually about the middle, timewise, in terms of DLC activities. I won’t give away any spoilers, but you have quite a bit of adventure ahead post-tournament, including some really impressive parkour and climbing segments that are rather vertigo-inducing, plus a few stealth missions which could quickly turn into running and gunning events if the quiet approach goes badly.
The Wild Card DLC for Star Wars Outlaws is incredibly impressive. It offers new, or at least newish, activities that fit in with a well-crafted story without straying too far from the core mechanics. It really does almost feel like you are taking a little mini vacation from the main title while still being perfectly immersed in the Outlaws universe. Depending on how you play things out, there is about 10 hours of new content in Wild Card, and both its story and the adventure elements are very good.
Players who enjoy Star Wars Outlaws will certainly find even more fun in the Wild Card DLC. In a lot of ways, Wild Card could almost be its own game. It’s just where the core part of the Outlaws adventure spawls out over multiple planets and potentially hundreds of hours, Wild Card is much more focused on a tight experience that keeps the action going almost non-stop from the first cryptic radio call that starts this adventure to the final goodbye with Lando Calrissian who’s your newest friend, sometimes partner and an all-around scoundrel with a (very well hidden) heart of gold.
Developers: Massive Entertainment
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 5, Steam, Xbox Series X