Title: Outward Definitive Edition
Developer: Nine Dots Studio
Publisher: Koch Media
Genre: RPG
Price: $39.99
It’s interesting to experience a game that's willing to do so much despite its indie status. An open-world, sandbox role-playing game with survival elements seems difficult to put together, but Outward Definitive Edition's uniquely ambitious vision helps it find its own place among a sea of more polished titles. While some of its features feel a little undercooked compared to modern sandbox games, it makes up for its shortcomings with the sheer scale of the world it presents. Adventure waits around every corner in Outward, and while starting on it might be a rough, perilous road, it consequently proves to be a satisfying release well worth your time.
In Outward Definitive Edition, you are an adventurer whose latest journey has gone awry. Now penniless and in debt, you are compelled to once again venture out into the world to complete tasks, explore dungeons, and find treasures to sell so you can get square with your creditors. You'll face bandits and monsters and aim to survive the toughest of challengers as you travel to an array of vastly different locations, all in an effort to earn more coin. Along the way, you need to be constantly aware of your surroundings and keep yourself in healthy shape. It's not easy to navigate, and such factors as hunger, thirst, and stamina – or, to be more precise, lack thereof – play a key role in the experience, but it's one that leaves you satisfied once you grasp what it's asking of you.
Even as Outward Definitive Edition is an ambitious offering with lofty goals, it's likewise marred by design issues and inconsistent tutorials. While you're taught the basics of how to play, the rest is up to experimentation, and it can be a dreadful experience if you're unprepared. Combat is unforgiving, and new characters with poor gear will have difficulty facing off against even the lowliest of bandits before running out of stamina. Food and water are constant resources you have to watch out for as they keep your stats topped up and let you stay on your feet. In addition, you can only regain stamina consistently by sleeping, but doing that in the open leaves you vulnerable to attack. It's unforgiving, and often seemingly cruel and tedious when strong enemies can chase you down, or inventory management becomes a chore.
Yet, these issues are also why Outward Definitive Edition’s strong parts leave an indelible mark on you. Combat is tough, yes, but uncovering better equipment and finding the right weapon makes it feel much smoother. The adventure elements feel rough until you're really out in the world, immersing yourself in the starlight. The sheer flexibility of how the world works means you're free to approach any encounter as you wish. Whether head-on as a warrior, or sneakily as an archer, or even with the use of makeshift traps, there are any number of ways to take advantage of whatever skillset you prefer to display, and the variety makes it all the more satisfying once you finally start taking down opponents and raking in the cash.
RPG-wise, Outward Definitive Edition doesn't really focus on the story so much as the adventures it offers in a sandbox. While it does have a story you can follow, you're free to pretty much ignore it as you please, and that's actually where you can find the most enjoyment. Despite being an indie title, it looks really good, and the sense of anticipation that engulfs you as you travel under the starry night sky, or as you duel against some ancient foe in some forgotten ruin, is one that few games have managed to rival. Stringing together spells that combine to produce an even stronger effect, harrying your opponents with tripwires and traps you carefully place in their way, and even fleeing from deadly foes to in order to face them another day are made all the better when each action and loss you incur come with high stakes.
The original release of Outward had myriad concerns. Aside from its uneven difficulty, it suffered from quality-of-life issues that actively hindered your experience at times. The combat feeling floaty could be forgiven, but the lack of quick slots in a game where ability use was so important proved hard to overcome. You needed these to easily access your inventory and maneuver important items and spells during combat. The fact they're in limited supply ultimately left you feeling like you're entering combat with one hand tied behind your back. So was the actually mundane experience of having to walk everywhere, in an absolutely huge open world. There were no mounts to be had, and so you had to resort to just going on foot everywhere, a prospect made infinitely worse once you realized that the places you traveled to were also places you needed to travel away from to sell your items.
Thankfully, Outward Definitive Edition addresses many of those concerns even as it provides all the available downloadable content to date. There are still rough spots, but the superior ones shine. There is no lack of content to be had, and there's so much to explore and understand in its absolutely massive sandbox. And, yes, its weknesses also help contribute to its strengths. Outward's highs most certainly compensate for its lowest points.
All told, Outward Definitive Edition is a hearty recommend. The sheer variety of build, quests, and items you can craft and find make it a joy to play through.
THE GOOD
- Unique style of gameplay that few other games can match
- Interesting emphasis on stamina, the need to travel light, and preparation
- Plenty of ways to approach combat and exploration
- Feels like a true sandbox where build choice dramatically changes depending on how you approach a given scenario
THE BAD
- Tedious and starts off very slowly
- Tutorials are not very helpful at conveying the "good way" of doing things
- Much of the game time will be spent running around the world map on foot
RATING: 8/10
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