Star Wars Outlaws' Reputation system will change "the gameplay around the story" rather than "the story itself"

Star Wars Outlaws devs say the game's reputation system is designed to shape the world around protagonist Kay Vess, rather than the story that you're playing through.

Speaking to Game Informer, senior narrative systems designer Alice Rendell explains that no matter what you do, "Kay's story is Kay's story. The main beats are there." Reputation - which shapes your standing with the major factions that Kay will encounter during the game - is designed to change "more the gameplay around the story than the story itself."

Rendell gives an example, explaining that "if you have to steal something from the Pikes and you have a bad reputation with them, then they're going to make your life a lot more difficult as you're trying to do that." On the other hand, if you've got a good rep with that group, "maybe you can just walk into their territory and take the item."

If doing that sounds like something that might hurt your rep with the Pikes, that's probably because it is. Rendell explains that that's also by design, because of "that transactional nature of the underworld." You might have a good rep at one point in the story, only for it to go bad soon afterwards, or vice-versa. "It's reputation, it's not a friendship. It's temporary alliances. The impact of reputation is more about how the world reacts to you."

Those reactions will be seen "in lots of little ways" throughout the game. You might find it easier to move around certain territories depending on how much the controlling forces of those territories like you. You might get charged more or less by certain vendors. You might find yourself at a branching path in the story, and decide to go one way rather than another because of your relationship with a specific group of characters.

It's no great surprise that the Reputation system won't carve up the story of Star Wars Outlaws too much. Billed firmly as a relatively linear story, I would have been surprised to see multiple branching paths in a universe as tightly controlled as Star Wars, especially in a time frame as narrow as this one - Outlaws is sandwiched directly between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Nevertheless, it'll be interesting to learn more about Kay Vess and pals, and I suspect Ubisoft will have more to show off this summer.

Get ready for some big announcements with the Summer Game Fest schedule 2024.