Outward Definitive Edition

When a game says it's realistic, only the worst, most tedious things it asks you to do are realistic. Outward is a 3rd person open world survival RPG. It asks you to manage your inventory weight, hunger, thirst, temperature, health, stamina, and mana, and it wants that management to be as tedious and time-consuming as humanly possible. It is not interested in respecting your time in any way, and indeed goes out of its way to make your play experience slow. Note that I say [b]slow[/b], not [b]methodical[/b]. Outward is not about taking your time, making sure your engagements are well-planned and in your favor; it's about everything you do taking 30 minutes or more. It's about travel being excruciatingly slow and boring. It's about having no money to spend, none of the items you need, no idea where you are, and no idea where you're going. Moment to moment gameplay in Outward is walking. Just walking. You will be walking for literal days in real-time. Three-quarters of my 56 hours of playtime are walking, at minimum. Occasionally, your walking will be interrupted by a quest or combat. All quests are fetch quests, so you'll be walking more. All combat is "punishing" or "difficult," but it secretly isn't. Combat seems hard until you understand that combat in Outward is just stacking every single buff you can find, and once you know what buffs are available you'll actually find it hard to die in anything but the most difficult encounters in the game. You'll lock on to an enemy, circle around it, and smack it until it dies. It's basically the exact same combat as early 3D Legend of Zelda games. As you walk or fight, you'll lose stats. You'll get hungry or thirsty, or your maximum stamina or health will "burn," which is to say lower permanently until you rest or use a consumable. So you need food and water and a bed with you at all times. These are heavy. Combined with your equipment, you will have very little backpack space for loot you find lying around. And if you rest, you run the risk of being awoken by combat unless you balance that sleep in a specific way. So you'll have a fight or two, eat and drink, sleep, and repeat it all again. Until your food rots. Or your quest fails because it's timed. Remember, anything realistic must also be as un-fun as possible. Which is why, while there is (expensive) fast travel available in the game, the fast travel system randomly selects which cities can be travelled to at any given time. It's why your map doesn't display your character's position. It's why quests give you vague directions for a spot, but don't actually give you an idea of where you're going. It's also why you have no innate character progression - no experience or skill system - outside of trainers in cities who, for a price, will teach you some truly terrible skills you can put on your incredibly small hotbar. The interface in Outward is pretty bad, but the hotbar needs a specific shoutout. It is [b]tiny[/b], no where near big enough for the number of skills and consumables any decent build will have, and you only get one bar. This means that on top of all the other pains in the ass this game loves, you'll be doing a lot of buffing from a menu, rather than from your HUD. If you've played an MMO, imagine playing that MMO with a single hotbar. That's how it feels. The real secret of Outward, though, is that it's not actually hard at all. It's very easy; it's just slow. You can make money, it just takes ages. You can build a stock of food and drink that won't spoil quickly. You can buff yourself with a dozen effects before combat and trivialize every encounter. Enemies only have a few attacks and you can avoid them mostly easily. If the world was smaller or you moved faster or you didn't have to rest after each encounter, you'd realize that this is actually quite a small game with basically no mechanics besides inventory weight and decaying food and drink bars. The only interesting thing about Outward is the setting, which is genuinely unique and which feeds you small pieces of a greater story as you play through the four possible factions. It's an original fantasy world with some fun ideas. Unfortunately, most of the story you experience in that setting is just someone telling you to fetch a bear liver or kill a dude in a cellar. But the setting is good. All told, Outward is bad. It wants to be a game of methodical exploration, but there's so much friction to every action that exploration becomes tedium rather than discovery. Managing your stats is repetitive and boring rather than strategic. Combat is repetitive and simple. The entire [b]GAME[/b] is repetitive. If you value your time - at all - give it a miss. P.S.: If this is in your library and everything I described about sounds terrible but you [i]still[/i] want to play it, just mod it. Give yourself triple out-of-combat movement speed and more than one hotbar, and you might actually have a little fun with it.

The concept of the game is top-tier. The idea of an action RPG with intense survival mechanics and realistic progression deeply resonates with me. However, a game that prides itself on difficulty MUST ensure that the combat is extremely refined which is simply not the case here. Enemies frequently move in ways that defy physics, and hit detection is bizarrely inconsistent.

[h3]🏕️ Доброго пути, странник! ⠀⠀⠀⠀На связи — [url=steamcommunity.com/id/2o77x] [b]KΛRHΛD[/b] [/url][/h3] В Outward я забрёл не специально. Был в поиске не очередной RPG с маркерами и избранным героем, а найти что-то более приземлённое. Где мир существует отдельно от игрока, а не крутится вокруг него. Сначала игра мне вообще не понравилась. Вышел из стартового города, получил по лицу от двух бандитов, потерял рюкзак, замёрз ночью возле костра и очнулся чёрт знает где без половины припасов. Уже почти хотел удалить игру, но потом поймал себя на мысли, что давно не чувствовал в RPG настоящего путешествия, где выход за ворота города — это уже риск. Именно поэтому и решил написать обзор спустя трёх десятков часов. [h3]🗺️ О чём вообще Outward[/h3] Это RPG с сильным уклоном в выживание и исследование мира. Главное отличие Outward от большинства современных RPG в том, что игра [b]не пытается постоянно развлекать игрока[/b]. Тут нет бесконечных наград, уровней каждые двадцать минут и ощущения, что ты становишься богом после пары часов игры. Системы уровней здесь вообще нет. Ты становишься сильнее потому что: • начинаешь понимать врагов • учишься готовиться к походам • разбираешься в механиках • собираешь рабочий билд И это очень освежает. Карта тоже работает необычно. Она [u]не показывает твоё положение[/u], маркеров квестов нет, а игра любит говорить: «слушай NPC внимательно, дальше сам». Через какое-то время реально начинаешь ориентироваться по дорогам, маякам, горам и руинам. Да, иногда из-за этого уходишь вообще не туда. Один раз я перепутал направление, умер в болоте, попал в лагерь бандитов и потом ещё полчаса искал свой рюкзак. И вот странно — это не бесило, потому что игра не выглядела сломанной. Она просто показывала последствия моих решений. [h3]🏕️ Мир, который не подстраивается под игрока[/h3] Вот за это Outward я и запомнил. Большинство RPG сейчас очень боятся неудобства, поэтому везде быстрые перемещения, автосохранения и откаты решений. Outward почти всё это выкидывает. [b]Если провалил квест — провалил.[/b] Игра сохраняется сама. У меня, например, в какой-то момент уничтожили стартовый город, потому что я вовремя не занялся одним квестом. Вернулся — торговцев повесили, часть NPC мертва, дом разрушен вместе с сундуком, где лежал мой лут. Игра никак это не драматизирует. Мир просто пошёл дальше без меня. Причём многие события здесь скрыты. NPC могут между делом что-то упомянуть в таверне или дать совет, который окажется началом важного квеста с таймером. Игра не будет мигать огромной надписью «СРОЧНО». Она считает, что ты сам должен слушать. [h3]⚔️ Боевка и выживание[/h3] Первые часов десять боёвка ощущается деревянной. Особенно после Souls-like. Перекаты, блоки и стамина есть, но всё работает тяжелее и медленнее. Тут нельзя просто закликать врага. Два бандита в начале игры — уже проблема. А три — почти гарантированная смерть. Outward буквально заставляет тебя драться грязно: • ставить ловушки • использовать баффы и яды • расстреливать врагов издалека • убегать • возвращаться позже Сначала мне это казалось кривизной. Потом понял, что игра просто [b]не хочет делать из тебя героя-терминатора[/b]. Очень понравилась магия. Тут мало заклинаний в духе «нажал кнопку — полетел фаербол». Нужно комбинировать эффекты, ставить сигилы и готовиться к касту. Из-за этого магия ощущается необычно и действительно интересно. Система выживания тоже сделана хорошо. Нужно следить за голодом, жаждой, температурой, болезнями и состоянием экипировки, но игра не превращается в симулятор микроменеджмента. [h3]🤝 Кооператив[/h3] Вот где игра раскрывается особенно сильно. Мы проходили часть Outward вдвоём, и это был один из самых атмосферных коопов за последние годы. Появляется настоящее ощущение приключения: один следит за костром, второй варит еду, вместе делите припасы и обсуждаете маршрут. А когда вы вдвоём кое-как вылезаете из пещеры с остатком хп и последним факелом — это запоминается сильнее половины постановочных AAA-моментов. [h3]🌫️ Атмосфера и ощущение пути[/h3] Главное, что делает Outward особенной — [b]чувство дистанции[/b]. Когда уходишь далеко от города, реально ощущается, что ты далеко от дома. Потому что обратно придётся идти ногами. [i]Без телепорта. Без кнопки «вернуться». Без удобства ради удобства.[/i] Именно поэтому путешествия здесь запоминаются. Ночью начинается буря — ищешь укрытие. Заканчивается еда — начинаешь нервничать. Потерял рюкзак после смерти — уже думаешь, стоит ли вообще возвращаться за ним. Да, иногда игра перегибает с беготнёй, и некоторые задания превращаются в марафон через несколько регионов. Но атмосфера путешествия всё равно работает отлично. [code][i]Понравился обзор? Подпишись на мою страницу куратора — я регулярно делюсь интересными играми и рекомендациями:[/i] [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/45992773-K%25CE%259BRH%25CE%259BD-%25D1%2580%25D0%25B5%25D0%25BA%25D0%25BE%25D0%25BC%25D0%25B5%25D0%25BD%25D0%25B4%25D1%2583%25D0%25B5%25D1%2582/][b]KΛRHΛD рекомендует[/b][/url][/code] [h3]🟢 Плюсы[/h3] • Очень сильное ощущение путешествия и выживания • Мир не подстраивается под игрока • Интересные сценарии после поражений • Отличный кооператив • Хорошая атмосфера исследования • Необычная магия и система билдов • Решения реально имеют последствия [h3]🔴 Минусы[/h3] • Боевка местами слишком топорная • Интерфейс неудобный и старомодный • Многие механики игра объясняет ужасно • Много беготни • Есть баги и технические шероховатости • Игра легко может отпугнуть в первые часы [h3]🏁 Итог[/h3] Outward — очень неровная игра. Местами кривая, местами неудобная, но при этом в ней есть то, чего давно не хватает многим современным RPG — [b]ощущение настоящего приключения[/b]. Ты не избранный герой. Ты просто человек с рюкзаком, факелом и плохим планом. И почему-то именно это работает. ⭐8.5/10 — шероховатая, упрямая, но очень живая RPG ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── [h1][b]Если обзор был полезен — буду искренне рад лайку 👍, награде🏆 или паре слов в комментариях✍️ Это поможет в работе над следующими обзорами и просто будет приятно. Для ознакомления 👇[/b] ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀[url=steamcommunity.com/id/2o77x/recommended/] [b]🎮 Мои Обзоры [/b] [/url] ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀[url=steamcommunity.com/id/2o77x/myworkshopfiles/?section=guides] [b]📖 Руководства [/b] [/url] ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀[url=steamcommunity.com/id/2o77x/screenshots/] [b]📸 Скриншоты [/b] [/url] ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀[url=steamcommunity.com/id/2o77x] [b]🥷 Профиль Steam [/b] [/url][/h1]

DO NOT BUY FOR CO-OP. ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ crazy bad game design where only the host of a multiplayer game can progress. You can mod the game to share/double the loot so the Guest player doesn't get ♥♥♥♥ all. But important things like joining a faction and receiving skills for it are Host only. Straight up stupid. And its not a bug its a design choice. Absolutely not coop-friendly. If you expected a game to progress together and have fun look elsewhere.

This is a game designed for a specific type of player. If you can appreciate a true challenge, hard save settings, hard survival settings then this is for you. It is a rare gem of a game that rewards the player for meticulous planning and clever thinking. Combat is great and meaningful, gameplay is superb. I shall give one example: I was scouting south/east of starting city at night, darkness total, music ambient, I decided to turn my lantern on as I could see the outline of a cave opening.... I was attacked by 4 hyenas from behind. killed one, knocked out by the others.... I thought that was it... no it wasn't. a loading screen came up and the writing was something like this (from memory) "You awake to the noise of flesh and bone being torn apart and devoured, you look right and see a half eaten leg beside you, you realise the hyenas have saved you for a later dinner...." I got up, realised only one hyena had stayed behind to feast picked up a shiny iron sword from the poor chap being eaten (now have first iron sword) absolutely battered that mother****** went outside and another 5 hyenas were just off to the right, so I snuck left and made my slow bloody, stamina depleted crawl back to my home Village THIS WAS AN EPIC EXPERIANCE! I am right at start of the game, basic weapons, leather armour, primitive backpack, no magic. Honestly I am a hardcore RPG single player gamer and this is a masterpiece, a welcome experience when most games hold your hand and make the whole journey about following markers and instant fixes. Looking forward to seeing the rest of the developers hard work. Roll on the rest of this epic journey.

This Review is for you, that like me, love challenging and hard games and was willing to overlook a few of the negative comments to give this game a try. The problem with this game is NOT in its difficulty. With Outward 2 coming out already, I doubt this review could change anything, but I wanted to warn other players on what they are actually getting into. The survival system is awesome, it's great to see a game bringing the craft system into a Must Learn situation, and tieing it with the exploration mechanic - so you explore to find items that let you explore even more! That is the cern of adventure, and the feeling is VERY welcoming! Battling climate as much as fighting against a strong enemy is very very satisfying. The problem for those unaware is: This is not a save-reload-after-failing game like Gothic, or a check-point-to-point system like Dark Souls. In this game, death is canon. Everytime you are defeated you get a random event that moves things around. So if you get a really strong enemy and you are defeated while learning its move set, it could mean, for example, that you are captured by a group of bandits and sent to work on a mine as a slave. This is cool, it's a different take, but it can be very frustrating because now, to have another shot on that enemy, you kinda need to play an extra half an hour of a diferent history to be able to leave the imprisioment. It's still entertaining, since you are seeing a "quest" that you're not going to see if you weren't defeated - but other situations like "You've been found by a hunter and brought back to your home town" means that you will waste about an hour of gameplay just to walk back to the point where you were defeated, to try again. This is NOT "difficulty", this is TEDIOUS. The game actively makes you WASTE time - both ingame and of your real life. This is not why I'm playing. (It can be worse, seeing some comments said there are quests tied to in-game time). I'll give you a full example that happened to me: 12h of gameplay in the first area, gathering resources, forgin equipment, training, cleaning up. Got to a new area - started fighting a fire-lizard that was clearly overleveld from myself, but that is okay, dodge-dodge-repeat. During the fight, two bandits come over and start attacking both me and the lizard. Managed to kill both bandits but lost to lizard. Got the "Bandits took your equipment away and stashed it over a house in the north." event. Wake up naked next to a new cool sword (cool, at least got something) - walked north to try and find my 12-hours-investment, have to fight the bandit protecting the stash - WAY stronger than the previous ones - lost. Got the "God saved you from death, you wake up seeing its light" waking up in a random area of the map of that new area I just came in. So I didn't know where I was, didn't know where the bandits took my equipment, and just felt completely ripped off. Again, this is not "difficulty" this is tedious. It means griding those 12h again to get to that same point? Is this fun? Not even FromSoftware is this brutal punishing players. I decided to delete that character and start a new one - now with the knowledge I had of those 12h. I have to tell you - after another 9h of forcing myself to give this a try, I realized I was not having fun. I really wanted to like this game, there is a lot about it that makes me want to play, but NOT having fun... the game becomes a chore, and that makes no sense at all. So if you still think about giving a chance to this, I would say go ahead - now you are aware. But for the reason stated, I cannot recommend this game to someone. Maybe co-op could save you from the tedious parts? I don't know, but if you plan on soloing this, now you know.

> Bonked by a bandit > Woke in prison > All my stuff gone > Forced into hard honest labour > Week of being an obedient prisoner > Climbed my way up the prisoner career ladder > Not a lot of employment benefits but pay is good > Bribe dad's friend with honest hard earned funds > Dad's friend smuggles me out > Use remaining funds to upgrade my gear > Go get revenge on bandit > Get bonked again > Cry in prison 10/10

You will enjoy this game if: - you enjoy Soulslikes - you are patient - you like to prepare carefully - you like the kind of immersion that comes from resource management - you're willing to look stuff up on the wiki - you don't care much about story - you are persistent despite very punishing deaths

Outward is a very unusual RPG game with heavy focus on survival and lots of walking. The learning curve is brutal and since there is no saving mechanism, player has to live with the consequences of their failures. But once you learn how to craft OP weapons and utilize dodge / parry / stagger / traps / ranged attacks / buffs, the combat becomes fair, almost too easy. This game is my GOTY. Not many games can capture that wander-lust feeling like this one. Everything you see in the game is traversable and almost everywhere you go is some hidden loot in a dungeon.

Once you get into it, it is probably one of the best rpgs on the market. It is hard at the start, and leans heavily into survival, but if you persevere (which is what the game is about) you will find yourself immensely stronger, confident, and rewarded. Also, better with a friend.