Star Wars Outlawslooks like a fine game so far, even if I dislikeUbisoftand most of their games. I am quite partial toStar Wars, is the thing, so I’m interested in seeing what Outlaws brings to the table. There’s that weird salamander-looking pet that main character Kay Vess has hanging around, some chaotic space warfare that shows a frigate get demolished by a Star Destroyer coming out of hyperspace, and promises ofgreat exploration to a wide variety of planets.
What really caught my eye, however, is your commando droid co-pilot ND-5. He immediately grabbed my attention in the first trailer and promotional images, not only because I love battle droids (nor because of any weird sexual attraction that everyone else seems to be feeling), but because of his stylish trenchcoat.
This is a rare instance of a droid actually wearing clothes, with the only other example I can think of being the MagnaGuards. But the best bit comes when ND-5 opens his mouth… figuratively speaking. ND-5 doesn’t talk like any other Star Wars droid I’ve heard—speaking with a gravelly voice where the synthetic quality doesn’t make it sound alien or comedic, such as with C-3PO or a B1 battle droid, but rather complements it to seem more human. He doesn’t make references to probabilities or over-emote in a British accent but stays reserved.
Finally, it looks like we’re getting a droid who’s played for something other than comic relief.
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Classic Star Wars droids like BD-1 and R2-D2 have always been implied to have somewhat human thought processes and can be communicated with (in fact R2’s probably the most competent character in the whole saga), but they’ve still always treated as the Star Wars equivalent of animal sidekicks. R2-D2, BB-8, and BD-1 all make cute beeping noises in place of speech and get into goofy shenanigans, and their limited ability to express themselves has always been part of their charm. More humanoid droids, meanwhile, have leaned towards comic relief, such as with C-3PO’s bumbling cowardice or K-2SO’s biting sarcasm. Even the faceless battle droid armies of the prequels were comical, with B1s being some of the funniest characters in Star Wars.
ND-5 seems entirely different. The few lines of dialogue we’ve got from him in the walkthrough show him being played entirely straight. He’s got a bit of sarcastic wit when questioning Kay’s actions, but it’s more in line with the wit of any other character rather than that of a droid like K-2SO—who not only has a more aloof demeanor but has just about every line be a joke, discordant with the small talk of other characters.
ND-5 has a gruffness to his voice that mixes well with the mechanical effect applied to it, distinguishing him from most droids with a much more subdued performance. This perfectly matches his aforementioned trenchcoat as well as his slight hunch, suggesting to me a jaded character who’s allowed to have more human aspects like clothing and more expressive body language.
ND-5 seems to be part of a larger drive for Star Wars droids to be taken more seriously post-Disney, given a recent episode of the Mandalorian that revolved around the mistreatment of droids and L3-37 from Solo campaigning for droid liberation. But even the reprogrammed separatist bots in the Mandalorian are decidedly comedic, and L3-37 was treated as a joke (which is a bit weird given the thematically irch theme of they’d introduce droid liberation and independence). ND-5 doesn’t have the flamboyant, theatrical personality traits seen with characters like L3-37 or C-3PO, and that’s great.
Maybe there’s a droid similar to ND-5 out there in some obscure Legends comic, but in mainstream Star Wars he’s certainly a new idea. Just watching him talk to Kay with slight nods and joints unrestrained by glaring pistons, the slight look he gives to the bouncer barring him from entering part of the establishment, and his lack of jokes or comedic framing, makes him seem more human. Even with its 46 years of history, ND-5 proves that there’sstill potential for new and fresh takes on Star Wars lore.
