Outcast: A New Beginning is a new 3rd-person, open world adventure game that is a 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. Outcast: A New Beginning launches on PC via Steam, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S on Friday, March 15th 2024.
Original Developers, Original Feels?
This review is a bit different than my usual reviews, as I am still actively playing through the game. I invite you to return after the full review is complete for a more in-depth look at the game. For now, please check out my initial thoughts below:
Initial Thoughts
Outcast: A New Beginning is a sequel to the original open-world game. It was only available for Windows when it launched in 1999. Outcast 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). This 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. 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.
Notes Thus Far
I do have a few strong feelings about how Outcast: A New Beginning is playing out for me on PC. Firstly, 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 other thing to note is that playing with a keyboard and mouse felt awful. There is something like a slight delay to movement that had be reaching for my Nacon Revolution X Pro. Playing with the controller felt 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.
Again, this is just a little snippet of my initial thoughts with Outcast: A New Beginning. So be sure to return to Thumb Culture again for the full review!
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
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