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0 Outcast: A New Beginning is a new 3rd-person, open world adventure sequel to the original Outcast from 1999. Developed by Appeal Studios (Outcast – Second Contact, Gangs of Sherwood) with publishing by THQ Nordic (a lot of games), the game returns Cutter Slade to the world of Adelpha to defend the Talans from an invading force.
Launched on March 15th 2024, the game is available on PC via Steam, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.
Original Developers, Original Feels?
There’s usually something special about original developers returning to the setting of one of their original games. And I don’t mean just to do an expansion or DLC or direct sequel to a game within a few years of the first. In this case, it’s been well over 20 years since the first Outcast game hit the market.
Can you imagine picking up something from 20 years ago and filling it with a new breath of life? I expect there was a certain sense of more than just nostalgia for the Appeal Studios team. What do you think, reader? Would you enjoy going back to a world from the past?
Gameplay
Outcast: A New Beginning is a sequel to the original open-world game. Outcast was only available for Windows when it launched in 1999. It has since seen remastering (Outcast 1.1) and a remake (Outcast – Second Contact). and a different sequel that was never released (Outcast II: The Lost Paradise).
The sequel places the player back in the world of Adelpha during a time when an invading force is enslaving the native race of Talans while stripping the planet of its natural resources. Upon gaining your initial bearings, you are thrust into the heart of the conflict and tasked with two main quests: to defend the Talans and to also encourage them to continue repopulating their world.
Oh and also – it appears that you’re the center of some prophecy. No big deal, right?
After picking up the main quest, the map opens up and shows just how much of an open world it really is. The main quests are non-linear and you are free to complete their objectives in any order you choose by completing side quests from the different villages scattered throughout the world. This leaves a lot of room to play through the game at your own pace. It also provides some replay value for later down the road.
There are also side missions scattered throughout the different areas outside of the villages. It is to the player’s benefit to complete these, as they assist in further advancing your character.
Character Advancement
Speaking of advancing your character, Outcast: A New Beginning has several different ways in which this is done. The first is by leveling up your jetpack with the blue helidium resource. Green and red helidium, for your pistol and rifle respectively, are readily found scattered across Adelpha and also regained through combat. Blue helidium seems to only be found by completing certain missions and side quests. Some of such quests include jumping puzzle-esque paths to follow. Thankfully they aren’t too difficult for you jump puzzle haters out there.
The game also allows for modification of your pistol and rifle to adjust your playstyle. Different modules are found by clearing outpost objectives and looting the chests within. You collect nano-cells from enemies and loot boxes to unlock multiple module slots for your weapon. Up to four are available for the pistol and six for the rifle. This allows you to create whatever combination of modules that suits your fancy – whether it be up-in-your-face combat or safely sniping from a distance. You also use nano-cells to upgrade your combat abilities.
A Note on Controls
I did note that, for me at least, playing with a keyboard and mouse feels awful. There is something like a slight delay to movement that had me reaching for my Nacon Revolution X Pro. Playing with the controller feels way more natural, despite my usual preference for the former. That being said, the game movement after switching to controller did not feel like it was lagging behind at all. Outcast: A New Beginning also automatically detects which input you are using and adjusts the tooltips appropriately. This is a feature I wish all modern games could get right.
I also found it somewhat obnoxious how the conversations are set up. There are times when you find yourself hopping between NPCs just to continue the same conversation. But when you are in the conversation menu, you have to hold the direction for what you want to talk about rather than just tapping that direction to toggle the option. Yes it is only a minor annoyance, but with the constant having to select different steps in the same conversation it was noticeable. Maybe there is an option for this to be changed in the settings, but I wasn’t able to find it.
Graphics & Audio
For this review I’m playing Outcast: A New Beginning on PC. The game is visually outstanding. I can imagine that it fulfills more closely what Appeal originally envisioned for the world of Adelpha. I haven’t run into any visual issues thus far and hope things continue that way. The cut scenes also look great. However, I can’t say that I’m a fan of how they are distributed in the beginning of the game. There are a few that seem either excessive or broken up oddly when they could easily be stitched together. For example I really don’t want to go from one, walk ten steps, then go right into another.
The graphics also add to the open world feel of this title. The simple verticality of the environment is impressive, allowing you to travel to seemingly any height or depth visible before you. At one point I even was looking out toward a far off island that had a building on it. I’m sure with the right upgrades it would be easy to get to, despite feeling so far away and high up there.
I only have one specific note about the audio in the game. The music changes when you enter combat, as it does in many games. However, there are times that you can get put in a combat state even if you aren’t being actively attacked, just from attackable enemies or creatures nearby. This was the source of some frustration, as I would occasionally get stuck with the combat music continuing while entering a dialogue state.
Longevity
The longevity you garner really boils down to how much of a completionist you want to be. Supposedly, if you were to power through just the main storyline you are able to be done within ten hours or so. But there is a bountiful supply of side quests and areas to just run around and explore. Not to mention the fifty-two achievements.
There are also four different difficulty levels to choose from, so one could spend a fair amount of time with the game if you decide to challenge yourself with a higher difficulty.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I found Outcast: A New Beginning to be a solid third-person adventure. I’m glad the original developers were given a chance to revisit an old stomping ground and create something new for a modern playerbase. Personally though, the combination of several factors that I mentioned throughout this review led to a lesser enjoyable experience than I had hoped for. If you’re a fan of the genre, I would still say it is worth checking out at some point.
I give Outcast: A New Beginning the Thumb Culture Silver Thumb Award.
If you enjoyed this review, be sure to check out my other reviews here. You can also check out Kyle’s PS5 experience with the game too!
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
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