A Star Wars protagonist simply isn’t a Star Wars protagonist without an adorable little sidekick. Whether it’s a droid like BD-1, R2D2 and BB-8, or an alien like Grogu and Babu Frik, Star Wars has a history of including these endearing characters in their casts. Next in line to join this menagerie of little guys is Nix, Kay’s merqaal companion and partner in crime. After four and a half hours with Star Wars Outlaws, it’s clear that Nix brings much more to the table than his lovable personality and is sure to be a hit with players for a number of reasons.
Nix’s Abilities Compliment Kay’s Perfectly
My early hours with Star Wars Outlaws had me trying to navigate stealth sections and failing miserably. I found it tricky to stay out of enemy line of sight while sticking behind cover as I moved towards my objective. These stealth sections often take place in the restricted territory of crime Syndicates, which means getting caught boots you back to the entrance of whatever area you’re exploring. There’s not a heap Kay can do on her own to distract patrolling guards and get by undetected.
I quickly discovered that the key to these stealth sections lies in using Nix’s toolset in tandem with Kay’s. You can send him out to distract patrols with hilariously endearing animations. He’ll either dance in front of them, be a general nuisance, or play dead in the most dramatic way possible. Regardless of which act he chooses, it opens up a brief moment of opportunity for Kay to sneak past or take the patrol out with a swift takedown. It’s quick, versatile, and incredibly seamless to use once you understand how the system works.
When things inevitably get loud, Nix is useful in more aggressive ways. You can send him out to attack combatants, which sees him eagerly dashing his way over to the marked target as he pounces on them. It frees Kay up to deal with other threats, or better yet, keeps said target occupied for Kay to swoop in with a well placed shot or melee attack. Nix can also run out from behind cover to grab more heavy duty weapons for Kay to use if her blaster just isn’t cutting it.
Another piece of the puzzle with Nix that you can use both in and out of combat, is his ability to interact with the environment. You can send him out to disable alarms, set off explosives, cut power generators, grab treasure, and more. You see this primarily through light environmental puzzle solving in the overworld where he can fit through small spaces to open the way forward for Kay. It’s all designed in a way that you always think about how Nix can interact with and impact the different situations you find yourself.
Nix’s Relationship With Kay Makes For A Unique Dual Protagonist Setup
Star Wars Outlaws isn’t just a story about Kay with Nix as her sidekick. Narrative director Navid Khavari talks a bit about this during a panel, elaborating that the story of Outlaws is a dual protagonist tale, one that has its dynamic shaken up by the introduction of other characters like ND-5 (the hot robot). This sentiment echoes throughout the core hook of Outlaws. Kay isn’t just fighting for freedom of her own, but also for Nix, who’s clearly been with her for some time at this point in their story.
They have an unspoken synergy and understanding of each other that reinforces the scoundrel fantasy. An early example of this is when Kay approaches a local Pyke underboss in Mirogana named Gorak for work. As a newcomer to Toshara, Kay is quickly dismissed by Gorak, who tells her to come back once she’s made a name for herself. During the tense verbal skirmish, Nix cuddles up to Gorak, subtly slipping an expensive looking ring off his finger in the process. Aside from it being genuinely funny, it’s a reminder that the two are always looking out for each other.
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It feels similar to that of Cal’s relationship with BD-1 in the Jedi games. You want to see these two overcome the odds they’re faced with in tumultuous situations even if they’re the ones that got themselves into the mess. It also helps that Nix is absurdly cute in everything he does. The way he trills and emotes in response to different situations is incredibly expressive, lending the critter a level of personality that’s hard to achieve when limited to behaviours and sounds.
The Voice of The Clone Troopers Voices Nix
A large part of why Nix succeeds at this is thanks to a fantastic performance from Dee Bradley Baker. For the unfamiliar, Baker is most well known in Star Wars for voicing Captain Rex and clone troopers in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars: Rebels, and Star Wars: The Bad Batch. That’s pretty wild to think about, but it makes sense given Baker’s prior tendencies to give life to other animals and creatures in cartoon and live-action productions.
Dee Bradley Baker’s expertise in finding the voice of numerous creatures and critters means he’s a natural fit when it comes to voicing Nix. In a panel with the voice talent behind the core cast of Outlaws, Baker talked about how he would try to understand how Nix would react to different events in cutscenes and in-game. Once he’d figured it out, he’d work with the narrative team to bring it to life and Nix is suitably animated to convey the emotion further via body language.
It’s testament to how many parts of a development team have a hand in bring even a small character like Nix to life. It’s remarkable to see how Baker has interpreted the character and his behaviour in any given situation. It felt like I saw so many sides of Nix during my time with Star Wars Outlaws, but I’m sure there’s much more to see when the game launches in full next month.
Star Wars Outlaws launches on August 30th for PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC. Amazon has pre-orders available for $89 with free release day delivery for Prime members.
Harry was a guest of Ubisoft with travel and accommodation covered for the purpose of this preview.
