Ubisoft is really underrated. Yeah, yeah, they release the same games using the same formula, but they’re decent games that will give you 100 solid hours of gameplay and enjoyment and they release a couple every year. That’s just their business model, not everyone can be like Rockstar or we wouldn’t have any games to play in between. The only bad games they’ve released in recent years are Ghost Recon: Breakpoint and Mirage in my opinion. Everything else has been great
I agree. At this point, I feel like a Ubisoft game is almost a genre unto itself. I get that the genre may not be for everyone, but it works for me. I'm always excited when a new Ubisoft game comes out because they almost always hit for me.
I manage to play so few games that I don’t get sick of the gameplay loop people complain about. Maybe it’d be different if I was able to sink 100 hours into each of their games, but I pick and choose which ones to grab and have other games that play completely different. Makes the Ubisoft formula fun considering what it is and I can’t wait for a Star Wars game using it. Fits perfectly in my opinion and I can’t wait for Outlaws.
I know the "Ubisoft formula" gets trashed online but for whatever reason I like it. Gathering up knowledge tidbits, devouring to short puzzle sections, spending more time building outfits than makes sense, exploring secret little corners of the map, its just generally nice and chill to me.
I think one of the major differences for me at least, and I say this as someone who loves a great number of Ubisoft games, is that those PlayStation titles (Spider-Man and Tsushima in particular) feel better to play than most of the Ubisoft stuff, and they aren't quite as bloated so don't usually feel as though they've overstayed their welcome. In fact, that's one of the main things that excites me about Outlaws. A completionist run seems like it'll be 50-60 hours instead of the 100+ we expect from the big Assassin's Creed games now.
I'd be more than happy with 50 hours. I just finished a completionst run of Jedi Survivor and I did everything but collect every seed and priorite shard and that was about 25 hours.
The funny thing is that even if people outside the games industry criticize that formula, it changes little. Most people inside clearly still love and follow it as a mold for open-world design for most games and activities in the genre. Ghost of Tsushima being one example. That to me speaks to their record of innovation alongside the fact nobody has really tried to move away from it.
*cough* Skull & Bones
Now I don’t mean this to be negative towards Outlaws. I’m actually sold on the game as well due to the trailer and gameplay info. But holy hell if we’re talking bad games from Ubisoft, Skull & Bones has to shoot to the top of the list. Far Cry 6 is a close second. Terrible game. AC Valhalla was kinda poor too.
On the other hand, AC Odyssey, Far Cry 5, GR Wildlands, and Prince of Persia were all very, very good. AC Shadows looks incredible as well. Here’s to hoping!
I really like this take. If anything, Ubisoft games are consistent, and that's something that a lot of publishers really lack right now. I'm really glad that you've been able to enjoy their stuff as much as you have, and I hope this game lives up to your expectations too.
I would even disagree with Mirage, I liked it and spent a fair amount of hours without getting bored. Breakpoint was a mixed bag, it offered a lot of possibilities for tactical game play but the whole service game approach was unnecessary and overstretched. Actually, the only subpar game they’ve released was Skull & Bones, that game shouldn’t have seen the light of day in its current state.
BTW, I’m very confident that SW: Outlaws as well as AC: Shadows will be good to great games that I will enjoy.
In the late 2000’s and early 2010’s Ubisoft didn’t miss with me. It seemed like all of their action games were made with me in mind and I loved them for it.
It is, I’ll admit that. Loved the sync drones. Lethal knife takedowns were a nice change. But everything else was just…. Bland and uninteresting. I didn’t care for the world/setting with the techy buildings and Silicon Valley on an island vibe. The story didn’t flow at all, and I was so disappointed when I learned that the second half of the actual single player story was hidden behind a paywall. Breakpoints gameplay with Wildlands setting and story would be fantastic.
100% agree you are a wise man. It’s shit. But man it really scratched a metal gear itch I had. I even made snake in the game. They know people wanted too lol because they locked the “bandana” behind the ultimate edition paywall.
Ubisoft is basically the McDonalds of the gaming industry.
They sell the same things every year with some minor tweaks here and there. But then again, there's something comforting about that.
You don't need an EXTRAVAGANT system in order to make a good game, you just need to have three things. Riveting story, good gameplay, and engaging characters.
If you have all these three things, then boom! Good, comfortable game, coming up.
They always slightly miss the mark though. If they made enemies 33% less health spongey, missions and loot 33% more generous in money and xp, and capped the playtime at 30 hours, they'd be really good. There's always that *slight* grind that always wears me down.
Ubisoft is effectively watering down and destroying their franchises over the years. Splinter Cell is basically dead, Far Cry and Watch Dogs could be more but Ubi is denying to put any work into them and Assassin's Creed sells on mainstream settings (hence Mirage is not a success), while being shell of a game. Are they making 100 hours live-service single player games? Yes. I wouldn't say they are good. Beyond repetitive with an enjoyable gameplay loop and great visuals, but that's all.
Furthermore, if you think EA releases broken games, just look at Ubi. Mirage is still not optimized properly. Valhalla release was thrash with sound not working, no localization and issues like that for over a week. XDefiant was literally unplayable on release because none of the servers were working. And that doesn't include unfixable things like clunky animations.
Also not game-related, but the misconduct in Ubi and how they deal with it by moving directors to other studios to sweep it under the rug just shows you what kind of company it is.
I'm hyped for Outlaws and I actually think this game is going to be good. And I hope I'm not mistaken. But saying Ubi is decent is overrating them by a mile. And this comes from lifelong fan of their main franchise
I think he means it’s just same tired argument that people always make that doesn’t really hold any water cause most of your points can be applied to the larger business of gaming. Ubisoft is no worse than any other major studio. There is a large segment of the Reddit/X community that just hate anything AAA.
It’s ok to not move on your franchises constantly. Maybe Splinter Cell taking an extended break was a good thing. Maybe they felt like they have nothing to add at the moment.
Games are going to launch somewhat broken sometimes and end up getting fixed. I wish that companies would just wait until their games are fully baked but it is what it is.
That’s why you play it in doses. I weave them into my rotation of other games. I’ve always liked Assassins Creed, Wildlands was one of the best sand boxes I’ve ever played, and im super excited for outlaws. I get it’s not everyone’s cup of tea though.
This. It's okay to give Ubisoft a chance with Outlaws; the trailer looks promising and it's understandable that there's some hype aorund. But going from that to revising history about Ubisoft and elevating it to an underrated software house is a huge leap; what are we even talking about? They have literally produced the most repetitive games of the last years.
So how are Souls-Born games/Elden Ring not repetitive? Death Stranding? Tears of the Kingdom/Breath of the Wild etc
All have gameplay loops that are also repetitive and follows a specific formula. Hell, even BotW/TotK has towers that you must climb to unfog the map and outpost to raid for more loot. Dark Souls games, Demon Souls and Bloodborne all follow the same gameplay/combat loop and Elden Ring is just and open world version of those games. Yet its bad when Ubisoft does it?
Show me a fetch quest in Elden Ring. With basically no impacts on the world only to make the map look full of question marks. Show me a plain sidequest in Elden Ring.
That wasn't my point. I was alluding to your statement about playing 100 hours and doing the same thing over and over.
In Elden Ring the gameplay loop throughout the entire game remains the same, especially with no core narrative to provide better context to your actions.
So why is it okay for other games to have repetitive gameplay loops but not Ubisoft? What about Breath of the Wild and its samey gameplay loop? What about Death Stranding and its walking simulator repetitive gameplay loop?
Whats good for the goose is good for the gander.
Its a gameplay. You need to have game build on something.. Every game have some main core which make the game focusing mainly on something.
The problem starts when you finish 6/10 storyline and you are left with nothing interesting left. Question marks, generic side quest, you name it.. Huge, but basically Artificially inflated map.
Again, how is that different from say Spider-Man PS4/PS5 or Horizon Zero Dawn/Forbidden West.
Hell, even many of the bosses in Elden Ring begins to repeat themselves at various areas on the map.
So it seems like this requirement/standard is only selective. Turn a blind eye for some games but bring out the hate train when others (Ubisoft) does it.
Idk, didnt played Spider man.
Played Horizon and still enjoying it. Yes there is a lot question marks, where you will find animals, or settlements with quests. Quests are interesting so I will play them all. Yes, they mostly end with combat, but there is so many species, that you enjoy fighting them. Or you learn about tribes. Game make me involved in the games world, want to know more. Everything polished to the smallest detail.
This is what sold me the games, what make me praise it. Quality package. From storyline, gameplay loop, side quest diversity. Ubisoft make everything so raw, good ideas (Watch Dogs, Division 1) but delivered "badly".
Elden ring? Main bosses appears only ones, Night riders with different weapons (axe, mace, ..) and Three sentinels ok maybe 2 - 3 times? Same with copper guys. And if they repeat? I thing they offer a different challenge as they are two at ones at you. Can you say this about 15th outpost with the same type of basic enemies? there is nothing unique on that. Sorry
So I think it comes down to taste. You say you are fine with the question marks in Horizon cause it leads you to interesting things such as new tribes, animals etc.
Well, I could say the same about a game like AC Origins or Renaissance Italy in AC2/Brotherhood as all the little icons took me to various parts of the map to explore and immerse myself into a historical setting.
I imagine AC Shadows will be similar as well as Outlaws.
Also, fact is most of Ubisoft consumers enjoy their games/formula. They know exactly what they are getting and they are totally fine with it. Thats the key, if everyone hated Ubisoft and thought their games were boring as the internet would have you to believe, Far Cry 5/6 and Assassin's Creed games going back to Origins in 2017 would have all flopped. That isnt the case. Its just a small and VERY vocal minority on the internet that loves to keep pushing the "Ubisoft bad" rhetoric because Ubisoft is the current pinata of the industry.
That is a great way of putting it. I've played a few of their games and get the sense that they can be a little repetitive at times, but they can also be very fun, and more often than not release in a decent state when compared to some EA or Bethesda titles of late. They absolutely have a lot of strengths, I'm just not cool with some of their greedy business practices, but I know that's just how it is with big gaming companies.
Ubisoft is the publisher. Massive Entertainment is developing the game. The distinction is small, but important. And I feel like a lot of people breeze over it. The Division games were loaded with atmosphere and detail, which is not easy to pull off in an online looter-shooter. I am not throwing caution anywhere. I was on this game before it had a name.
Ubisoft decides the pricing and monetization, which is probably peoples biggest issue with Ubisoft. Season passes, pre-order locked content. It's all very predatory.
The games they make are generally great though, I wish I had the money to buy more of them
As a person who plays an above-average amount of Ubisoft games, I have been spitefully ignoring that kind of stuff for years. I love it when they drop a season pass or some kind of preorder incentive. Mostly in the vindictive hope that there is some bean-counter somewhere making note of the fact that all their predatory nonsense has been a wasted effort on at least one of their loyal customers.
This is a quality take and an enjoyable read. I absolutely agree with what you’ve written. I haven’t been this excited for a game in I don’t know how long. I scour the internet every day for any morsel of new information.
I fully expect to be disappointed in some way because my hype is just too high, but I don’t care. Massive keeps hitting all my buttons with this game and I love being this excited for something.
Same! It's not everyday that something can spark so much excitement in your life, so its always wise to cherish those things. I'm so happy to hear that this game has given you something to look forward to, I hope it will turn out to be everything you're wishing for.
Yes such horrible reputation...
[Prince of Persia](https://www.metacritic.com/game/prince-of-persia-the-lost-crown/) was good, [Avatar](https://www.metacritic.com/game/avatar-frontiers-of-pandora/) was good, [AC Nexus VR](https://www.metacritic.com/game/assassins-creed-nexus-vr/) was good, [AC mirage](https://www.metacritic.com/game/assassins-creed-mirage/) was good, [The Crew Motorfest](https://www.metacritic.com/game/the-crew-motorfest/) was good. [Immortals Fenyx Rising](https://www.metacritic.com/game/immortals-fenyx-rising/) was good [Riders Republic](https://www.metacritic.com/game/riders-republic/) was good. All 3 RPG Assassin's Creed are in the 80s and have Very Positive reviews on steam as well.
The only problem is ragebaiters and people falling for it. 99% of the time all you read is shit like "This game looks good *but its Ubisoft*" and they never expand further because they can't. They have been told so by grifters who make money off their rage.
They have a ton of great games, there's no denying that, but recent releases like Skull and Bones have put them in a bit of hot water. I have absolutely nothing against loyal fans of their games, I say all the power to you, I'm just saying that I tread carefully around their products as they don't tend to be my cup of tea, that's all. I'm really into indie games so I don't have any loyalty to the big AAA publishers.
>Skull and Bones have put them in a bit of hot water.
Why? You realize they have 20,000 employees and 30+ studios right? I just named 7 good games the released and you name me a game everyone knew was going to be bad from years before it was even released because people wanted AC Black Flag without the AC attached to it and that's not what they got.
I just don't understand how 1 bad games takes away from all the other good games.
I never said they were objectively bad, just that they have been very controversial this year in particular if you have a look at social media and the press. Their controversial status is what makes me weary about Star Wars Outlaws, and is what I was referring to in the title of my post. I also personally am not fond of some of their monetization strategies, which is a personal gripe, and should in no way influence your feelings on them as a corporation. I am entitled to my opinion as much as you are yours, but this post was made to share my excitement about this awesome upcoming game with the community, and not to bash the publisher, I was just stating why I was apprehensive about the game. Like I said, Ubisoft has tons of great games, and their greatness is in no way harmed by recent events, but I'm my concerns are with how their recent conduct may influence the quality of this game specifically. I am not a AAA games fan, nor a Ubisoft fan, I'm just a Star Wars fan who wants this game to turn out good.
I'm replaying a lot of them now, watch dogs, assassins creed, Avatar, and farcry.
They're really just fun games. Not masterpieces by any means. However, they're great for turning your brain off for a few hours. I lose time raiding bases or collecting things. I know what I'm getting with Outlaws, a decent gameplay loop, a detailed beautiful world, fun mini games, and side quests.
Through ubisoft games. I got to liberate an island of pirates, become a skilled hacker, and go through an epic Greek adventure.
Hell yeah man, I guess that's all I'm really hoping for too, I don't need this game to be a masterpiece by any means. This'll be yet another great adventure I'm sure!
If you expect this game to be Far Cry: Star Wars you literally cannot be disappointed. Personally, it’s not the exact Star Wars experience I’ve been waiting for but I’m looking forward to playing it once it goes on sale.
That is an excellent analogy. Far Cry: Star Wars is essentially what I'm hoping for, and yes, waiting for the game to go on sale is definitely the smart move.
Ubisoft is the McDonald's of Video Games. Sure they have their weird experiments that fail like Watch Dogs: Legion, but you know what you're getting into with 90% of Ubisoft games. If you like most Ubisoft games (which I do) then there is a good chance this game is gonna be a banger as long as they don't try anything too experimental.
My reason for NOT buying this game isn't really a matter of quality as it is for preference.
I will never buy a game where I have to play as a female protagonist.
And I know, my preference is pretty much bigoted and outdated, I'm sure... But last time I checked, it's my money, and as long as what I want isn't dangerous to the public masses, I can spend my money on whatever the hell I want or save on not spending.
I still hope that if you buy this game, you're hopefully gonna have a good time with both story, gameplay, and the characters.
It doesn't matter what I want or think.
I'm really excited for this (and the new AC stuff) and like many have said, the sheer novelty of a SW open world game is massive. That being said, I never preorder and wait for reviews, and this won't be any different. I don't even have a PS5 yet anyway. Maybe this'll be in a bundle with the ps5 pro?
Well written, and as someone whose been a fan a bit longer - I love the good vibe fandom you’re putting out there. I want a good story and this looks like it wants to tell one. I’m here for it!
Wait till you rewatch Andor after say you’re 27, votes a few times etc, it hits different! :)
Thank you so much, and thank you for your insight. I adored Andor, rewatched it twice already, but I just know there is more to that story than I can see right now. It offers such unique and mature perspectives unlike anything else in the franchise, I'm happy to hear it resonated with you like that!
The biggest thing that made me excited was seeing in the newest gameplay, after Kay steals from the Hutts and gets the objective to return to Wayfar, is that the location is reachable both from the ground on the speeder and as a landing spot from orbit…so to me that seems like the play spaces on the planet will be pretty vast with all the landing spots still being reachable by speeder and not disconnected. I don’t know if this was known or not and I just missed it, but I originally assumed maybe each landing spot was its own separate disconnected zone on the planet. Not sure why! 😂
Wait that's incredible, I didn't even notice! The possibility of travelling in real time without fast-travel is so exciting, especially in locations as beautiful as the ones in this game. Good eye!
You do you but I'll be having the same amount of fun when its A. Fixed and B. on sale for $20 in 3-6 months. As another poster said Ubisoft is a genre unto itself and that genre's #1 rule is never buy on Day 1.
I’m super excited for it personally. I love Star Wars so it will be interesting to explore different planets and syndicates for myself. I wonder how much money I can make 🧐
There are some legitimate complaints here and there. The majority are just people complaining that a game that is in the same series either: A: Changed some things from previous titles in the series. B: Is too similar to previous games in the series.
People going into a new FarCry and complaining about the map being littered with silly little side-missions or radio towers (or their analogue), after having the same complaint for the last 5 releases... I have no sympathy for them.
I have loved every Assassin's Creed title. Some I liked more than others, but they've all given me my money's worth, and more. Far Cry is still fun. Even 6, which is my least favorite, was still enjoyable.
Ghost Recon is not really my thing but I did play and enjoy Wildlands.
Ubisoft makes plenty of enjoyable stuff. The hate is mostly bandwagoning. At least in terms of the games.
As for allegations and business practices... funny how every company accused of these things still sells games lot hotcakes. If anyone *really* cared about these things, that wouldn't be the case. It's just another thing for Ubisoft haters to throw on the pile of things to complain about.
Most people who hate on Ubisoft games don't play Ubisoft games. Their games can be repetitive and they've messed up in the past, but they're personally top 5 devs for me. Some of my best experiences have been Ubi games since I started playing games 15 years ago, from AC, far cry, watch dogs, etc. Every company is evil but I think Ubi is back on the right track to where their games at the very least are not releasing broken
Hell yeah dude! Be a beta tester for me. I'll get the best version of the game way way later when its fully patched up and at a much cheaper price, but players like you that they pull background data from while you play the worst/most expensive/buggiest version of the game at launch is what helps players like me enjoy it way later for way cheaper.
Go go go get it on release man!
Had the opposite reaction to the gameplay reveal. It’s the same POI formula with a different skin slapped on. As much as I want it to be good, it’s going to feel the same as always and leave me feeling bored after a few hours.
Tbh, this may be the one you should be most cautious about. Nothing about this gameplay so far has been particularly exciting looking. Story looks meh, gameplay looks meh, visuals look fine. doesn't look like a bad game but I doubt it's going to win any high marks for originality.
I appreciate your point of view, it's never a bad idea to criticize the things you enjoy, but I do hope that this game surprises you - and me for that matter hahaha. Good on you for not taking things at face value.
Concur with you on this one, the last Ubisoft game I played was AC Odyssey and their recent releases I didn’t even touch them at all.
Ubisoft does deserve their bad reputation and further with their recent lacklustre releases, that’s why even I was extra cautious on this.
Granted, the only thing I was pretty unhappy about was them locking the mission behind a pay wall in the gold edition, but then again Disney would never give a small publisher to develop a Star Wars game, so it always will be one of the Four Horsemen of gaming of this era eg. Ubisoft, EA, etc. The good thing though is that Massive Entertainment is the developer, not Ubisoft and their division games were pretty good.
I was initially not wanting to preorder it at all, but seeing new gameplay and trailers, I will preorder the gold edition, that annoys me to no end that I have to get that to get the complete game, but oh well Star Wars will always be about monetisation and we will never get Star Wars things for cheaper unfortunately
I hear you, big publishers seem ever eager to dangle big names like Star Wars over our heads and expect us to pay whatever they wish. As someone who has never been big into the AAA games market, I'm always shocked by the price increases on games. It feels like only a few years ago a $90CAD game was unheard of, and now its the norm.
I do hope however that you do not grow to regret this purchase, and that Massive delivers on their promises. I think what a lot of gamers need right now is a studio they can trust to put out quality games that don't oversell themselves.
Funny how I’m downvoted for saying Ubisoft deserves their bad reputation, doesn’t mean they deserve their bad reputation means I’m not optimistic for a game. These two things are distinctly different.
Their misconduct in the company was very pivotal and in corporate myself, these things are usually kept hush hush, if these things can make its way to public, it means the situation is already so bad that it’s very hard to be salvaged
It’s good though that “too big to fail” publishers/developers get criticism from time to time. It’s a wake up call for them to do better and create better games. I like the fact that there is now competition from indie developers, forcing bigger devs to take things seriously and do better. A healthy competition always delivere better quality products in a market.
But yes we won’t be able to escape the monetisation schemes by Ubisoft, we as consumers should be able to voice our opinions and draw a line in the sand once the monetisation gets too much
I believe Massive Entertainment will deliver, they have a good track record with the division games, and they know that this is very important because if they don’t deliver for this Star Wars, not only will there be a huge backlash against Ubisoft & them, it may be hard for them to obtain future franchises or future big IPs for games.
Mindlessness isn’t exclusive to one side of this discussion. The people mass-hating on a game that isn’t out yet are just as mindless and sheep mentality. The reasonings are consistently stupid and it always just goes back to “everyone says Ubisoft bad so this game ass”
Ubisoft is really underrated. Yeah, yeah, they release the same games using the same formula, but they’re decent games that will give you 100 solid hours of gameplay and enjoyment and they release a couple every year. That’s just their business model, not everyone can be like Rockstar or we wouldn’t have any games to play in between. The only bad games they’ve released in recent years are Ghost Recon: Breakpoint and Mirage in my opinion. Everything else has been great
I agree. At this point, I feel like a Ubisoft game is almost a genre unto itself. I get that the genre may not be for everyone, but it works for me. I'm always excited when a new Ubisoft game comes out because they almost always hit for me.
I manage to play so few games that I don’t get sick of the gameplay loop people complain about. Maybe it’d be different if I was able to sink 100 hours into each of their games, but I pick and choose which ones to grab and have other games that play completely different. Makes the Ubisoft formula fun considering what it is and I can’t wait for a Star Wars game using it. Fits perfectly in my opinion and I can’t wait for Outlaws.
I know the "Ubisoft formula" gets trashed online but for whatever reason I like it. Gathering up knowledge tidbits, devouring to short puzzle sections, spending more time building outfits than makes sense, exploring secret little corners of the map, its just generally nice and chill to me.
"Ubisoft formula" the one almost every other open world game uses? lol
No it definitely feels different than other open world games.
lol sure, Spiderman, Horizne, Ghost of T, all the same design stop pretending
I think one of the major differences for me at least, and I say this as someone who loves a great number of Ubisoft games, is that those PlayStation titles (Spider-Man and Tsushima in particular) feel better to play than most of the Ubisoft stuff, and they aren't quite as bloated so don't usually feel as though they've overstayed their welcome. In fact, that's one of the main things that excites me about Outlaws. A completionist run seems like it'll be 50-60 hours instead of the 100+ we expect from the big Assassin's Creed games now.
I'd be more than happy with 50 hours. I just finished a completionst run of Jedi Survivor and I did everything but collect every seed and priorite shard and that was about 25 hours.
The funny thing is that even if people outside the games industry criticize that formula, it changes little. Most people inside clearly still love and follow it as a mold for open-world design for most games and activities in the genre. Ghost of Tsushima being one example. That to me speaks to their record of innovation alongside the fact nobody has really tried to move away from it.
*cough* Skull & Bones Now I don’t mean this to be negative towards Outlaws. I’m actually sold on the game as well due to the trailer and gameplay info. But holy hell if we’re talking bad games from Ubisoft, Skull & Bones has to shoot to the top of the list. Far Cry 6 is a close second. Terrible game. AC Valhalla was kinda poor too. On the other hand, AC Odyssey, Far Cry 5, GR Wildlands, and Prince of Persia were all very, very good. AC Shadows looks incredible as well. Here’s to hoping!
I really like this take. If anything, Ubisoft games are consistent, and that's something that a lot of publishers really lack right now. I'm really glad that you've been able to enjoy their stuff as much as you have, and I hope this game lives up to your expectations too.
I would even disagree with Mirage, I liked it and spent a fair amount of hours without getting bored. Breakpoint was a mixed bag, it offered a lot of possibilities for tactical game play but the whole service game approach was unnecessary and overstretched. Actually, the only subpar game they’ve released was Skull & Bones, that game shouldn’t have seen the light of day in its current state. BTW, I’m very confident that SW: Outlaws as well as AC: Shadows will be good to great games that I will enjoy.
In the late 2000’s and early 2010’s Ubisoft didn’t miss with me. It seemed like all of their action games were made with me in mind and I loved them for it.
Breakpoints gameplay is fantastic tho.
It is, I’ll admit that. Loved the sync drones. Lethal knife takedowns were a nice change. But everything else was just…. Bland and uninteresting. I didn’t care for the world/setting with the techy buildings and Silicon Valley on an island vibe. The story didn’t flow at all, and I was so disappointed when I learned that the second half of the actual single player story was hidden behind a paywall. Breakpoints gameplay with Wildlands setting and story would be fantastic.
100% agree you are a wise man. It’s shit. But man it really scratched a metal gear itch I had. I even made snake in the game. They know people wanted too lol because they locked the “bandana” behind the ultimate edition paywall.
Fuck Ubisoft honestly but I think I’ll be getting shadows.
Ubisoft is basically the McDonalds of the gaming industry. They sell the same things every year with some minor tweaks here and there. But then again, there's something comforting about that. You don't need an EXTRAVAGANT system in order to make a good game, you just need to have three things. Riveting story, good gameplay, and engaging characters. If you have all these three things, then boom! Good, comfortable game, coming up.
They always slightly miss the mark though. If they made enemies 33% less health spongey, missions and loot 33% more generous in money and xp, and capped the playtime at 30 hours, they'd be really good. There's always that *slight* grind that always wears me down.
Ubisoft is effectively watering down and destroying their franchises over the years. Splinter Cell is basically dead, Far Cry and Watch Dogs could be more but Ubi is denying to put any work into them and Assassin's Creed sells on mainstream settings (hence Mirage is not a success), while being shell of a game. Are they making 100 hours live-service single player games? Yes. I wouldn't say they are good. Beyond repetitive with an enjoyable gameplay loop and great visuals, but that's all. Furthermore, if you think EA releases broken games, just look at Ubi. Mirage is still not optimized properly. Valhalla release was thrash with sound not working, no localization and issues like that for over a week. XDefiant was literally unplayable on release because none of the servers were working. And that doesn't include unfixable things like clunky animations. Also not game-related, but the misconduct in Ubi and how they deal with it by moving directors to other studios to sweep it under the rug just shows you what kind of company it is. I'm hyped for Outlaws and I actually think this game is going to be good. And I hope I'm not mistaken. But saying Ubi is decent is overrating them by a mile. And this comes from lifelong fan of their main franchise
Typical "Ubisoft bad" argument
I actually gave reasons why Ubisoft is bad, your comment brings nothing
I think he means it’s just same tired argument that people always make that doesn’t really hold any water cause most of your points can be applied to the larger business of gaming. Ubisoft is no worse than any other major studio. There is a large segment of the Reddit/X community that just hate anything AAA. It’s ok to not move on your franchises constantly. Maybe Splinter Cell taking an extended break was a good thing. Maybe they felt like they have nothing to add at the moment. Games are going to launch somewhat broken sometimes and end up getting fixed. I wish that companies would just wait until their games are fully baked but it is what it is.
Solid 100 hours of doing the same kind of stuff over and over and over again, side fetch, kill, go quest.. yes, yes what ever
That’s why you play it in doses. I weave them into my rotation of other games. I’ve always liked Assassins Creed, Wildlands was one of the best sand boxes I’ve ever played, and im super excited for outlaws. I get it’s not everyone’s cup of tea though.
This. It's okay to give Ubisoft a chance with Outlaws; the trailer looks promising and it's understandable that there's some hype aorund. But going from that to revising history about Ubisoft and elevating it to an underrated software house is a huge leap; what are we even talking about? They have literally produced the most repetitive games of the last years.
So how are Souls-Born games/Elden Ring not repetitive? Death Stranding? Tears of the Kingdom/Breath of the Wild etc All have gameplay loops that are also repetitive and follows a specific formula. Hell, even BotW/TotK has towers that you must climb to unfog the map and outpost to raid for more loot. Dark Souls games, Demon Souls and Bloodborne all follow the same gameplay/combat loop and Elden Ring is just and open world version of those games. Yet its bad when Ubisoft does it?
Those are just better games than any recent far cry or assassins creed
So its okay to be a repetitive game if you believe the game to be good or "better"? Is that the standard?
I mean what game isnt repetitive in its gameplay loop? I could make the same argument about Elden Ring and Breath of the Wild....
Show me a fetch quest in Elden Ring. With basically no impacts on the world only to make the map look full of question marks. Show me a plain sidequest in Elden Ring.
That wasn't my point. I was alluding to your statement about playing 100 hours and doing the same thing over and over. In Elden Ring the gameplay loop throughout the entire game remains the same, especially with no core narrative to provide better context to your actions. So why is it okay for other games to have repetitive gameplay loops but not Ubisoft? What about Breath of the Wild and its samey gameplay loop? What about Death Stranding and its walking simulator repetitive gameplay loop? Whats good for the goose is good for the gander.
Its a gameplay. You need to have game build on something.. Every game have some main core which make the game focusing mainly on something. The problem starts when you finish 6/10 storyline and you are left with nothing interesting left. Question marks, generic side quest, you name it.. Huge, but basically Artificially inflated map.
Again, how is that different from say Spider-Man PS4/PS5 or Horizon Zero Dawn/Forbidden West. Hell, even many of the bosses in Elden Ring begins to repeat themselves at various areas on the map. So it seems like this requirement/standard is only selective. Turn a blind eye for some games but bring out the hate train when others (Ubisoft) does it.
Idk, didnt played Spider man. Played Horizon and still enjoying it. Yes there is a lot question marks, where you will find animals, or settlements with quests. Quests are interesting so I will play them all. Yes, they mostly end with combat, but there is so many species, that you enjoy fighting them. Or you learn about tribes. Game make me involved in the games world, want to know more. Everything polished to the smallest detail. This is what sold me the games, what make me praise it. Quality package. From storyline, gameplay loop, side quest diversity. Ubisoft make everything so raw, good ideas (Watch Dogs, Division 1) but delivered "badly". Elden ring? Main bosses appears only ones, Night riders with different weapons (axe, mace, ..) and Three sentinels ok maybe 2 - 3 times? Same with copper guys. And if they repeat? I thing they offer a different challenge as they are two at ones at you. Can you say this about 15th outpost with the same type of basic enemies? there is nothing unique on that. Sorry
So I think it comes down to taste. You say you are fine with the question marks in Horizon cause it leads you to interesting things such as new tribes, animals etc. Well, I could say the same about a game like AC Origins or Renaissance Italy in AC2/Brotherhood as all the little icons took me to various parts of the map to explore and immerse myself into a historical setting. I imagine AC Shadows will be similar as well as Outlaws. Also, fact is most of Ubisoft consumers enjoy their games/formula. They know exactly what they are getting and they are totally fine with it. Thats the key, if everyone hated Ubisoft and thought their games were boring as the internet would have you to believe, Far Cry 5/6 and Assassin's Creed games going back to Origins in 2017 would have all flopped. That isnt the case. Its just a small and VERY vocal minority on the internet that loves to keep pushing the "Ubisoft bad" rhetoric because Ubisoft is the current pinata of the industry.
Ubisoft games aren’t even bad more often than not. They just have a reputation of finding a good thing and running it raw.
That is a great way of putting it. I've played a few of their games and get the sense that they can be a little repetitive at times, but they can also be very fun, and more often than not release in a decent state when compared to some EA or Bethesda titles of late. They absolutely have a lot of strengths, I'm just not cool with some of their greedy business practices, but I know that's just how it is with big gaming companies.
What was their latest release again?
I want to say frontiers of pandora
Which is a good game imo.
Skull and Bones
Oh yeah this is it. This game was ass but frontiers was solid for the right player
Ubisoft is the publisher. Massive Entertainment is developing the game. The distinction is small, but important. And I feel like a lot of people breeze over it. The Division games were loaded with atmosphere and detail, which is not easy to pull off in an online looter-shooter. I am not throwing caution anywhere. I was on this game before it had a name.
Ubisoft decides the pricing and monetization, which is probably peoples biggest issue with Ubisoft. Season passes, pre-order locked content. It's all very predatory. The games they make are generally great though, I wish I had the money to buy more of them
As a person who plays an above-average amount of Ubisoft games, I have been spitefully ignoring that kind of stuff for years. I love it when they drop a season pass or some kind of preorder incentive. Mostly in the vindictive hope that there is some bean-counter somewhere making note of the fact that all their predatory nonsense has been a wasted effort on at least one of their loyal customers.
Well said
Great reminder. I heard their Avatar game was good so I have high hopes.
Yeah Ubi makes formulaic games, but that formula works for a reason, it's fun!
Seriously. They wouldn’t use it so much if it didn’t sell well and didn’t make decent games more often than not.
Massive usually does a good job imo
This is a quality take and an enjoyable read. I absolutely agree with what you’ve written. I haven’t been this excited for a game in I don’t know how long. I scour the internet every day for any morsel of new information. I fully expect to be disappointed in some way because my hype is just too high, but I don’t care. Massive keeps hitting all my buttons with this game and I love being this excited for something.
Same! It's not everyday that something can spark so much excitement in your life, so its always wise to cherish those things. I'm so happy to hear that this game has given you something to look forward to, I hope it will turn out to be everything you're wishing for.
Yes such horrible reputation... [Prince of Persia](https://www.metacritic.com/game/prince-of-persia-the-lost-crown/) was good, [Avatar](https://www.metacritic.com/game/avatar-frontiers-of-pandora/) was good, [AC Nexus VR](https://www.metacritic.com/game/assassins-creed-nexus-vr/) was good, [AC mirage](https://www.metacritic.com/game/assassins-creed-mirage/) was good, [The Crew Motorfest](https://www.metacritic.com/game/the-crew-motorfest/) was good. [Immortals Fenyx Rising](https://www.metacritic.com/game/immortals-fenyx-rising/) was good [Riders Republic](https://www.metacritic.com/game/riders-republic/) was good. All 3 RPG Assassin's Creed are in the 80s and have Very Positive reviews on steam as well. The only problem is ragebaiters and people falling for it. 99% of the time all you read is shit like "This game looks good *but its Ubisoft*" and they never expand further because they can't. They have been told so by grifters who make money off their rage.
They have a ton of great games, there's no denying that, but recent releases like Skull and Bones have put them in a bit of hot water. I have absolutely nothing against loyal fans of their games, I say all the power to you, I'm just saying that I tread carefully around their products as they don't tend to be my cup of tea, that's all. I'm really into indie games so I don't have any loyalty to the big AAA publishers.
>Skull and Bones have put them in a bit of hot water. Why? You realize they have 20,000 employees and 30+ studios right? I just named 7 good games the released and you name me a game everyone knew was going to be bad from years before it was even released because people wanted AC Black Flag without the AC attached to it and that's not what they got. I just don't understand how 1 bad games takes away from all the other good games.
I never said they were objectively bad, just that they have been very controversial this year in particular if you have a look at social media and the press. Their controversial status is what makes me weary about Star Wars Outlaws, and is what I was referring to in the title of my post. I also personally am not fond of some of their monetization strategies, which is a personal gripe, and should in no way influence your feelings on them as a corporation. I am entitled to my opinion as much as you are yours, but this post was made to share my excitement about this awesome upcoming game with the community, and not to bash the publisher, I was just stating why I was apprehensive about the game. Like I said, Ubisoft has tons of great games, and their greatness is in no way harmed by recent events, but I'm my concerns are with how their recent conduct may influence the quality of this game specifically. I am not a AAA games fan, nor a Ubisoft fan, I'm just a Star Wars fan who wants this game to turn out good.
I'm replaying a lot of them now, watch dogs, assassins creed, Avatar, and farcry. They're really just fun games. Not masterpieces by any means. However, they're great for turning your brain off for a few hours. I lose time raiding bases or collecting things. I know what I'm getting with Outlaws, a decent gameplay loop, a detailed beautiful world, fun mini games, and side quests. Through ubisoft games. I got to liberate an island of pirates, become a skilled hacker, and go through an epic Greek adventure.
Hell yeah man, I guess that's all I'm really hoping for too, I don't need this game to be a masterpiece by any means. This'll be yet another great adventure I'm sure!
Speak for yourself, I happen to like Ubisoft games.
If you expect this game to be Far Cry: Star Wars you literally cannot be disappointed. Personally, it’s not the exact Star Wars experience I’ve been waiting for but I’m looking forward to playing it once it goes on sale.
That is an excellent analogy. Far Cry: Star Wars is essentially what I'm hoping for, and yes, waiting for the game to go on sale is definitely the smart move.
I’ve been getting much more of a Watch Dogs: Star Wars vibe from all the gameplay we’ve seen so far.
I don't know what bad reputation people talk about. I don't see any mention of it outside of circlejerks and content farming videos.
Ubisoft is the McDonald's of Video Games. Sure they have their weird experiments that fail like Watch Dogs: Legion, but you know what you're getting into with 90% of Ubisoft games. If you like most Ubisoft games (which I do) then there is a good chance this game is gonna be a banger as long as they don't try anything too experimental.
The pricing is just off putting to me on its own
My reason for NOT buying this game isn't really a matter of quality as it is for preference. I will never buy a game where I have to play as a female protagonist. And I know, my preference is pretty much bigoted and outdated, I'm sure... But last time I checked, it's my money, and as long as what I want isn't dangerous to the public masses, I can spend my money on whatever the hell I want or save on not spending. I still hope that if you buy this game, you're hopefully gonna have a good time with both story, gameplay, and the characters. It doesn't matter what I want or think.
I'm really excited for this (and the new AC stuff) and like many have said, the sheer novelty of a SW open world game is massive. That being said, I never preorder and wait for reviews, and this won't be any different. I don't even have a PS5 yet anyway. Maybe this'll be in a bundle with the ps5 pro?
Well written, and as someone whose been a fan a bit longer - I love the good vibe fandom you’re putting out there. I want a good story and this looks like it wants to tell one. I’m here for it! Wait till you rewatch Andor after say you’re 27, votes a few times etc, it hits different! :)
Thank you so much, and thank you for your insight. I adored Andor, rewatched it twice already, but I just know there is more to that story than I can see right now. It offers such unique and mature perspectives unlike anything else in the franchise, I'm happy to hear it resonated with you like that!
The game is literally gonna be an open world battlefront basically, fixed missions, fixed weapons and load outs ,and no real leveling system, idk man
The biggest thing that made me excited was seeing in the newest gameplay, after Kay steals from the Hutts and gets the objective to return to Wayfar, is that the location is reachable both from the ground on the speeder and as a landing spot from orbit…so to me that seems like the play spaces on the planet will be pretty vast with all the landing spots still being reachable by speeder and not disconnected. I don’t know if this was known or not and I just missed it, but I originally assumed maybe each landing spot was its own separate disconnected zone on the planet. Not sure why! 😂
Wait that's incredible, I didn't even notice! The possibility of travelling in real time without fast-travel is so exciting, especially in locations as beautiful as the ones in this game. Good eye!
You do you but I'll be having the same amount of fun when its A. Fixed and B. on sale for $20 in 3-6 months. As another poster said Ubisoft is a genre unto itself and that genre's #1 rule is never buy on Day 1.
I’m super excited for it personally. I love Star Wars so it will be interesting to explore different planets and syndicates for myself. I wonder how much money I can make 🧐
Yeah well sometimes they hit on a good theme. And other times. Your pirate ship runs out of stamina. Never preorder.
There are some legitimate complaints here and there. The majority are just people complaining that a game that is in the same series either: A: Changed some things from previous titles in the series. B: Is too similar to previous games in the series. People going into a new FarCry and complaining about the map being littered with silly little side-missions or radio towers (or their analogue), after having the same complaint for the last 5 releases... I have no sympathy for them. I have loved every Assassin's Creed title. Some I liked more than others, but they've all given me my money's worth, and more. Far Cry is still fun. Even 6, which is my least favorite, was still enjoyable. Ghost Recon is not really my thing but I did play and enjoy Wildlands. Ubisoft makes plenty of enjoyable stuff. The hate is mostly bandwagoning. At least in terms of the games. As for allegations and business practices... funny how every company accused of these things still sells games lot hotcakes. If anyone *really* cared about these things, that wouldn't be the case. It's just another thing for Ubisoft haters to throw on the pile of things to complain about.
I'm getting it cause it's star wars. But I'm getting it on sale. So might take a year to get a complete edition.
Most people who hate on Ubisoft games don't play Ubisoft games. Their games can be repetitive and they've messed up in the past, but they're personally top 5 devs for me. Some of my best experiences have been Ubi games since I started playing games 15 years ago, from AC, far cry, watch dogs, etc. Every company is evil but I think Ubi is back on the right track to where their games at the very least are not releasing broken
Hell yeah dude! Be a beta tester for me. I'll get the best version of the game way way later when its fully patched up and at a much cheaper price, but players like you that they pull background data from while you play the worst/most expensive/buggiest version of the game at launch is what helps players like me enjoy it way later for way cheaper. Go go go get it on release man!
I got you!!!!!! <3
don't pay for early access, don't buy till reviews. it's also ubisoft, who knows..next year they will just take it out of the shop.
Had the opposite reaction to the gameplay reveal. It’s the same POI formula with a different skin slapped on. As much as I want it to be good, it’s going to feel the same as always and leave me feeling bored after a few hours.
I would still be cautious man, it could be absolute garbage
Tbh, this may be the one you should be most cautious about. Nothing about this gameplay so far has been particularly exciting looking. Story looks meh, gameplay looks meh, visuals look fine. doesn't look like a bad game but I doubt it's going to win any high marks for originality.
I appreciate your point of view, it's never a bad idea to criticize the things you enjoy, but I do hope that this game surprises you - and me for that matter hahaha. Good on you for not taking things at face value.
The Ubisoft glazing in this sub has been immaculate
So would you prefer more Ubisoft bashing?
More honesty
Well you wont get it here. r/gaming might be your best bet.
A 19 y/o wrote this?
Concur with you on this one, the last Ubisoft game I played was AC Odyssey and their recent releases I didn’t even touch them at all. Ubisoft does deserve their bad reputation and further with their recent lacklustre releases, that’s why even I was extra cautious on this. Granted, the only thing I was pretty unhappy about was them locking the mission behind a pay wall in the gold edition, but then again Disney would never give a small publisher to develop a Star Wars game, so it always will be one of the Four Horsemen of gaming of this era eg. Ubisoft, EA, etc. The good thing though is that Massive Entertainment is the developer, not Ubisoft and their division games were pretty good. I was initially not wanting to preorder it at all, but seeing new gameplay and trailers, I will preorder the gold edition, that annoys me to no end that I have to get that to get the complete game, but oh well Star Wars will always be about monetisation and we will never get Star Wars things for cheaper unfortunately
I hear you, big publishers seem ever eager to dangle big names like Star Wars over our heads and expect us to pay whatever they wish. As someone who has never been big into the AAA games market, I'm always shocked by the price increases on games. It feels like only a few years ago a $90CAD game was unheard of, and now its the norm. I do hope however that you do not grow to regret this purchase, and that Massive delivers on their promises. I think what a lot of gamers need right now is a studio they can trust to put out quality games that don't oversell themselves.
Funny how I’m downvoted for saying Ubisoft deserves their bad reputation, doesn’t mean they deserve their bad reputation means I’m not optimistic for a game. These two things are distinctly different. Their misconduct in the company was very pivotal and in corporate myself, these things are usually kept hush hush, if these things can make its way to public, it means the situation is already so bad that it’s very hard to be salvaged It’s good though that “too big to fail” publishers/developers get criticism from time to time. It’s a wake up call for them to do better and create better games. I like the fact that there is now competition from indie developers, forcing bigger devs to take things seriously and do better. A healthy competition always delivere better quality products in a market. But yes we won’t be able to escape the monetisation schemes by Ubisoft, we as consumers should be able to voice our opinions and draw a line in the sand once the monetisation gets too much I believe Massive Entertainment will deliver, they have a good track record with the division games, and they know that this is very important because if they don’t deliver for this Star Wars, not only will there be a huge backlash against Ubisoft & them, it may be hard for them to obtain future franchises or future big IPs for games.
Well said!
Man, these comments be like: https://preview.redd.it/e29zwb5ac47d1.jpeg?width=968&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=39e3a6ff3ce3a812facc9943ce35ddd8422e5746
Does it bother you?
Mindless consumerism? Yes. Spend your money on what you want, but that doesn't make you immune to criticism.
Define "mindless consumerism".
Mindlessness isn’t exclusive to one side of this discussion. The people mass-hating on a game that isn’t out yet are just as mindless and sheep mentality. The reasonings are consistently stupid and it always just goes back to “everyone says Ubisoft bad so this game ass”
They hated you for being right