Star Wars Outlaws Photo Mode Review

Mik Bromley

Aug 267 min read

ℹ️ - Star Wars Outlaws Photo Mode Review

Developer: Massive Entertainment

Publisher: Ubisoft

Platform: PC, PS5, Xbox X|S

Initial Release: 30th August 2024

Reviewed on PS5 with a digital copy provided by Ubisoft

A big thank you to Ubisoft for giving me the chance to dive into Star Wars Outlaws because after a few days with it, this may just be the Star Wars game I was looking for...

Outlaws is the first fully open world game in the Star Wars franchise and is set somewhere between Episodes V and VI in the original trilogy. That doesn't mean it's all nostalgia and no blaster though and, while there are some familiar planets and crime lords, this game adds new characters, stories, locations, and even creatures to the legendary universe.

Not just another Jedi & Sith tale of good versus evil, this is a chance to delve into the morally grey world of everything in between. Kay is certainly here to look out for herself – and her 4-legged companion of course – as she lies, cheats, and steals her way to each lucrative score.

Being the scoundrel is great fun as you play the underworld. Balancing faction reputation, choosing who to trust and who to betray, or simply eavesdropping on some other unscrupulous individuals to gain valuable intel. It's all means to an end as you try to find that ticket to a new life on the starship that Kay has, erm, recently 'acquired'.

It's the best game from Ubisoft in a long time for me. One that is full of opportunity, both in-game and for photography, though I know what you're expecting me to say next. That being a Ubisoft title, this must have exactly the same photo mode as some of their previous games.

Well, you'd be wrong because Outlaws arrives with a brand new photo mode, and it's one that boasts some pretty interesting features.

"Pressing ☐ enters View Finder Mode where there are several auto-focus options..."

Key Photo Mode Features:

Time of day control
A & B Cameras
Auto-focus view finder

Controls & Implementation:

This is indeed a new photo mode, though that does mean there are a few rough edges. I expect most of these to be fixed quite quickly, but if not, here are some of the things to be aware of:

Inverting the Y-axis in-game causes the X-axis to be inverted in the photo mode, while inverting the X-axis causes the photo mode Y-axis to flip
View Finder UI is invisible
View Finder focus mode deselects after changing lens
Set Focus only works after resetting all settings
Golden Ratio guide is incorrectly sized
Camera controls lose orientation in space

Most of these can be easily worked around though and, once you twiddle with the axis inversions, the camera movement is good. The range is admittedly limited, but it is a free-cam with full range of pan, tilt, and roll. It also benefits from 3 different movement speeds; 1.0x is normal; 2.0x boosts the speed, and 0.1x slows it right down for more precise adjustment.

The rest of the camera settings are found on the third tab of the UI – not the first one as would be better – and include a selection of different lens presets. As well as the current in-game lens, these are 30, 50, 75, and 100 mm, each with a range of zoom adjustment.

Weirdly, these doesn't actually start at the lens' own value, but they do all meet each other at the top and bottom of their range, effectively giving an overall zoom of 15 - 110 mm. Would it be simpler as a single slider? Yes absolutely, but this method does add the ability to swap quickly between specific lens types.

Whichever lens you do use, it will have full depth of field control with aperture values down to f/1.2 for a shallow focus and a beautifully soft bokeh blur on the foreground and background. Focus itself is manual in the first instance using a simple distance slider, but pressing ☐ enters View Finder Mode where there are several auto-focus options.

This mode does seem confusing at first, mainly because of the missing UI, but it is meant to resemble the optical viewfinder of a real camera. Thankfully, turning on the CRT-like Scan Lines option will overcome the bug and reveal all.

Selecting either the 5-Point or 45-Point modes will add a grid of focus detection points on-screen and you can highlight any one of them with the D-pad to make it the active detection point. A fully custom mode also allows a single focus detector to be placed anywhere in the frame and in each case, the camera focus will snap onto whatever appears in that region.

It works well and behaves with a continuous AF at the chosen detection point, well, unless you reset the settings and then it has to be done by pressing the Set Focus button. There are no clever tricks like phase detection or object tracking, but it is definitely a great way to easily focus on a subject and keep them sharp even as the camera is moved closer or further away.

The camera tab has one other feature sat right at the top, and it is actually a second camera! Camera A and Camera B can be positioned totally independently and swapped between at any time. All other settings are shared though, so it's not quite like having two different setups to hand and really only offers the chance to bank one composition while still exploring others, but the potential is there.

Lighting options are perhaps a little lacking in comparison, and I feel harsh even saying that considering that there is a full 24-hour time of day setting. The time of day actually works beautifully outdoors or in space, but the truth is that a lot of your time and many of the interesting characters will be in places that the sun doesn't reach. Custom lighting would have been transformative in those scenarios, but I'm afraid you'll have to do without.

There is at least a strong set of image editing options with Exposure, Contrast, and Saturation complemented by Shadows, Midtones, and Highlights sliders. These combine to give a basic curves control that can do quite a lot to balance or alter the brightness and contrast of a scene.

Separate RGB colour grading channels are also available and the whole setup can be used together to create completely different looks or to enhance a particular style. For example, lowering the RGB settings along with a higher exposure can result in the same overall brightness but with a more matte effect in the shadows. Very useful stuff, it's just a shame that the individual steps are way too large and erratic to get any fine adjustment.

Elsewhere, there are visibility toggles for Kay & Nix, location-based messages, a single game logo, and a few compositional guides that can be overlaid on the image. Of these, the centre cross and thirds grid guides are obviously useful, but the inclusion of a 'golden ratio' template is flawed. It is the wrong size for a start and doesn't fill the frame, and it cannot be flipped or mirrored as is would need to be for different subject positioning.

Actually, size is a bit of a general issue here as the UI does take up a lot of screen space, especially in the 16:9 mode, and doesn't allow settings to be changed while it is hidden. There is an auto-dimming feature that is presumably meant to help here, but that just creates an unnecessarily slow response when you manually hide the UI elements.

And quite why every input has to make a distinct noise, I don't know. It maybe seems like a good idea in the rarely accessed menus, but in a photo mode it gets quickly irritating so it's a good job that the results are worth it!

Photographic Opportunity:

It is a compliment to Star Wars Outlaws to say that it not only feels different to a typical Ubisoft open world game, but also manages to capture some of the essence of the original trilogy, particularly if played in the 21:9 mode that widens the field of view for a more theatrical frame.

The new content feels close to those classic films, and for some, that might be reason enough to play and shoot the game, but this is not merely about fan service. Right from the start, it is impressive to see the array of intriguing stalls, bars, and workshops that are busy with life and full of photographic potential.

Heading out across the galaxy will lead to some beautiful sights amongst the space debris, into the inevitable dogfights, and take you to planets that are home to grassy savannas, lush jungles, and some more iconic barren landscapes. Settlements are packed with the lawless merchants, bandits, and bounty hunters that you'd expect, while Empire facilities provide the contrasting military might and order.

Of course, being a game about outlaws, a lot of interest can be found with the different factions and crime lords, while Kay & Nix make a handy pair of subjects in any setting, especially with all of the outfits and upgrades that are available to unlock. Simply being part of the Star Wars underworld can be a huge source of inspiration.

Whether on foot, speeder, or starship with a sneaky approach or blasters blazing, this scoundrel's journey is full of reasons to pull out the photo mode's virtual camera. It would be criminal not to take advantage of them.

Verdict:

Star Wars Outlaws opens up the criminal underworld of scum and villainy and makes it a great place to play and to photograph. The brand new photo mode may need more refinement, but some good ideas and strong features make this an important step forwards for Ubisoft and one that virtual photographers can get a lot out of.

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