Our VerdictA pleasing world and satisfying jetpack exploration aside, Cutter Slade’s return is rarely out of this world.
Our VerdictA pleasing world and satisfying jetpack exploration aside, Cutter Slade’s return is rarely out of this world.
Our Verdict
Our Verdict
A pleasing world and satisfying jetpack exploration aside, Cutter Slade’s return is rarely out of this world.
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Need to KnowWhat is it?A sequel to the 1999 classic action-adventure game, Outcast.Release dateMarch 15, 2024Expect to pay$59.99 / £49.99DeveloperAppeal StudiosPublisherTHQ NordicReviewed onNvidia RTX 3090 Ti, 32GB RAM (DDR4), AMD Ryzen 7 5700X, ASRock B450M Pro4Multiplayer?NoSteam DeckYesLinkSteam
Need to Know
What is it?A sequel to the 1999 classic action-adventure game, Outcast.Release dateMarch 15, 2024Expect to pay$59.99 / £49.99DeveloperAppeal StudiosPublisherTHQ NordicReviewed onNvidia RTX 3090 Ti, 32GB RAM (DDR4), AMD Ryzen 7 5700X, ASRock B450M Pro4Multiplayer?NoSteam DeckYesLinkSteam
What is it?A sequel to the 1999 classic action-adventure game, Outcast.Release dateMarch 15, 2024Expect to pay$59.99 / £49.99DeveloperAppeal StudiosPublisherTHQ NordicReviewed onNvidia RTX 3090 Ti, 32GB RAM (DDR4), AMD Ryzen 7 5700X, ASRock B450M Pro4Multiplayer?NoSteam DeckYesLinkSteam
Here’s a typical sort of exchange. Cutter Slade, ex-Navy SEAL and now, after far too long trapped on the alien world of Adelpha, haggard-looking dad bod chosen one, goes to alien Talan A because Talan B has told him he needs to for plot purposes. Talan A, after lengthy dialogue, much of which welcomes the skip button, reveals he can help Cutter but only after the cosmic space adventurer has gone to D to gather X amounts of Z. But D can’t be accessed until Talan C has been helped with Y. And so on and so on.
Clear base, loot space chest.(Image credit: Future)
These tasks vary in mundanity, ranging from escort missions (such as slowly guiding a Twon-Ha space ostriches, who constantly need you to double back if you get even a little bit too far from them), to item collecting missions (grab 10 space fruits), to straight-out domestic chores (herding 12 space cows into a pen). At mutliple times there are mechanics where for a location’s main plot to be advanced, you literally have to go gather a certain amount of resources and walk up to a table/pot/bench with a “0/10” amount indicator floating above it, and feed the resources into it. In these moments, progression is straightforward courier work while watching virtual numbers go up. Go get 10 bug larvae, return to pot, put larvae in pot. Wow! Now I feel like a kick-ass ex-Navy SEAL space adventurer for sure.
It’s an odd and slightly deflating experience, and especially so after the Outcast’s initial wind-up jolts you into the game’s out of this world setting, story and gameplay mechanics in a pretty choppy opening 30 minutes, replete with disorientating cinematics and a functional but trite tutorial. I just about hung on as I’d got the background of what came before in the original Outcast lodged in my memory, but it did make me wonder what a completely fresh gamer would think.
The alien world of Adelpha is frequently stunning.(Image credit: Future)
Being candid, while this game’s combat is solid (we’ll get to that later), this core game structure, which almost revels in open world chores and stuffed dialogue wheels, would not survive one moment if it were not for this game’s excellent and empowering movement, which comes courtesy of Cutter’s jetpack. This jetpack, which you get right from the start of the game and can be upgraded in a number of cool ways, seriously lightens the load when undertaking yet another uninspired quest, as it makes exploration and travel really fun.
Flying around with the jetpack/glider is tons of fun. It’s the best part of the game.(Image credit: Future)
Jetpack joyride
Cutter can boost jump with his jetpack (multiple times with a few upgrades), hover at speed over the surface of Adelpha (including water, which is really cool), and even take full flight in bursts. It’s like Alloy’s glidey parachute mechanic in the Horizon sequel but far cooler and more useful. Gain height with the jetpack and you can dive towards the earth and then swoop like a bird, only to regain height, and do the whole thing again. Upgrade the jetpack to the backend of its ability tree and you can scream around Adelpha like The Rocketeer, which is bang on point for Outcast’s classic sci-fi adventure comic feel.
Indeed, I would argue that the jetpack is the thing that really helps replicate some of the original Outcast’s expansive wonder. In the original game it was mind-blowing to think that if you could see somewhere in one of its interconnected worlds then you could reach it, while each shimmering portal offered a magic door to another wondrous realm. In A New Beginning, the jetpack is your key to reaching those epic-looking lands that you can see in the distance, or way up high in the sky, and unlike the original, there are no loading screens between areas. This is one big open world and the jetpack lets Cutter fly about all of it. Portals, of which there are many, are really just pretty shortcuts.
The game’s evildoers are oppressing the Talans and pillaging their world’s natural resources.(Image credit: Future)
Cutter’s weapons can be upgraded in a wide number of ways.(Image credit: Future)
Extreme prejudice
Combat in Outcast – A New Beginning is a third-person over-the-shoulder affair that feels like Mass Effect: Andromeda but without a cover system. Cutter has an energy shield (which can also be used as a melee weapon) to block incoming fire and then a small arsenal of pistols and rifles to dispatch evil robotic types or hostile native beasts.
Weapon customization is a highlight of Outcast. Every slot has mod slots, and if you get a specific ability you can even upgrade those slots. When you factor in the wide array of mods, there’s a lot a player can do to tailor their loadout to their tastes/playstyle.
Outcast’s iconic portals are back.(Image credit: Future)
Using Cutter’s jetpack to reach high ground is a smart combat move.(Image credit: Future)
With these weapons Cutter is tasked with eradicating enemy facilities, either to shut them down and rob them of their energy cores, or to free prisoners who are being held hostage. It’s standard go here, clear this, loot that stuff, but it is still pretty satisfying to undertake. Weapons have punch, and when you factor in the dodging and manoeuvring options Cutter’s jetpack delivers, fights can be quite dynamic. Occasionally there is a boss fight, but you’re doing the same sort of stuff. Dodging attacks and shooting vulnerable points. Enemy bases are of course filled with space chests, which once looted, provide valuable upgrade points. You know the score.
When Cutter’s not shooting enemy robots he’s clearing hostile native beast nests that have spread over Adelpha. These play very much like the monster nests in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. You go to an area, have to kill a set amount of creatures, destroy some creature nests, then blow up the central infestation. These are repetitive as the creatures have very basic attack patterns and only prove any sort of challenge because there are so many of them. It’s more a case of shooting random moving things until there’s nothing left moving. It’s not very epic at all.
A typical dialogue wheel.(Image credit: Future)
Old dog, old tricks
The Verdict69Read our review policyOutcast – A New Beginning reviewA pleasing world and satisfying jetpack exploration aside, Cutter Slade’s return is rarely out of this world.
The Verdict
The Verdict
69Read our review policyOutcast – A New Beginning reviewA pleasing world and satisfying jetpack exploration aside, Cutter Slade’s return is rarely out of this world.
69Read our review policy
69
Outcast – A New Beginning reviewA pleasing world and satisfying jetpack exploration aside, Cutter Slade’s return is rarely out of this world.
Outcast – A New Beginning review
A pleasing world and satisfying jetpack exploration aside, Cutter Slade’s return is rarely out of this world.
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