Outcast: Second Contact

Outcast: Second Contact is a remake of Outcast, a 1999 action-adventure game inspired by Stargate, a popular 1994 movie. What’s really interesting, the remake had been developed by a studio called Appeal – a new incarnation of the team responsible for the original Outcast, comprising of some of the original members, including Yann Robert, Franck Sauer, and Yves Grolet (the founding trio).

Plot

The plot of the game takes place in 2007, in an alternative reality where the United States send a research probe into space to prove that we are not alone in the universe. Sometime later, the device lands on Adelpha – an uncharted planet, and had been destroyed by Talans, an alien tribe native to the planet. The destruction of the device created a black hole that is a danger to Earth. To save the world from imminent apocalypse, the humanity sends three scientists, guarded by Cutter Slade, a seasoned military veteran. The situation quickly goes from bad to worse, as after the group lands on Adelpha, the main hero gets separated from the rest, and proclaimed as messiah and savior from the tyranny of Faé Rhân, a bloodthirsty oppressor ruling Adelpha with an iron hand.

Gameplay

Outcast: Second Contact for PC, PS4 and XONE is a complex game, mixing elements of several genres. The action takes place in an open world, divided into a few large areas, interconnected with travel gates. The creators offer a lot of freedom when it comes to exploration, conversations with the inhabitants of this uncanny world, and completing side quests. Fortunately, the game still finds place to fit numerous arcade sequences in which the game changes into a third person perspective shooter – however, the developers left the player some room to decide on how to handle encounters. The creators even found place to incorporate logical puzzles.

Technical Aspects

The biggest change between the 1999 original and the remake is introducing brand new visuals. The developer used an in-house technology to create characters, items, textures, etc. almost from scratch. Additionally, Appeal decided to fix some irritating plot errors, and remade elements such as interface (especially re-arranging the interface windows), controls, or animations. When it comes to content itself – the world, plot, etc. – Outcast: Second Contact for PC, PS4 and XONE is almost the exact replica of the original game.

Last updated on November 26, 2016