Outward

Outward is an open-world RPG released on PC. It was developed by Nine Dots, the creators of the space shooter GoD Factory.

Plot

The game takes place in a rather classic fantasy realm known as Aurai. Aurai is filled with magic and bloodthirsty monsters. This world is controlled by four main factions and the player must join one of them. Each faction offers different adventures, separate story plot and unique character development paths. The biggest group is called the Blue Chamber Collective and it consists of numerous smaller clans connected only by their bond to their families. A light structure of the faction caused its influence to be taken over by the Heroic Kingdom of Levant that promises justice and low taxes. The third faction is the Holy Mission of Elatt that focuses on religion and the final group is the Soroboreans, among which the player can find men of science and trade.

Mechanics

The open structure of the world of Outward for PC and the lack of level scaling of opponents enables the player to go wherever he wants. However, nothing guarantees safety during such journeys. The developers created a dynamical realm with changing seasons, NPCs who have their own life and with many quests awaiting the player. The game intends to simulate the whole career of an adventure seeker – from the humble beginning to the retirement. The latter doesn’t end the game – it is possible to pass skills and most valuable equipment to a successor and continue the game.

The game doesn’t offer option to manually save the game – the engine is doing it automatically. Because of that, each decision is final and the player cannot load the game if he decides to change an important choice. A failure in battle doesn’t mean the player’s character dies – he is only stunned. Then he wakes up with no equipment or as a slave. In addition to that, it isn’t possible to replay an adventure – if the player fails to complete a quest, his failure will impact the situation in the game world.

The combat system is action-based. Each weapon type offers different attacks. Winning requires a lot of effort and planning. The player can use magic, but each powerful spell requires specific ingredients and a series of rituals. The title also features survival traits like the necessity to gather food and water, to use crafting system and to protect the protagonist from harsh weather conditions.

The PC version of the game also offers an unusual cooperation mode. It offers not only local split-screen, but online split-screen as well – a function that is available in games very rarely.

Last updated on April 19, 2017