A presentation of the sequel

Outcast: A New Beginning, developed by Appeal Studios and published by THQ Nordic, will be released on the first 15th of March 2024, currently in the demonstration phase, and will be available for Microsoft Windows, Xbox One and Series X, and PlayStation 5.

Outcast: A New Beginning is an open-world adventure and exploration game, with platform mechanics for puzzle solutions, an apparently interesting story, and graphics that, in my opinion, seem a bit dated, remembering that this is a demonstration environment and shows what we can expect in terms of quality for the release. 



An inherited identity

Since it is only a test, we only have access to small sections of game sections, namely exploration, combat, and story.

The game's dynamics work very similarly to its predecessor, Outcast, initially released in 1999. In the short time we have available to play, it is already possible to have a good idea of the game's intentions.

A very interesting detail that caught my attention, as a newcomer to the Outcast universe, is the jetpack system and how its mobility is completely dependent on the management of its flight resources, jumps, dashes, and even dodges.

For now, I found the movement a bit clumsy and difficult to control, even after playing with the jetpack for a few good minutes, but I believe this detail will be improved, as it is a fundamental element of what the game will apparently deliver.

Taking into account the history of this series, several quests of puzzles and enigmas will be added, as well as those already present in the story demo.



A bit of strangeness with the whole package

As I mentioned, the inspiration for the game's dynamics is its predecessor, which at the time was a great game, winner of awards, and deservedly won its audience.

Therefore, I understand that the game tries to rescue this strong legacy, but I felt like I was in a very generic game, with the feeling that various aspects of different games were reused and just masked. This conclusion is a very complicated point to assert with certainty in the provided build, and we are playing a cut of what the gameplay will be like at its release.

Regarding the difficulty of Outcast: A New Beginning, it is a point that is up to the player. The complexity of the jetpack, especially its glider, as I mentioned earlier, is a very expressive point, with the rest of the game being relatively simple mechanically and only requiring practice. The combat is very enjoyable, and there are several side missions.

Regarding the side missions, what pleased me the most so far were the domination and conquering of camps, in the style of Far Cry, which, in my opinion, despite being a dynamic that has already been well developed, such as locating chests, terminals, killing enemies, has its own identity that stands out.

The enemies in the game so far are quite limited (for obvious reasons), but they have a certain personality and are well developed, although not very intelligent. Most of the time, they will try to kill you by brute force.

There is a resource system in the game that, so far, does not have much utility. These resources are left by enemies when they die, and I believe they are used for the crafting system and buying and selling items.

Outcast: A New Beginning, in general, is fun, despite the very limited experience and the impression of being generic. I believe it will not go beyond that, and I hope that innovative and well-made mechanics will be added to the game's release.



The projection of a promising future

For me, the release of Outcast: A New Beginning will be a good experience, especially for fans of the series who have been eagerly awaiting a sequel for years. But overall, it is a very welcoming game, especially in terms of story since in this limited experience I had the opportunity to play, we are introduced to daokas, travel portals, and the Talan people, who are basically a friendly alien people who provided me with very initial information about the story to generate context.

The controls of Outcast are very easy to adapt to, the commands are simple, very responsive, and sharp, with only the excessive difficulty of operating the jetpack being the negative point, as I mentioned earlier.

The game is localized in several languages, and I believe that until its release, this number may increase, generating more engagement and attracting new players to discover the world of Outcast.



A brilliant project that will provide a lot of fun

My experience with Outcast: A New Beginning was good, a lot was presented, and I spent a good time testing and exploring what was possible in the available world. I wanted to play the final product at its release to follow its evolution, experience more weapons, and explore even more. The graphics give the impression of being a bit old, as I mentioned earlier, but they are still very pleasant, and the story, I believe, is one of its great strengths.

The game is not very lightweight, and this build had some optimization problems, but these are details that we hope will not accompany the game at its release.

The soundtrack surprised me a lot, it is very good, with intense music, and the voice acting is also very pleasant.



For this review, the game was experienced on PC, using the Steam platform. I thank Appeal Studios and THQ Nordic for providing the access key.