The Outer Worlds

Thus, in many ways a review of The Outer Worlds on the Nintendo Switch feels almost as relevant as it did a year ago when I set foot in the dystopian worlds of the Halcyon solar system for the very first time.

The Outer Worlds

The Outer Rim Territories, also known as the Outer Rim, Outer Systems, or simply the Rim, was a sparsely populated region of the galaxy located outside the Mid Rim before Wild Space and the Unknown Regions. The largest region in the galaxy, it was home to diverse worlds and rugged, primitive frontier planets. A region that often went without a major faction holding control over it, the Outer Rim was a home to pirates, smugglers, slavers, and other criminals throughout the timeline of galactic history.

Later, Supreme Chancellor, Lina Soh sought to bring the outer worlds into the Republic and established outreach programs to do so. She also requested the Jedi Order expand its outreach as well, and Senator Izzet Noor of Serenno voiced the needs of the majority of the Outer Rim in the Galactic Senate. Traveling to the Outer Rim through hyperspace aboard transport ships like the Legacy Run, many settlers left the overpopulated Core and Colonies to make new lives for themselves, hoping to earn credits and make a future.[34]

Part of the Outer Rim became known as the Galactic Frontier,[118] which was also home to a guiding station known as Starlight Beacon. Even as Starlight was being constructed, the Outer Rim was considered a place of challenges; these challenges proved to be more deadly than exciting.[34] Republic Judicial Forces and the Jedi Order enforced order throughout the galaxy, preventing a major galactic war for centuries.[27] During the High Republic Era, the Republic Defense Coalition also helped patrol the Rim. Following the Great Hyperspace Disaster, the Outer Rim was effected by the Emergences, forcing Soh to blockade hyperspace routes into the Rim, which impacted many worlds in the region. She did not end the blockade until the Nihil were assumed defeated in the Battle of Kur.[34]

Several years before the Clone Wars, those in the Outer Rim eventually came to believe themselves victims of economic and social injustices, as Judicials were often withheld in intervening in Outer Rim affairs after many far-flung worlds refused to provide the Core with profitable deals. Harassed by numerous pirates and lacking protection from a federal military, the Outer Rim world of Eriadu formed the Outland Regions Security Force for the protection of the Seswenna sector. Funded by off-world loans and composed of an amalgam of ships, it received weapons from arms merchants who had for centuries been ignoring a Republic ban on the sale of weapons to member worlds. Initially lacking major success, it came to the forefront after Wilhuff Tarkin joined its anti-piracy task force, in which he was able to significantly reduce pirate raids throughout neighboring systems.[27]

With increasing dissatisfaction over years of neglect from the Core Worlds, dashing political idealist Count Dooku managed to foment political turmoil on worlds such as Kashyyyk, Sullust and Onderon. He eventually hijacked a HoloNet station in the Raxus system to voice his opinion. This precipitated the Separatist Crisis, which would see thousands of worlds leave the Galactic Republic and join the growing Confederacy of Independent Systems.[27]

The budding Galactic Empire increasingly attempted to take control of the Outer Rim,[27] although many worlds never fully fell under the Empire's sway, and were instead controlled by unsavory criminal organizations like the Hutt Cartel, the Pyke Syndicate, the Black Sun, or Zygerrian slavers.[125] Believing control of the galaxy's outer systems would stabilize and secure the galactic center, Galactic Emperor Palpatine oversaw the buildup of the Imperial Military and ruthless quashing of dissent and remaining Separatist holdouts across the Outer Rim.[27] Worlds such as Jelucan and Lothal saw Imperial occupation and development, often leading to rampant pollution and industrialization to support the Imperial war machine, while men and women were conscripted into the Imperial Army and Navy.[78] A "five-year plan" was implemented for numerous Imperial-occupied worlds under the supervision of the Imperial Outer Rim High Command.[126][127] In the farthest reaches of the Outer Rim, the Empire barely bothered to patrol its territory, and local citizens' militias took it upon themselves to protect friendly convoys.[31]

The Empire was never able to fully control the Outer Rim, but often utilized its worlds as testing grounds for new biological weapons and as a source of labor,[56] brutally wiping out the Lasat species of the Outer Rim world of Lasan,[126] exploiting the native Twi'lek species of Ryloth by rounding up native villagers for slave labor,[128] and murdering nearly all the Geonosians.[129]

Seeking to embody the spirit of the Tarkin Doctrine, the Empire oversaw the construction of the first Death Star over Geonosis[27] and exterminated the native Geonosian population.[130] Grand Moff Tarkin was tasked with imposing order in the Outer Rim Territories, being promoted to Governor of the Outer Rim.[131] After limiting the HoloNet of various Outer Rim worlds to Imperial use five years after the formation of the New Order, many dissatisfied systems viewed the embargo as the unofficial start of the Imperial conquest of the Outer Systems.[27]

By 2 BBY,[143] various rebel cells had coalesced into the Alliance to Restore the Republic under the leadership of Mon Mothma in response to the Ghorman Massacre. This rebel network posed a major threat to the Imperial Ruling Council[source?] and established bases on the worlds of Dantooine and Yavin 4. The Rebellion won its first victory against the Galactic Empire[144] at the Battle of Scarif, which resulted in the theft of the Death Star plans.[145]

In 28 ABY,[162] New Republic member worlds included Arkanis and Daxam IV, which were aligned with the Centrist faction in the Galactic Senate on Hosnian Prime. The Outer Rim planet Ryloth chose not to join the new galactic government. The planet Pamarthe was known for producing pilots.[69]

Following the death of General Organa, Ajan Kloss served as a staging point for a Resistance assault on the Sith Eternal forces on Exegol. After the defeat of Sidious, uprisings broke out against the First Order on the Outer Rim worlds of Bespin and Endor. Later, Rey, who had renounced her Sith lineage and embraced the Skywalker family, traveled to the Lars homestead on Tatooine where she buried the Skywalker and Leia's lightsabers.[168] 041b061a72