Star Wars Outlaws has something Starfield doesn't: surface takeoff

The Star Wars Outlaws gameplay trailer seems to have confirmed that Ubisoft's new Star Wars game will feature something that Starfield doesn't: the ability to flight right down to - and up from - the surface of a planet.

Towards the end of the gameplay featured during tonight's Ubisoft Forward, Outlaws protagonist Kay Vess is forced to flee from an Imperial agent. As she dashes to her ship, the Trailblazer, piloted by apparently-desirable droid companion ND-5, we see the ship land at a dock. Kay scurries on board, and the Trailblazer takes off.

There's what looks like a very brief cutscene, but it's not long before the UI comes back onto the screen and you appear to be back piloting the Trailblazer. Creative director Julian Gerighty says that was "one of the things that was very precious to us [...] having this seamless experience of going on foot, to your speeder, to your spaceship and out of the atmosphere and into space."

Game director Mathias Kalson added to that, saying that "when we sat down thinking about this game, [...] we wanted to offer that full, seamless experience of sitting in the cantina in a city on a planet's surface, jumping on your own speeder, driving to your own ship, and [...] seamlessly flying into space."

Once you're in space, you'll be able to hop around the galaxy with hyperspeed, but the trailer notes that you'll also engage in dogfighting as well as in encounters with bigger ships.

What's notable there is that Ubisoft appears to be offering something that Bethesda isn't. The Starfield Direct appeared to confirm that takeoff and landing will be driven by cutscenes, and the player won't be in control. By contrast, Ubisoft hands over the controls well before you leave the atmosphere, marking an interesting divide between these two upcoming space games.

Star Wars Outlaws looks like it'll finally let me live the fantasy of a no-good space scoundrel.

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