Outward: Definitive Edition

Above all, this is a genuine game experience. The game doesn't hold your hand... I mean at all. You are free to make mistakes! Tons of them, actually. I don't believe that in recent years we have had anything else close to this.

Outward is a hard sell. It is a game that homes in on a particular gameplay experience which naturally makes it quite alienating. For someone, Outward is a terrible mess filled with nondescript 'jank', endless antagonism, and little in the way of 'polish' most commonly seen in larger titles. However, for another type of person, it is the best game ever made, the sort of game they have always dreamed of. Outward (intentionally) defies standard progression: character strength is determined mostly by equipment, magic is not a 'tool' that players can choose to ignore but a concession which requires a sacrifice of maximum HP proportional to mana gained, a permanent decision that requires passing through a dangerous area. Items which grant buffs or defensive bonuses are not 'aids' but necessary sacrifices if a player wants to overcome a difficult enemy. Combat is clunky by design. Movement, item usage, quest design, survival, inventory management, and navigation are also clunky by design. Outward attempts to push the player back at every turn, sometimes going as far as to inflict permanent losses. There is no 'game over', but this is not always preferable - a variety of 'defeat scenarios' can often be much worse than being forced to simply reload a save. To an inexperienced player, this can be extraordinarily frustrating, but it is important to remember that every clunky decision in Outward's game deisgn is made in service to the experience it is trying to provide. Victory is like nothing else in Outward. Defeat your first bandit or two and you will feel good about yourself. Defeat a Manticore, a Shell Horror, or a unique boss, and you will feel like you are on top of the world. Complete a quest, and the satisfaction of new, powerful items in your inventory will encourage you to seek greater challenges. There is a definite 'peak' of character strength, but the danger Outward presents in spite of this peak does not allow the player to become truly comfortable. Every victory is earned through clenched teeth, and every reward is appreciated. Very few games can satisfy this itch. There are negatives, naturally, to the experience that Outward provides. The difficulty, especially for new players, can be overwhelming and performs the majority of the game's polarising legwork. The world, while genuinely intriguing and elevated by the player's small place in it, can become tiresome on a long playthrough. Many reviews of Outward criticise the game's story, but I believe the faction quests more than serve their purpose, not to mention the surprising longevity they provide. The animation work does lack a certain punch, but the surprising variety of enemies keeps the combat from becoming indistinct. What's left? Outward's musical score is excellent, providing mystical or even heroic motiffs with a soundtrack that features incredible diversity. Some tracks have wonderful variations depending on the time of day. Sound design is a mixed bag, but offers serviceable and (most importantly) recognisable snippets. Depending on the player's preference regarding their fantasy settings, the writing may come off as either flavourless or down-to-earth. It is at least realistic; many games suffer from a problem of characters not speaking like human beings, but this is not one of them. In conclusion, Outward belongs to a class of video games that often travel under the radar of the industry. It is not a game made for everyone, and that is Outward's greatest strength. To some, it provides a journey that borders on unforgettable. If there is one thing I would like you to remember about this review, it is that games like Outward are among the most important games in existence. They cannot be allowed to go extinct, and the people that make them must not be ignored or forgotten. There is no better example of a 'passion project' than this game. Every inch of it is lit up with love. I will remember it for a long time.