Developer: Appeal Studios
Publisher: THQ Nordic
Platform: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S
Tested on: PS5
Outcast – A New Beginning – Review
It’s been over 20 years since the release of the original Outcast, which was a pioneer of non-linear open-world games. The freedom this game offered was not seen before and would stay with players for decades. After a remake in 2017, which introduced the main character Cutter Slade to a whole new generation of fans, the game finally gets a full-blown sequel. Now, we return to Adelpha to save the locals from invaders in Outcast – A New Beginning.
Story
Outcast – A New Beginning puts players once again in the shoes of protagonist Cutter Slade, a well-renowned soldier with a loveable attitude. He finds himself on the planet of Adelpha without any memories amidst a war between the locals and the human invaders. It becomes pretty clear that the only way to get home is by helping the inhabitants of Adelpha fend off the invaders. This is the start of a journey across the planet, uniting the settlements and taking down the facilities of the big bad.
After this general narrative is established, the following storytelling is everything but conventional. The world is fully explorable from the beginning and houses a dozen settlements that need to be united. This is done by helping out the locals and earning their trust. This is where the tons of freedom are since these objectives can be tackled in any order you want, offering more short self-contained stories on top of the overarching plot. This is a very fun way to explore the world and gives players more incentive to explore the world since almost no regions are blocked off and there is something to do everywhere you go. This is especially true when the stories have some overarching points, like when you need to brew wine in one settlement to serve it in another one. The only downside to this storytelling is that some of the less interesting quests can be a bit too long, but since they are mandatory they overstay their welcome. Fans of the freedom in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of The Wild will get a kick out of this game’s storytelling.
Graphics
Outcast – A New Beginning not only pays homage to the original game from over 20 years ago, but it also looks like it. While this can be a great thing, it also shows the game’s shortcomings. Being a game exclusive to the newest generations of consoles often means delivering a stellar visual presentation, which is not the case for Outcast – A New Beginning. While the game looks nice and offers a ton of variety in scenery, it also has the uncanny look of a remastered game from the late PS3 era. Especially when there are a bunch of enemies on screen and the game shows some frame drops, we wondered why the game was struggling at all.
While the world of Adelpha is a very pretty one, the same can’t be said about the inhabitants. There is a clear lack of variety when it comes to the enemies you face, offering mostly the same wildlife everywhere and the same handful of robot enemies in the invader’s bases. This is even worse in the settlements, where you will encounter the same three character models over and over again with a different outfit.
Sound
Having a big open world to explore demands an interesting soundscape that keeps you invested while traversing, and this is where Outcast – A New Beginning does a great job. The experience is filled with great music that fits the places you visit and the energetic tone of the game. It helps immerse players into this unknown world and doesn’t overwhelm them by seemingly blending into the surroundings.
The same cannot be said for the voice acting in the game. Cutter Slade’s voice performance is well done, with some campy moments that fit into the general feeling of the game. But since most of the inhabitants of Adelpha are pretty much the same, they also sound very alike. There are some differences in intonations linked to their personalities, but a lack of variety does not help the presentation. The same can be said for the enemies you face since they do not switch them up very often.
Gameplay
Outcast – A New Beginning is an open-world action game with a big focus on exploring the different locations and giving players the freedom to choose in which order they complete the objectives. Once the open world is accessible, all major quests can be undertaken and players can decide how to spend their time.
The game opens up like any other with a tutorial that introduces most of the major mechanics of Outcast – A New Beginning. Cutter Slade is a veteran soldier who carries three main pieces of equipment: a gun, a shield, and a jetpack. While this arsenal feels pretty limited at the start of the game, there are tons of ways to upgrade these elements and attune them to your play style. Most of this can be unlocked with open-world activities, while major upgrades lie behind story quests.
The world of Adelpha is a pretty big one with tons of things to do. While the story quests give fun narratives to the action you’ll be facing, the same can’t be said for the open-world activities since they fall into four major ones. The first two of these are enemy encampments where you’ll take down a collection of robots or creatures to earn upgrade materials for your gun and combat abilities. The other two are obstacle courses that offer health upgrades or resources that enhance your traversal abilities to use the jetpack for a longer time or give you short bursts. These are all short events that are fun enough but don’t offer anything aside from upgrading your arsenal. This makes them less of a focus and only interesting when you come across them or require an upgrade. There are some bigger variations, like exploring a big temple or taking down a flying encampment, but there are only a handful of these.
The main objectives on the other hand pack more of a punch. Each encampment offers a bunch of narrative-driven missions that take you all over Adelpha. Completing these quests progresses the story but also unlocks new abilities like a swarm of killer bees or a big flying worm that you can ride. This is where players will spend most of their time and these are very enjoyable. Some of the quests do overstay their welcome a bit, but luckily you can explore more of the map or visit another encampment for a bit of variety. Along with these questlines is a second main objective: the enemy bases. These are big facilities that require players to defeat the enemies and destroy the reactors. Most of the biggest challenges are located here since they boast a bunch of strong enemies. These are also places where players unlock gun modifications that switch up their useability, like bullets that heal or a scope that turns the pistol into a sniper rifle. These are very rewarding locations to take down and test the player’s skills.
Conclusion
Outcast – A New Beginning is an ode to the original from the nineties in both a good and bad way. The game offers a fun narrative with a ton of freedom. This makes the open world a joy to explore, especially with the fun combat and traversal mechanics. The experience is however dampened by a lack of variety in open-world activities and an outdated presentation that makes it feel like a full-priced remaster of a ten-year-old game. Nonetheless, Outcast – A New Beginning is worth checking out if you’re a fan of open-world busywork.
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