Key Preview Takeaways:
- Smuggler’s Gambit can connect to your MyDisney account to directly link to the Smuggler’s Run ride at the Disney theme parks.
- Fortnite players will feel right at home, of course, but it’s approachable enough for Fortnite newbies, too.
- Content does not seem to be lacking in this experience, with plenty of missions on offer.
I approached Star Wars: Smuggler’s Gambit, a new Unreal Engine Fortnite project coming to Epic’s pop-culture powerhouse soon, not as a Fortnite player, but as a Star Wars fan and a Disney theme park superfan. I’ve ridden Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run at Disneyland and Disney World’s Galaxy’s Edge area of the parks dozens of times. The ride itself is a convincing motion simulator basically like a deluxe arcade game — the kind of thing they would’ve attempted at Gameworks back in the day. You and the other five people in your crew have limited agency over what happens on every instance of the ride as you collectively pilot the Falcon, with two of you splitting pilot duties, two of you serving as gunners, and two of you repairing the ship as engineers when things inevitably go south for the famous vessel you’re “borrowing” from Chewbacca.
Smuggler’s Gambit in Fortnite lets you continue the Smuggler’s Run experience by expanding it into a PvE multiplayer online game with your friends. You can also do the opposite by scanning a QR code and linking your Epic Games and MyDisney accounts in the game, which will “unlock a special experience” on Smuggler’s Run at the theme parks. What that is remains to be seen, but as someone who just did the secret “Grogu mode” the last time I was at Disneyland following the re-theme of Smuggler’s Run from sequel trilogy to The Mandalorian, I’m intrigued.
Anyway, Gambit’s hub area on Ord Ryla is anchored around a grounded ship, the Scuttled Sparrow, along with three factions, weapon and item vendors, a dock where you’ll board a ship to your missions, and a spot where Hondo himself hangs out (and yes, he’s voiced by returning actor Jim Cummings). There are several missions you and the other players on your server can vote on, and from there you’ll head to the dock to board the ship to start the quest. Gameplay is familiar from there, but fun: waypoints mark the route to your required and optional objectives, which are also listed on the screen, and any allies nearby will be noted on your HUD as well.
Cooperation will be highly recommended on higher difficulty levels, but even on normal difficulty settings, things can get hairy in a hurry when enough stormtroopers — some wielding higher-damage weapons like plasma cutters or grenade launches — spawn in and/or are guarding the objective. But of course, not only will you level up as you take out bad guys, you’ll be able to level up your weapons, too. I started with a bone-stock blaster rifle, but by the time I holstered my weapon at the end of the event at level 6, my blaster was a force to be reckoned with. It could still overheat if I went wild with my trigger finger, certainly, but when I took the time to aim down sights and aim for the head, it did a lot of damage in a hurry.
And you’ll need to sharpen your skills and try to team up with your friends to work together when you can, because stormtroopers won’t be the only opponents in your way. You do get a bit of variety in available playstyles, at least, thanks to the three player classes that mirror those found on the Smuggler’s Run ride: Pilots get increased stamina regeneration and a scanner ability that will show nearby enemies to you and your allies, Gunners get a droid ability that can take out “hardened targets or entire groups of enemies,” and Engineers have a lot more to do here than on the ride, as they can deploy a dome shield to protect themselves and nearby allies and regenerate your team’s shields.
You will need those abilities, particularly for the primary objectives in later missions. Those missions included “The Imperial Patrol,” which was a straightforward “defeat everyone” run; “The Pirate Raid,” where you take the fight to the Rathtar Raiders; “The Pirate Hunt,” where victory is attained by destroying a series of Rathtar Raider supply caches and defeating their leaders; “The Heist,” tasking you with breaking into the maximum security Imperial vault; and “The Reverse Robbery,” where you must recover stolen cargo. And to even get to those key objectives and then get back to your ship after you’ve accomplished your tasks, there are wild beasts on this planet to contend with as well, and yes they’re aggressive. They bite big, too. Fortunately, they aren’t picky about who they snack on, and you can often slip through a batch of baddies because the enemy stormtroopers are busy battling with the beasties.
After I got my feet wet and ran a handful of missions, I introduced myself to two of the three factions before my demo time ran out. Nexa Jette runs the Veta Syndicate was at least direct: she was not shy about hiring me to do her dirty work, which could be accomplished while on other missions. The Voice, meanwhile – aka the nameless voice behind the Silent Circle faction – took a more, “It would be nice if this thing I need could get done.” These had a very sidequest-y feel to them, but they still added a layer of life to Smuggler’s Bandit’s world in a way that was both clear and appreciated.
All in all, Star Wars: Smuggler’s Bandit, which will be available on August 16, is a fun time with friends – it’s clearly preferable to playing solo – and it seems to be a clever way to either extend your theme-park experience outside of Disneyland’s walls and into your home, or vice versa. Hondo is a really great character to anchor this around, and I’d love to see Disney do more to extend the story of its theme park rides, be they Star Wars or otherwise. Just imagine playing as Finn during the events of the Rise of the Resistance ride, for instance…
While you’re here, check out these previews of other big upcoming games we’ve played recently!
Ryan McCaffrey is IGN’s executive editor of previews and host of IGN’s weekly Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked, and a co-host of Next-Gen Console Watch. He’s a North Jersey guy, so it’s “Taylor ham,” not “pork roll.” Debate it with him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan.
