Star Wars Outlaws Has A No-Yellow-Paint Explorer Mode To Let You Prove How Smart You Are

As a seasoned gamer with decades of galactic adventures under my belt, I must admit that the debate over yellow paint in video games has been a perplexing one for me. On one hand, I appreciate the accessibility features it provides to less experienced players, helping them navigate through the vast and complex worlds we traverse. However, as a hardcore spacefarer, I often find myself longing for the purity of immersion that comes with exploring a virtual galaxy unencumbered by the bright yellows of interactive objects.


Among the peculiar discussions in video game enthusiasts is the controversy over using yellow as a marker for interactive elements within an environment. Interestingly, Star Wars Outlaws incorporates this accessibility feature, yet developers at Ubisoft Massive provide the option to disable it. This is useful if the idea of spotting a splash of guiding paint in a distant galaxy interrupts your immersion experience.

In Star Wars Outlaws, players have the ability to select Explorer Mode. This feature removes the prominent color indicators on key navigation elements within the game world (as mentioned by PC Gamer). Essentially, it silences the visual cues that usually point players towards interactive areas of the environment and hidden collectibles. Although this makes Star Wars Outlaws feel less like a traditional video game, the Explorer Mode might make navigating through levels more tedious or challenging.

In Phil Hornshaw’s review of Star Wars Outlaws on TopMob, he expressed his challenge in identifying exactly which elements in the game were interactive. He compared this experience to the jokes about developers highlighting everything with yellow paint to indicate climbable, blastable, or collectible items. Star Wars Outlaws serves as a good example of why developers do this, as Hornshaw frequently felt uncertain about what he could interact with within specific areas. While he admired that the game didn’t provide waypoints and instead left him to figure things out on his own, the abundance of lights and buttons in Star Wars made it challenging to distinguish between interactive objects like control panels for Nix or generators that can be shot, and decorative elements. This often left Hornshaw puzzled about what action to take next.

For the past couple of years, there’s been a heated discussion about the use of yellow paint in video games as a guiding tool. Some people argue that it’s an incongruous and poorly executed way to direct attention, while others believe it enhances accessibility by catering to a larger gaming audience. Although titles like Star Wars Jedi: Survivor employ this visual cue, they also incorporate more nuanced design elements to hint at areas ripe for further exploration within the gameplay possibilities.

In a little over a month, on August 30, Star Wars: Outlaws will make its entry from hyperspace, landing on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S platforms. This game places you in the shoes of the clever Kay Vess, a character who, unlike those seen in games developed by Respawn at EA, isn’t gifted with Force sensitivity. Instead, she relies on her intelligence, strategy, and guile to navigate through a perilous galaxy.

Read More

2024-07-31 18:09