Outcast – A new Beginning

[Maryokutai]

Had this lying around for a while and decided to give it a go at last. I'm completely unfamiliar with the original, I know it melted video cards back in the day and I do have the remaster/remake, but never got around to playing it. So I couldn't tell you whether this was a sequel or a reboot or something in between (though I think it's a sequel).

 

In any case it drops you on an alien planet as a dude with no memory, gives you a jetpack and a gun and then asks you to talk to aliens that are surprisingly open-minded about a human running around and shoot a couple of spiders (or rather tons of them – I played for 2 hours and already killed 200 enemies). Fundamentally this is an open world game designed with late PS2, early PS3 design principles in mind, there's a couple of points of interests your map reveals by you running around close to them and completing them usually results in immediate rewards like a larger health bar etc. There are shades of RPG in that you have two separate skill trees for traversal and combat, each of them using different kinds of XP so thankfully it doesn't force you to choose between cool Jetpack stuff and cool shooting stuff, but rather how you prioritise developing either independently.

 

The early game is super talkative to the point where I think it's maybe a bit overdone. Think ME1 Citadel but without the smart word-building. It does a somewhat good job of introducing its own lore and vocabulary (in a nice touch, you can make a glossary pop up mid-conversation) during these early moments, but you will feel relieved by the time the world opens up and you can wander/glide around on your own.

 

I have invested zero points in combat so far but the shooting feels good (even if movement not always does), thanks to some aggressive auto-aim on console that works almost like a lock-on (you can turn it off if that's not your style). There's also an energy shield at your disposal that works as expected and can be used as a melee attack up close while the Jetpack can help you dash around on the battlefield. There's also some super attack that freezes enemies around you – so definitely more than enough tools to have some fun, though I admit none of them are really necessary when fighting spiders. Though I presume that will change as it goes along and enemy strength increases.

 

Visually this is a splendid production that yet again proves we don't really need AAA budgets, with really beautiful flora and some great use of bloom and diffuse lighting to give it that distinct alien 'Outlast' shine. It doesn't, however, run super clean, at least on console. Quality mode feels a bit sluggish and Performance mode has frequent dips in busy areas and screen tearing. It doesn't bother me too much and it does talk about some VRR thingies in the options, but I can't try those out with my TV. The other downside of its presentation are rather dated character models and animations, though that's usually the case with these mid-budget games and I really don't mind it at this point – especially when the writing is very early 2000s anyway, it's not like it'd pull you in with masterful dialogue anyway.

 

But so far this makes a really nice first impression if you go in with the right expectations.

 

(Not a glitch on the gun, it just looks that way.)

[DANGERMAN]

Didn't a sequel to this come out recently? 

 

Edit: this is the sequel! 

[Maryokutai]

Yeah, this is the game from earlier this year, I was a bit hyperbolic when I said it was lying around for a while, it's only six months old.

 

It also has a dash and not a colon in the title, so no more confusion possible now.

[DANGERMAN]

Tbf I didn't realise how old the original was until I googled it. I knew there'd been a bit of a wait but didn't realise how much