While audiences wait for Star Wars and Disney+’s flagship The Mandalorian series to return for its third season, fans can finally see the return of the iconic legacy character Boba Fett in some more street-level, outlaw-inspired stories. Back in the days of LucasArts (now revived as Lucasfilm Games), the Star Wars IP saw some inspiration taken with bounty hunter-themed games.
However, players will have to wait and see what the future holds now that EA’s exclusivity stranglehold on the franchise is finally about to end. In the meantime, though, there are some great video games out both in and out of the Lucasfilm umbrella that can scratch that western gunslinger-like itch that The Book of Boba Fett has helped rekindle.
Red Dead Redemption II
While certainly not under the sci-fi or fantasy genres that The Book of Boba Fett or the wider Star Wars franchise fall in, Red Dead Redemption II is a superb game that captures the spirit of both of Disney+’s Star Wars shows. Rockstar Games’ western-themed sequel was even more widely acclaimed than its predecessor, and it’s one of the best story-driven games from the PS4 and Xbox One generation of console gaming.
Its praises rest on the extremely well-written, fleshed-out, and emotional story of brotherly bonds, as well as its compelling characters and engaging gameplay loop. As the main character Arthur Morgan, players will take part in a sprawling and rich western world and wild frontier. Red Dead Redemption II is available on PS4, XBO, and PC.
Middle-earth: Shadow Of Mordor/War
WB Games’ Middle-earth games take place out of mainline continuity and on a grittier scale. While it’s fantasy without the sci-fi, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and War contain gameplay loops reminiscent of the punishing locales of Star Wars that the likes of Boba Fett and Din Djarin traverse through. Monolith Productions’ first The Lord of the Rings game sees players take control of the ranger Talion who, along with the Elf spirit Celebrimbor, goes on a quest of vengeance.
The sequel then carries their story forward as they try to amass an army to battle Sauron. As Talion, the player will operate as an outlaw-like figure fighting factions of villainous Orcs in battles for supremacy through the layered Nemesis System. Akin to a crime lord in Star Wars, Talion needs to gain control over these rival tribes to build their power. Though Mordor was originally released on PS3 and Xbox 360, both it and its sequel are available on PS4, XBO, and PC.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Another dark-fantasy game, CD Projekt Red’s The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has cemented its status as one of the best modern fantasy RPGs. The game is celebrated to this day for its dense and immersive dark-fantasy world, engrossing main story, emotionally-investing characters, and a plethora of interesting side quests. Its exploration of themes like moral ambiguity was also handled with great attention to detail, with the war-time backdrop providing a balanced amount of political intrigue that still knows to focus its effects and story around the characters.
The grounded, roaming contract-hunter premise should give Star Wars fans a sense of familiarity for the grittiness of the criminal underworld that Boba Fett largely operates in. The game is available on PS4, XBO, PC, and Nintendo Switch. But for those that own a physical or digital copy of one of the first three platforms, a free upgrade to the upcoming next-gen remaster for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S — along with its Netflix-inspired free DLC content — will be available sometime in the second quarter of 2022.
Star Wars: The Old Republic
While it wasn’t the straight-up sequel to the acclaimed Knights of the Old Republic games, The Old Republic MMORPG on PC is still (quietly) one of the best Star Wars video games. The game launched to a rocky start, and it doesn’t compete with other subgenre giants like Final Fantasy XIV, but the game has built up a steady amount of fan following and praise on its own merits thanks to the game’s continued developer support.
MMORPG is both a popular and a niche subgenre at the same time, as the commitment, grind, and money understandably turns off a good portion of the mainstream player base. However, the base game going free-to-play and the expansions being a cheap deal with a one-time subscription payment make the game much more accessible after being ported to Steam’s storefront. Star Wars: The Old Republic is ironically best played as a single-player RPG like KotOR, and players can choose a Bounty Hunter class for their character. The Sith-aligned class focuses on ranged weapons and gadgets in combat and, like all other classes, has a main storyline to quest through.
Fallout: New Vegas
Though it’s certainly shown its age, Obsidian Entertainment’s Fallout: New Vegas still holds its status among circles within the fan base as the best game in the franchise. The famous sci-fi dystopian series arguably reached its peak with New Vegas, with the game expanding on Bethesda’s acclaimed Fallout 3 with deeper RPG mechanics, an engaging and expansive story, its wealth of content, and a suitably grim world.
The game admittedly launched in an incredibly buggy state, but with post-launch support and years’ worth of dedicated mod support by fans, Fallout: New Vegas is one of the finest experiences to date in the RPG genre on PC. It puts players in the role of a blank-slate protagonist suffering amnesia out to get revenge on the mobster who attempted to murder them. From there, players can craft their post-apocalyptic tale to their liking in a world filled with fascinating characters and quests to discover.
The Outer Worlds
RPG darling Obsidian returned in 2019 for another endeavor similar to New Vegas. While it didn’t recapture the same magic, The Outer Worlds garnered a strong critical reception for its excellent character and story writing, witty humor, and a fantastic array of voice actors across the board. The sci-fi RPG is played entirely from the first-person perspective, with the story centering on “the Stranger” who survived aboard the mysteriously disappeared Hope colonizing ship.
The plot and setting then unfold into a clever political meta-commentary using the planet Halcyon’s colonies suffering due to a handful of greedy megacorporations lording over its citizens’ lives in every aspect. Like with Fallout, players can mold their “Stranger” to fit multiple play styles, including gunslinging-like combat. The Outer Worlds is available now on PS4, XBO, PC, and Nintendo Switch. Obsidian revealed at E3 2021 that a sequel is in early development for Xbox Series X|S and PC.
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