Ubisoft’s Star Wars Outlaws clearly differs from Respawn’s Star Wars Jedi franchise in many crucial ways but when it’s set in the overarching IP’s timeline is a much greater delineation. Star Wars Jedi takes place almost immediately after The Revenge of the Sith and the Jedi are either completely eradicated or hidden recluses, which is what Cal Kestis is forced to be. Here, Star Wars Jedi has been allowed to trek an original path with no implication of whether there’s a bigger backstory or connection between Cal and the larger universe.

Cal has thrived as an original character and the hope is that Star Wars Outlaws’ Kay Vess will be given the same treatment. Of course, because Outlaws will be wedged between The Empire Strikes Back and The Return of the Jedi, there are far more opportunities for Ubisoft to engage with IP iconography. Kay doesn’t presently appear to be anybody but an original scoundrel character, and with any luck she stays that way so she isn’t tossed around and teased as nostalgia bait like Rey was in Star Wars’ sequel trilogy.

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Star Wars Outlaws Should Have a Spin on Jedi: Survivor’s Most Unique Stance

Star Wars Outlaws could mirror Star Wars Jedi: Survivor and have its own unique stance, whether it is scripted or baked into gameplay thereafter.

Rey’s Lineage Became an Unnecessarily Muddy and Complicated Star Wars Plotline

Ironically, while Rey was actually exciting as a fresh face with a ton of potential as a lone scavenger on Jakku, it seems like it was believed that Rey could only be a popular character if Star Wars strung audiences along with her possible lineage resembling a carrot on the end of a stick. This Star Wars sequel trilogy has been notorious for not having a cohesive plan written across all three installments, leading to a bunch of retcons and unsatisfying plot threads, and Rey’s was easily one of the most disappointing.

Learning that Rey’s family was insignificant, for instance, was a jab at the audience’s assumption that she’d have some fan-favorite character as her mother or father—her parents are referred to as “nobody,” as if directly speaking to the audience to tell them that Rey wasn’t related to a Skywalker or anyone else they might know by name.

This would have been excellent, too, if left well enough alone to allow Rey to become her own character. Instead, The Rise of Skywalker wildly decided to make Rey the granddaughter of Sheev Palpatine, who also inexplicably and conveniently returned for the ninth installment. But even afterward, when Rey could have chosen to lead her own life as an individual, she chooses to brand herself as Rey Skywalker and strip herself of a unique identity.

Star Wars Outlaws’ Kay Vess Should Be Allowed to Keep Her Individuality

Just like what happened with Rey, Kay risks losing any individualism or importance on her own if Ubisoft decides to connect her to popular characters for the sake of brand familiarity. Like Han Solo, Kay Vess’ background and inspirations should be largely irrelevant as long as there’s some salient reason as to why she’s chosen the life of a scoundrel and leaving her character a mystery in that way can keep her timelessly intriguing with present stories informing her personality far more than her past might.

Star Wars games have already proven that they can be wholly mesmerizing with original characters such as Darth Revan, Starkiller, and Cal Kestis, so suddenly needing Kay to have some intricate backstory tethered to iconic parent characters would be incredibly disappointing. How players choose to interact with NPCs and Kay’s companions will hopefully be a much more fulfilling endeavor as she explores an open world.