Outward Definitive Edition

Very engaging. Has good Story and combat is challenging early game.

Outward 2 hype. i haven't gotten into this game yet, but i keep coming back. great combat and world building, good starting story, seems cool. beginning is a bit tedious.

It's always fun to see negative reviews from folks who literally couldn't have even gotten out of Chersonese with the amount of playtime that they have. For reference, while I only have 80ish hours on Steam, I have around 100 on Xbox (I've actually beaten the main quest with a friend on there) and have played this game on and off basically since it launched in 2019 and throughout the pandemic onwards. I'm playing again now, and felt like writing a review since I've seen the game's score fluctuate for the past year or so on here. Oh, Outward. Where to begin with a game that attempts to defy every expectation and deny every comfort of the titans of the genres it was built on top of? I think for one, describing what the game isn't doing might help. This is not a Soulsborne-like/lite, nor does it give the player the absolute freedom to do whatever they basically feel like doing, reminiscent of games like Breath of the Wild, Craftopia, or Palworld. That would imply that there's some level of help or even proper tutorial that the game has in store for you in order to get the player eased into the mechanics of the world. No, Outward has nothing of the sort. Instead, this game is rough around the edges, deeply unbalanced at times, and graciously unsparing when it comes to bad luck, clunky movement and combat, and environmental hazards. These aren't necessary failings, however (with the exception of the combat, because sometimes it does feel insane to fight enemies by just bum-rushing them with light attacks until they fall), since many of the negatives are either balanced out by sticking with the game and learning its rhythm with time or by brute forcing your way through Aurai itself with cheese and luck. I instead believe that Outward was moreso guilty of the sin of not being extremely explicit in its marketing when people looked at it as a unique experience for the first time in 2019, and now again with this remastered version. RPG, Open World, ARPG, and Difficult are all tags that do get at parts of the experience of playing Outward but never properly get there all the way. The one thing that makes Outward so very different than other games in its genre (and also plays to its strength the best, imo) is the survival RPG aspect. Living through harsh enemy/environmental encounters, dealing with the movesets of new mobs you haven't seen before, and finishing the faction questlines that take several days off of your lifespan are all aspects of the game that balanced out by the positive feelings you have when everything (and I do mean EVERYTHING) begins to lean your way. Getting new skills/weapons, buying armor/robe upgrades, travelling to new locations, getting quest rewards, finishing enchantments on gear, and eventually staring your own colony feel like major accomplishments in the same way that extracting in a game like Tarkov or Marathon feel like a victory over the forces of nature. In Outward's case, it's more literal; you survived another day, and are all the stronger for it. Nothing on the market for as cheap as this game is now (and might be forever, since the 2nd game is coming out very soon) will scratch that itch like Outward does, to me at least. Are there aspects that I mod out now and then, or change in order to fit my liking? Yes, absolutely. As others have mentioned, some aspects of Outward are purely slow and monotonous for the sake for simulating the slower aspects of real life (which I don't think I need to say, doesn't play well with a ton of people since that's what video games are meant to be an escape from). But, keeping the majority of the grind and difficulty that comes from having to carry 60lbs with a 50lb capacity bag and slow walk to town, or attempting to beat back a bandit camp with no allies or help but a bunch of elemental rags and potions are essential to the enjoyment of the game. In other words, unlike a game like Elden Ring, where the struggle feels unrealistic and fantastical but is deeply challenging and satisfying on a mechanical, technical, and even narrative level, Outward is the same type of game for survival realism (or as realistic as a ARPG can be), tone, and the overall experience of (and I know people find this word pretentious nowadays and for good reason) immersion in its world. And with mods, the game's like a 8.5/10. I rest my case.

one of those games with a little too much friction, and needs QoL mods to make it playable imo, but once you get it into your sweetspot, it's a great adventure to share with friends

游戏很好玩，但是我真不想一个人孤独地去通关，不过我最终还是会一个人去通关的，一直在慢慢玩现在不过我可能最后还是一个人去通关了吧

игра кусочек кала

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