While Outcast was revolutionary for its time back in 1999, Outcast – A New Beginning fails to impress. Dozens of modern action-adventure game developers have taken note of Outcast’s early success and made better games between then and now.
In an attempt to win the hearts of 20th century gamers, Appeal Games has made a faithful sequel to the original Outcast, but it’s too stuck in the past. I don’t have any bias for or against this game, but I do have some honest opinions that hopefully help shape whether you check out Outcast – A New Beginning or skip it.
Welcome to the wild – The good
As a gamer who loves early 2000s action-adventure games like Jak and Daxter, Ratchet and Clank, and Sly Cooper, I was impressed by Outcast – A New Beginning’s authentic old-school charm. Cutter Slade, your character, feels delightfully generic, kind, and witty, the movement around the world feels like old platformers (but there isn’t platforming), and the flow of the narrative starts quickly and stays shallow (although it tries really hard not to be).
While the graphics aren’t on the cutting edge, the environments are breathtaking. I’m a sucker for lush, tropical, colorful vistas over the dark, drab, dungeons we see all too often in games — Outcast – A New Beginning has multiple must-see vacation getaways that are filled with unique sci-fi cultures.
Another highlight is the music. The score is more epic than the actual narrative, which is a bummer, but video game OSTs often live longer with me than the actual game (see Stray, Minecraft, Skyrim), so I’m not too upset about that.
Can I shoot things yet? – The bad
Though the graphics are nice to look at, on PlayStation 5, I experienced screen tearing about 80% of the time and I was on Performance Mode the entire time. Also, characters would be in strange positions or low-poly states seconds into camera cuts in cutscenes. Fair warning: The performance of Outcast – A New Beginning isn’t great, but I never experienced a crash, either.
While visuals, performance, music, and narrative are important in video games, the make-or-break aspect is the gameplay. In Outcast – A New Beginning, you talk a lot, glide a little, and rarely shoot. Combat is rudimentary, which is a positive since it is going for a 2000s style, but it’s also too boring. You shoot at the enemies and then they die. Rinse and repeat with little challenge or strategy. There’s hardly any need for cover or use of your shield. Many weapon build customization options unlock as you raid enemy bases, but what’s the point when there’s no enemy variety or challenge?
Luckily, but also sadly, there’s very little combat in Outcast – A New Beginning. It’s sandwiched between long periods where you’re talking to people. The dialogue is very long and very boring. I do like the glossary feature that allows you to know what the keywords are during the conversation — that’s a neat feature other games like Horizon Forbidden West should copy. Overall, the storytelling is too generic and dense to be engaging.
When you aren’t in lackluster combat or tedious dialogue, you’re exploring the world. Again, the 2000s charm works for me but is also a hindrance to making a great game. Instead of allowing you to explore the open world, you need to stay on paths shown on your minimap. If you venture off a path, fog covers the screen and takes you back. It’s a clever idea, but one that doesn’t work when you give the player a jetpack and tell them to glide anywhere their heart desires — oh, except there.
The verdict
I was only able to stomach a few hours of Outcast – A New Beginning, so I don’t feel comfortable giving it a full review. If I had to give it a score right now with my limited but thorough experience, I would give it a three. Unless you love dialogue-heavy, slow action-adventures that are reminiscent of early 2000s games but in only the bad ways, you aren’t missing anything by skipping Outcast – A New Beginning.
