Outward - open world RPG where you are an ordinary adventurer and survival is harsh

[Zombra]

Has anybody tried this in multiplayer? Would this be a good "hang out" game with a long distance friend?

 

[YldriE]

...

I can't speak for everyone but I was really eager to play this in coop and it turned out to be a terrible experience.

That kind of harsh difficulty curve and tedious survival maintenance works great as a solo game because it's fun to claw your way to victory through constant hardship. But in coop? No way both players have the same skill level or interiorize the systems at the same speed, you can't just fuck around trying to make sense of it all, one is always dragging the other down, either because you need to fix their fuckups or because you have to try to explain at the same you are yourself trying to figure it out.

Of course, if you are both experienced with the game and interested in a fresh playthrough, that's different. If one or both of you are fresh, then don't bother, or at the very least don't go it without some documentation, TL;DRs and beginners' tips.

If you want a third-person action-RPG in coop, I would rather go with something campaign-driven and more traditional, like War in the North, Hunted The Demon's Forge, or The Cursed Crusade.

 

[Murk]

Has anybody tried this in multiplayer? Would this be a good "hang out" game with a long distance friend?

I'm going to say yes but only if your friend is the kind of person who would enjoy this game on their own. You're not going to convert anyone to the genre necessarily, but the way multiplayer works is much more fleshed out than many other games, and the other person isn't just a random "summon" to help you out -- they can steal your shit, ruin your quests, etc.

The multiplayer works with the length of ramifications of something like in Divinity: Original Sin.

Anyway, I only played about 10ish hours of multiplayer on it, but I had a blast. It does make combat like 50x easier though since having someone to "distract" is a huge advantage than when you're just on your own.

 

[cvv]

So I gave it about an hour, can't do more right now, and so far I kindda like it. From what little I've seen it feels more like a survival game with an RPG sheen than an RPG with survival elements like Kingdom Come. Not something I usually play but hey, I'm always willing to try new stuff.

I like the combat, feels very Piranha Bitey, altho I got my ass horribly kicked by the first mobs I encountered. Wolf things or some such. I'm not sure about the death mechanics tho. I got eaten by the wolves and then I was transported to a safe place with a lot of food and loot. Is there actually any penalty for dying? And when exactly does the game save? I got a save on exit but other than that...does it save at all?

But it definitely got my attention. Right now I'm obsessed with Phantom Pain but as soon as I finish that Outward is my next thing.

 

[Maggot]

This is solid "fun with friends" material. I wouldn't play it alone though.

 

[cvv]

This is solid "fun with friends" material. I wouldn't play it alone though.

My limited experience with survival games tells me there's nothing worse than a survival game with friends. The whole point of a survival game is to struggle alone and figure shit out for yourself. That's why I love Don't Starve but can't stand Don't Starve Together. Basically what YldriE said above.

 

[YldriE]

I'm not sure about the death mechanics tho. I got eaten by the wolves and then I was transported to a safe place with a lot of food and loot. Is there actually any penalty for dying?

In the hardest difficulty there is actually a risk of permanent death, but otherwise the game is riding on the idea that defeat is part of the experience. Sometimes someone saves you and helps you on your feet, sometimes you just wake up somewhere unknown, sometimes you get enslaved or emprisoned, etc.

Even the most awesome Hercules has stories of that one time where he got captured by pirates or was badly mauled and saved by a friendly hunter, so atmosphere-wise I think that's one of the best gimmick design decisions I've seen in an RPG in the past couple of years.

 

[cvv]

atmosphere-wise I think that's one of the best gimmick design decisions I've seen in an RPG in the past couple of years.

Well it's not as brilliant as Dark Souls' idea "if you die you respawn as an undead", it's maybe a bit too gimmicky but better than the F5-F9 retardery I guess.

 

[Jinn]

The defeat mechanic is great in theory, but rarely ended with any really impactful consequences for me, which in turn became one if my biggest problems with the game. I think instead of a hardcore mode, they should have expanded on that system to have more harsh, meaningful, and varied consequences to death without it just being a random chance of losing all your progress in the game. I'd far too often just wake up a little ways from where I died by a campfire with nothing missing. Felt pointless after the first 1/3 of the game.

 

[cvv]

The defeat mechanic is great in theory, but rarely ended with any really impactful consequences for me, which in turn became one if my biggest problems with the game. I think instead of a hardcore mode, they should have expanded on that system to have more harsh, meaningful, and varied consequences to death without it just being a random chance of losing all your progress in the game. I'd far too often just wake up a little ways from where I died by a campfire with nothing missing. Felt pointless after the first 1/3 of the game.

Yeah, that's what I was afraid of. The hardcore mode doesn't entice me, big open world games aren't exactly well suited for roguelike mechanics like permadeath. I'll keep playing and see what I see.

 

[Murk]

If you unlock the 'cheat mode commands', you can do two things to ease the survival experience if that's all that's stopping you from "having fun".

1) reload specific slots (game saves multiple slots when it autosaves)

2) teleport to different areas

You can also do the usual cheats and shit, but I assume you're actually trying to play the game.

 

[Deleted Member 16721]

Not sure if I mentioned it yet but I enjoyed the game well enough to complete it. I didn't touch much of the huge amount of postgame content though, but the base game was a lot of fun. I enjoyed the intricate crafting system and the unique magic mechanics, as well as the overall rewarding nature of the game. I'd recommend it for a fun open world RPG romp.

 

[ItsChon]

Is this game good or?

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

Is this game good or?

Outward has interesting ideas that aren't implemented as well as they could be, but it's certainly enjoyable for at least one playthrough, and we can hope that Nine Dots Studio will improve when developing a successor.

 

[deama]

Is this game good or?

Outward has interesting ideas that aren't implemented as well as they could be, but it's certainly enjoyable for at least one playthrough, and we can hope that Nine Dots Studio will improve when developing a successor.

Also, music is good.

 

[Murk]

Looks like a DLC is on the way (based on what they posted in their discord); potato-man is on the job and also shilling for 'RAIDSHADOWLEGENDSBROOO' along with seemingly literally everyone else.



Also, they are hiring: https://www.ninedotsstudio.com/single-post/2019/10/30/Were-hiring

 

[Sloul]

I'm playing it currently, and it's way better than I thought it would be. It has a strong Gothic1/2 vibe for me, but unsure if that was the inspiration of the developers, it also reminds me of Fable.
I like it better than anything PB released after G2NOTR.
I also have a feeble vibe of Magic Carpet, but again, that might just be me.

Among the few things that I dislike:
- there is no connection between cities, there are no travelers, caravans, migrants, explorers, skirmishes etc.
- there is no random event (thus far) outside cities
- you cannot die :/ , I would have favored a system where the game loads the last time you slept, or slept in a city rather than the current system. You keep being saved by some random ppl, but while venturing you never meet anybody.


Other than that, the game is a complete blast.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

I'm playing it currently, and it's way better than I thought it would be. It has a strong Gothic1/2 vibe for me, but unsure if that was the inspiration of the developers, it also reminds me of Fable.
I like it better than anything PB released after G2NOTR.
I also have a feeble vibe of Magic Carpet, but again, that might just be me.

Among the few things that I dislike:
- there is no connection between cities, there are no travelers, caravans, migrants, explorers, skirmishes etc.
- there is no random event (thus far) outside cities
- you cannot die :/ , I would have favored a system where the game loads the last time you slept, or slept in a city rather than the current system. You keep being saved by some random ppl, but while venturing you never meet anybody.


Other than that, the game is a complete blast.

My biggest issue with the game is that the world felt very empty outside of the towns. Just enemies and not much else.

 

[Emily]

I'm playing it currently, and it's way better than I thought it would be. It has a strong Gothic1/2 vibe for me, but unsure if that was the inspiration of the developers, it also reminds me of Fable.
I like it better than anything PB released after G2NOTR.
I also have a feeble vibe of Magic Carpet, but again, that might just be me.

Among the few things that I dislike:
- there is no connection between cities, there are no travelers, caravans, migrants, explorers, skirmishes etc.
- there is no random event (thus far) outside cities
- you cannot die :/ , I would have favored a system where the game loads the last time you slept, or slept in a city rather than the current system. You keep being saved by some random ppl, but while venturing you never meet anybody.


Other than that, the game is a complete blast.

In new patch you can die now, there is a hardcore mod.

Otherwise i agree that traveling between cities can be a pain.

I still think this is a GOTY 2019 hands down. A must buy.

 

[Deleted Member 16721]

Traveling between cities is fun though. It's part of the experience, traveling and surviving the dangerous world. I really like the game as well.

 

[Sloul]

In new patch you can die now, there is a hardcore mod.

Otherwise i agree that traveling between cities can be a pain.

I still think this is a GOTY 2019 hands down. A must buy.

Yeah, but it's a permanent death.
I'd like something that loads your last save from a safe location (cities/butterflies).

 

[Murk]

So you want a normal save/load system?

Well, like I said, if you unlock cheats you can choose which of the various autosave slots to load from without otherwise changing the game.

 

[HoboForEternity]

0

Traveling between cities is fun though. It's part of the experience, traveling and surviving the dangerous world. I really like the game as well.

Once you are strong enough and most enemies become trivial it became more of a chore.

The game is definitely a gem. A flawed one, but on its core is a great idea but executed with alot of limitations and inexperience. I legit love (at least the first half of it) this game. The survival thing works as intended in the first half. The world design also works traversed without maps or markers due to eye catching landmarks and mostly clear landscape with barely any walls.

I really like the progression system. Simple, elegant and you can get quite various build.

Story and lore is surprisingly nice. Nothing mind blowing or super well written but i like it.

I dunno how much further they will patch this, but if the expansion add more content i would be happy to replay.

 

[Deleted Member 16721]

I don't find it a chore. Even at high level my glass cannon mage build could get wrecked by anything, so survival remained important my entire playthrough.

 

[Deleted Member 16721]

I'll also say this game gave me a totally unique playstyle, first ever in an RPG. I made a mage who casts magical mines behind me, so enemies would chase me while I dropped mines and blew them to pieces. I was very squishy, I sacrificed as much health as I could in exchange for magic, so I could get two shotted by most tougher enemies. It was a very nervewracking build but very fun to play. It was very satisfying casting those runes.